diff --git a/docs/messaging/azure-messaging.md b/docs/messaging/azure-messaging.md
index 1bbb56e683..7a9bbdb3a0 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/azure-messaging.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/azure-messaging.md
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ the broker doesn't have such notion, the destination name SHOULD uniquely identi
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
@@ -189,7 +188,6 @@ the broker doesn't have such notion, the destination name SHOULD uniquely identi
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
diff --git a/docs/messaging/gcp-pubsub.md b/docs/messaging/gcp-pubsub.md
index 7e8a6aaf18..d2a9977bbc 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/gcp-pubsub.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/gcp-pubsub.md
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ the broker doesn't have such notion, the destination name SHOULD uniquely identi
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
diff --git a/docs/messaging/kafka.md b/docs/messaging/kafka.md
index fbafab2d09..d66b9f6609 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/kafka.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/kafka.md
@@ -105,7 +105,6 @@ body size should be used.
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
diff --git a/docs/messaging/messaging-metrics.md b/docs/messaging/messaging-metrics.md
index 4b1493e718..a5aa2a7ff5 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/messaging-metrics.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/messaging-metrics.md
@@ -124,7 +124,6 @@ the broker doesn't have such notion, the destination name SHOULD uniquely identi
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
diff --git a/docs/messaging/messaging-spans.md b/docs/messaging/messaging-spans.md
index 7591349851..a3a854243b 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/messaging-spans.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/messaging-spans.md
@@ -202,18 +202,21 @@ Span kind SHOULD be set according to the following table, based on the operation
| Operation type | Span kind|
|----------------|-------------|
| `create` | `PRODUCER` |
-| `publish` | `PRODUCER` if the context of the "Publish" span is used as creation context, `CLIENT` otherwise. |
-| `receive` | `CONSUMER` |
-| `process` | `CONSUMER` for push-based scenarios where no "Receive" span exists, `SERVER` otherwise. |
+| `publish` | `PRODUCER` if the context of the "Publish" span is used as creation context. |
+| `receive` | `CONSUMER` |
+| `process` | `CONSUMER` for push-based scenarios where no "Receive" span exists. |
+
+For cases not covered by the table above, the span kind should be set according
+to the [generic specification about span kinds](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/tree/v1.33.0/specification/trace/api.md#spankind),
+e. g. it should be set to CLIENT for the "Publish" span if its context is not
+used as creation context and if the "Publish" span models a synchronous call to
+the intermediary.
Setting span kinds according to this table ensures that span links between
consumers and producers always exist between a PRODUCER span on the producer
side and a CONSUMER span on the consumer side. This allows analysis tools to
interpret linked traces without the need for additional semantic hints.
-For cases not covered by the table above, the span kind should be set according
-to the [generic span kind definition](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/tree/v1.33.0/specification/trace/api.md#spankind):
-
### Trace structure
#### Producer spans
@@ -376,7 +379,6 @@ If a messaging operation involved multiple network calls (for example retries),
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
diff --git a/docs/messaging/rabbitmq.md b/docs/messaging/rabbitmq.md
index 0bc5184085..4f15afa67d 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/rabbitmq.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/rabbitmq.md
@@ -90,7 +90,6 @@ body size should be used.
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |
diff --git a/docs/messaging/rocketmq.md b/docs/messaging/rocketmq.md
index d7030a8839..824acce602 100644
--- a/docs/messaging/rocketmq.md
+++ b/docs/messaging/rocketmq.md
@@ -101,7 +101,6 @@ body size should be used.
| Value | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `create` | A message is created. "Create" spans always refer to a single message and are used to provide a unique creation context for messages in batch publishing scenarios. |  |
-| `deliver` | Deprecated. Use `process` instead. | 
Replaced by `process`. |
| `process` | One or more messages are processed by a consumer. |  |
| `publish` | One or more messages are provided for publishing to an intermediary. If a single message is published, the context of the "Publish" span can be used as the creation context and no "Create" span needs to be created. |  |
| `receive` | One or more messages are requested by a consumer. This operation refers to pull-based scenarios, where consumers explicitly call methods of messaging SDKs to receive messages. |  |