When to set sRGB to false

When plugging an Ambient Occlusion map baked in a 3D modeling program into the Ambient Occlusion socket of a material’s result node, should the map’s sRGB selection be checked or unchecked? Is there any general rule on whether sRGB should be checked or unchecked on maps that are used not to define color, but to assign scratches, stains etc. to an object?

Is the sRGB selection specific to a material, or to a map used in the material- in other words, if you make a sRGB selection in a map used in one material and use that map also in other materials, will that selection come into effect in all the materials that use that map?

I am asking this because I recently saw an instruction video in which it was advised to deactivate sRGB for Ambient Occlusion maps, and when I did, I got error messages in some cases, but not always.

any map that does not define color should be rgb, this also goes for rgb-packed masks/noises.