Time and again I think of Thanksgiving, as whose extended family and friends that bring along varying friends who are strangers to you... are aligned on politics and religion around that table? Climbing discussions like politics and religion erupt with the same sort of passion. Even if there is general agreement on a topic, there are more nuances than people.
I think of those who have been climbing most their lives, living through changes in climbing as people who may just be open-minded and experimental enough to try exploring newly considered possibilities, so it bothers me when someone gets blasted for believing one thing one way and then trying something different at some point without first having realized the potential impact and with no benefit of hindsight.
We all get sick of these discussions at times, but dialogue has to carry-on in part because there will always be new ground to throw a wrench in the works. We all know what's heard through the grapevine or read online isn't gospel and probably referenced out of context, and maybe giving the benefit of the doubt should be knee-jerk. For instance, I think if Thau & Nettle really put bolts 3 feet apart in some spot, then there’s probably some understandable explanation for it. Maybe there's a different take on some slight protrusion in the rock face below, or the bolt was actually bad for some reason not apparent, or they didn't have the means and meant to get back to it and life, kids, whatever, hasn't allowed it. I don't mean to skim over the point VM made regarding perhaps in general noting easier territory has few protection points when difficult terrain has more than enough. But that doesn't make bad sense to me that a climb may be so constructed. And there are plenty of 'finished' routes out there that have no bolts and hardly any gear in entire pitches. Definitely don't want FAs handled by committee changing that landscape. I love that we are to tolerate if not honor differences. Those contrasts may serve to stretch and teach us with open dialogue a basic building block.
