Actually, when I was hiking in Zion a while back, the rangers said that putting up guide wires can lead to more bad outcomes, because people stop paying attenti

Actually, when I was hiking in Zion a while back, the rangers said that putting up guide wires can lead to more bad outcomes, because people stop paying attention and assume that they're in a setting as safe as the sidewalks in a sleepy suburb. So the original analogies that got this thread going may be on target after all. It's a turbulent world out there, and we've all got to watch ourselves. I will say that Amazon's clothing offerings, especially in the "fulfilled by Amazon" sector, are turning out to be too dodgy for my tastes. Belts in particular are mis-sized in ways that even the reviews can't keep up with. Sometimes they're too long; sometimes they're too short; seldom do they fit. Amazon does have an emerging quality problem, especially in low-ticket electronics. If they're watching pure P&L metrics, the return rate and associated costs may look tolerable in a period of rapid sales growth. Not sure how much Amazon is tracking the fall-off in business from customers who had a bad experience. If we sputter a lot but keep buying, then the metrics won't really show a problem that needs correcting, will they?