> These are the comments that remind me of the core user base of out of touch SF people.

The concept of soft power, where you have power through friendship, influence, and relationships is a surprisingly difficult concept for a lot of folks. It's a nuanced concept and it takes nuance to pull off, but when done right it's far more effective than hard power. Hard power is people do it because you tell them, soft power is they do it because you get them to want to do it. Informal arrangements make some people uncomfortable.