If he thought the connotations between different words to describe something was stupid, he wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. There are companies that spend millions coming up with words for stuff that match a target demographic or convey a desired message, etc (focus groups, studies, consultants...).
Thanks. My goal was two-fold.
First, to explain why, as a player, I was reticent to simply click "easy mode" even when I was quite frustrated. This required a bit of honesty on my part and though I could be wrong I believe it's something that other players feel as well at times.
And second, to provide a reasonable solution that expands the overall value of the game without being especially burdensome to existing systems and resources.
I believe I accomplished both.
