Al, can you take a look on that.
It looks like a handfull of people undermine the reputation of safety in climbing. I translate or write some part of mountaineering freedom of the hill and grimper, wrote by Patrick Edlinger and two teacher of univeristy (doctorat and more) and those handfull just want to bring people to use superficial rules and discourage people to learn to climb safe. What they wrote are just an insult to the good climbers from the books where I take the information, climber that make the history.
If you look at the section and find any beginer giving comments or other people giving positive comments on the good side of safety of montaineering freedom of the hill... it is rare. People don't want to talk because of an handfull number of people who just was angry because they loose a friend while climbing or was scare by an accident, people that you probably know.
Climbing is dangerous. But if that handfull of people influence the beginer to not practice safety and be scare by accident...it will not be good for trad climbing. I am sure that all of your member of more than fifty who climb for many years will agreee with me. They climb safely, with not as good equipment than today, and they still enjoy climbing.