A rul;e of thumb for "What tool do I need (next)" posts

Yes, but some of us are weighing two excellent options and trying to decide which of two tools would be more useful, or ahve basic questions about dust management or the shop in general. If somebody is sitting around with $500 saying, "Hmm. What should I buy?" Then yeah, they don't need anything. But most of these posts seem to be people saying things like, "Should I install dust management or skip for now and go for the band saw?"

I think you've mischaracterized many of these posts.

I did say it is a rule of thumb not a commandment.

Now, if you are referring to the bi weekly "should I get a planer or a jointer" question Well, to spare feelings, I won't comment directly on my thoughts about that question but will say that it is second only on my scale to "I just bought a jointer ($500.00 or there abouts) what do I do with it", or, "it won't make my stock straight on both sides".

Reminds me of that feminist I knew that used to have a fit every time I used "rule of thumb". She just wouldn't accept the truth from that well known author Cecil Adams: