Originally Posted by
smasha
No one has actually disagreed with me, in any productive way. A lot of other opinions have been presented, but almost no one has explained why they think I'm wrong; almost no one has explained why their ideas are actually better.
That's not productive disagreement, it's just a bunch of people flinging their own dogma like boogers. It's not yet degraded to ad hominems, but it's not much better than that.
The disagreement hasnt been productive because you dislike it. It appears you just want posters to agree with you and that will qualify it as productive.
As for requiring others to explain why they think you are wrong, that has been done over and over again. base2 went into great detail about how a crappy looking bike isnt safe and why- base2 works at a bike collective where inexpensive bikes are maintained and customers are often struggling, so he has some experience here.
Paint your bike if you want. It will certainly lower the value and if you think a lower value will keep it from being stolen, then have at it.