> There is no benefit to having people be able to draw the flag accurately. A flag has two purposes:

Yes, it is something "someone is arguing" but it's congruent with general design principles you will see in most domains.

  > a Spaniard claim her flag was easy to draw. She meant that it's easy to draw if you don't bother to draw the coat of arms.

For a similar case, see the flag of Germany[1], Austria[2], Peru[3], Finland[4], Italy[5], and need I go on?

I don't think you should be ashamed for not knowing, but it's worth recognizing how easy it is to miscommunicate because different inherent assumptions are being made. In your case it is unsurprising that there is this disagreement because she sees the civil flag commonly and you don't, so it seems like a cop-out to you while it is pretty reasonable for her. There's surprisingly (annoyingly) a lot of depth to seemingly simple things.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Spain

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Germany

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Austria

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Peru

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Finland

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy

If a rule is overly complex, no one can remember it and there can be no expectation for people to follow.

tldr: All rules are guides. Be they rules rules or "rules" rules

To the defenders: I ask you to please describe your memory of “the BART smell” from the cloth-seat era, if you have such firsthand experience.

I do remember. Many years make a strong impression. And while that specific smell-memory is largely indescribable, it’s nonetheless and unfortunately quite unforgettably awful.

My attempt: imagine a laundry hamper very full of very dirty clothes, including a few with fecal/other/mystery stains, slow-baked for weeks in a warm closet. Now open the closet door and take a deep nasal breath— that’s what stepping onto the train was like. I feel zero positive nostalgia.