Have you ever been to a national park in this country? You'll encounter signs everywhere telling you not to feed the animals. And the reason that you are not to feed the animals according to the US Park Service is that the animals must learn to fend for themselves if they are to survive and thrive. When you feed animals they become dependent and no longer function as nature intends. They lose their capacity to make their own way. They lose their edge. They fill up on foods that are harmful. There is a dulling of the instincts that help wildlife avoid danger. They lose the fear of humans and cars, leading many of them to be killed while expecting to be fed. Some signs are downright mean. "A fed animal is a dead animal," is one such sign.

I think we can agree on the wisdom of this warning. Are there any situations outside the national park that are similar?

For example, could one conclude that providing welfare assistance creates such dependence in recipients who become unable to, or less likely to, thrive on their own. Would this be an unintended consequence or part of a plan to control the people?

In another scenario, would the staff’s steady and relentless new posting of topics to athenstalks drive out the creativity and industriousness of commenters, resulting in commenters no longer trying very hard to start new discussions because they get drowned out before having a chance?