Yeah, I'd be fine making an exception or separate option for "while hooked up to an external display". I think the user's intent could be reasonably construed there. Also if you're hooked up to an external display you often have external power.

Don't have a macbook, but on KDE that's already the default anyway it looks like--it's an opt-in to also sleep on lid close when there's an external display connected.

Why not crack the lid a little? No way I'm letting the display of my very expensive laptop contact the chassis while it's in operation.

It’s Apple and I trust that they have thought of this, and designed to support this.

Every single one of my Apple rubberized cables has disintegrated. Every. Single. One. MagSafe chargers and iPhone cables.

Yes Apple build quality is high, but it's not perfect. It's an iron law of electronics that heat shortens lifespan, so taking a large surface that is used for heat dissipation and putting your screen directly on top... I wouldn't do that with mine but you do you.

Because it's fine closed? You really think this isn't a supported way of using a Macbook Pro?

Well the keyboard does stick to the screen a bit after a while, but in theory it is.