> surely it's a widely accepted (and beneficial) practice that employees have special privileges in the apps they build
But it's more specific than that. Imagine using this technique to respond to someone who points out that you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe that it's agreed upon that the existence of toilet paper is a good thing, and that surely they wouldn't prefer the alternative.
> it seems strange and disturbing to talk to regular users like they’re all marketeers
It doesn't surprise me, not anymore. A lot of marketing is getting high on its own supply, as in, they actually somewhat believe what they are saying; even if they're not believing the euphemisms they put out externally, they still have euphemisms internally they are really not thinking through.
The other explanation is A/B testing, which would be even more sad.
But it's more specific than that. Imagine using this technique to respond to someone who points out that you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe that it's agreed upon that the existence of toilet paper is a good thing, and that surely they wouldn't prefer the alternative.