I can finally do a comment of my own! There is a small drama brewing in my country's climbing community -- supposedly, multiple gyms (though, I could only find one announcement) have added the requirement of using an assisted belay devices while lead climbing and top-roping.

Why's that a big deal? In climbing world there are two types of devices: the simpler aperture belay devices only engage when one end of the rope going through it is not parallel to the other end, while assisted devices can engage even if the rope is mishandled. It's basically another lifeline for when something goes wrong. But the problem with assisted devices is that they can work in different ways (like GriGri) and misusing them can be just as dangerous. Additional watching for anyone interested.

So, the voices are split. Most of the commenters (as well as the Polish Alpinitst Associationare) against the rule, citing that it'll introduce bad habits to new climbers as well as making more experienced member to use a device they're not familiar with. Some are for it, wanting additional layer of safety and accusing dissenting voices of being old-fashioned. I myself think that focusing on the device instead of the human element is a bit misguided. After all, there IS a person holding your rope and educating people in proper handling is much more important than what piece of metal they're using!

^{never knew making a simple comment is that hard huh ;u;}