I believe the reason the author mentioned their credentials was not to establish themselves as an authority, but to indicate that it’s possible to see the subscribe button as a trap even if one is tech savvy and knows it has nothing to do with e.g. subscription billing. (In contrast to where the article implied people avoided the subscribe button due to not understanding it.)
This is a good example of a situation where I believe the principle of charity is being applied too strongly. The author’s claim was that it is a trap, not that it is possible to see it as a trap. The structure of that first paragraph is “Claim that it is a trap. Points about being an authority figure on the topic.” (FWIW I don’t mean any of this contentiously, just constructive criticism.)
I believe the reason the author mentioned their credentials was not to establish themselves as an authority, but to indicate that it’s possible to see the subscribe button as a trap even if one is tech savvy and knows it has nothing to do with e.g. subscription billing. (In contrast to where the article implied people avoided the subscribe button due to not understanding it.)
This is a good example of a situation where I believe the principle of charity is being applied too strongly. The author’s claim was that it is a trap, not that it is possible to see it as a trap. The structure of that first paragraph is “Claim that it is a trap. Points about being an authority figure on the topic.” (FWIW I don’t mean any of this contentiously, just constructive criticism.)