Yes, it seems we agree on all these points here. I don’t think we have any disagreements. My whole argument is that backups are more important than encryption for most people, and encryption is (1) not necessary and (2) shouldn’t be attempted until you have good backups.

You seem to be arguing against something here, but it sounds like it’s really just a miscommunication. The original prompt was to fit the instructions on a postcard, and and perhaps it’s not really possible to fit good instructions on a postcard.

In order to fit instructions on a postcard, there are a number of things I left out with the idea that someone could figure them out. Stuff like “how do I do backups” or “should I encrypt my backups”. I thought that people could figure out to encrypt their backups if they wanted to, because backup solutions have that option. I also thought that people could figure out that you’d also encrypt your backups if you encrypted your hard drive. Maybe I should have spelled it out in excruciating detail.

As far as I can tell, that’s the lesson here—spell things out in excruciating detail, or you’ll get sarcastic jabs in the replies.