> If your goal truly is to stop people putting laptops on there, then account for people who may not follow the directions if they don’t know why.

Why? If they decide to ignore the sign, and they fuck their laptops up, that's on them.

A note of direction doesn't need to justify itself. People that think they are owed an explanation so they can decide whether or not to follow a note are the problem here.

There are just as many people who will be more likely to disobey a warning if they hear the rationale. They might think "naw that HVAC unit couldn't do that. this sign is wrong"

Sometimes simple commands are better than explanations.