I totally agree. It was made clear at the beginning of the thread that this was an academic question. By reading the thread I also now have a better knowledge of how these lights work, and how to activate them IF I ever needed to. It has therefore increased my aviation knowledge, which has to be a good thing, but it does not mean I am now going to rush out and abuse this knowledge by playing with any local PAL lights just for the sake of it.
IMO one purpose of this site is to be able to ask questions purely out of curiosity and without fear of any negativity. I have appreciated the personal opinions of the many people replying, and have taken all of them on board. It remains up to my common sense (or lack thereof) as to how I then use that knowledge.
Keep up the questions, guys!!
Cheers
Neil