I'm not quite following your defensive style of writing. What's up with that?

Do you believe only experts can contribute to discussions and ideas? Are you afraid of sounding "dumb"?

No question/idea is stupid and it's okay to be wrong or to learn something by putting yourself out there!

Not the person you are replying to. I guess they feel somewhat humiliated. There can sometimes be a fine line between scientific curiosity and the appearance of bullying. Common courtesy suggests we should back off whenever we feel that might be applicable.

As an ex-prefacer, imo it’s a hedge against the nudging recognition that the thought being hedged is based on a pyramid of iffy connections (usually more word-of-mouth type “science”), rather than an articulable, concrete a->b->c.