I'm looking across the Society, as much as at the East, and so when the East takes steps to do things that other Kingdoms do in excess, I have a different reaction.

I'm not as "inside the system" as I once was, but my historical view in the East informs that, in the past, most of these awards are not there to so much address a gap. Plus, of course, we have the awards/orders whose definitions have mutated over time, the many now-closed awards and honors and so forth.

I, personally, don't care for the under-18 "Junior Lite" style of awards. Our younger members often qualify for the real thing - I'd like to see that happen much more.

I happen to like your "anecdata", both for the label and the truth behind it. Sometimes I get the same result when I say "nice sweater" to someone at work. :-)