The first point to be kept in mind is the preservation and maintenance as exactly as possible of the natural scenery; the restriction, that is to say within the narrowest limits consistent with the necessary accommodation of visitors, of all artificial constructions markedly inharmonious with the scenery or which would unnecessarily obscure, distort, or distract from the dignity of the scenery... in permitting the sacrifice of anything that would be of the slightest value to future visitors to the convenience, bad taste, playfulness, carelessness, or wanton destructiveness of present visitors, we probably yield in each case the interest of uncounted millions to the selfishness of a few individuals.

my "best style" basically leaves open the possibility that, having failed at a first ascent attempt, that other first ascent attempts are possible

if you could do the route without Red Pointing, wouldn't it be better?

I disagree,
and I think you are arguing from a position of anticipating being judged for FAs you've done...

that isn't my intention, however, defining "best style" doesn't have to include any "law" regarding adherence to that style... I'm not advocating that....

you could then ask, legitimately, what is the purpose of defining a "best style" if not to beat everyone into submission... but there is where we discuss why we use "less then best style"

Vitaliy M. gave a description of a climb that fits all of our ideals of a first ascent, it is done in "the best style"

you disagree?

if you could do the route without Red Pointing, wouldn't it be better?

Dingus, I accept that you might have many reasons for doing a route in a particular style, but I maintain that we know what the "best style" is, and even though we might not choose this style, it remains a fixed point.

There may be many legitimate reasons, tradeoffs, but the idea of the "best style" remains the best style in all our feelings.

...in permitting the sacrifice of anything that would be of the slightest value to future visitors to the convenience, bad taste, playfulness, carelessness, or wanton destructiveness of present visitors, we probably yield in each case the interest of uncounted millions to the selfishness of a few individuals.

For me, "best" and "style" just can't reasonably go together, no matter how badly we'd like them to. Whether it's climbing, fashion, or surfing.
Just too subjective.

But since we're talking climbing, I'd agree with you Ed if "best" was replaced with "lowest impact" and "style" with "method".

For me lowest impact is preferable.

Ed, I don't envy you for starting this discussion!!!

Edit
The "style" of FA is the least of my worries right now...
I've got nanometers to worry about! And where the last few bolts should go, hand drilled on rap, of course!

When did many belays get fixed in mostly tradtional area? At Devils Tower and many other "trad araes" belays are fixed on crack routes

did you object to the rap route down Royal Arches?

I was speaking to the lack of wilderness and environmental ethics that we as a group tend to have. I still stand on the idea that chalk, tape wads, rap sling nests, bolt stations on long climbs where natural anchors are available, bolting routes that could be top roped, packing another bolt line between all the others, and bolting next to lines that take natural gear is lousy outdoor ethics. We could stand to clean our house.

Style is a different thing altogether. That other stuff about my personal preference to gear just lines up with my preference for single speed bikes, long bows, open oar locks when rafting, hand tools, and generally choosing the simpler technology. I just feel more connected. Just a personal preference. That doesn't mean I'm taking hexes to Indian Creek!

I find inspiration too when I limit my tools to expand my experience. It also inspires when I see others do it. I innately respect their artful and internal pursuit of climbing. Think Jim Erickson not returning to a climb he'd fallen on, Henry Barber pulling the ropes between attempts on a pitch, or the high and, hopefully, internally driven art of free soloing. It's cool when people raise the bar and inspires me even when the bar is too high for me cause it gets me to raise my personal bar.

In hunting, the tools you use will show how skilled a hunter you are. Use a long range rifle with a high powered scope may bag you a buck, but if you're good you can do it with a muzzle loader. If you're really good, you can do it with a compound bow. if youre better, you can do it with a longbow, and if you're really a badass you can jump out of a tree with a Bowie knife and get it done.

Having less technology between us and the experience forces us to be more skilled, more trained, and more conscious. So much of what we do in climbing has become just another consumer culture sport where all that matters is who has the bigger.....numbers. It doesn't matter how hard you climb. It matters what you experience and who you become from doing it, IMHO. If you do a given climb racked to the nines with all the modern gizmos and chalked to the elbows, that's cool. If you do the same climb in a two inch swami and a rack of old hexes sans chalk, that's really cool.