Originally Posted by
Matariki
Subjectively based on their frame of reference, these wheel builders may believe this; however there are so many factors that affect wheel durability that this universal "knowledge" is suspect. Number of spokes, strength of rim, and proper spoke tension are more important than whether they're butted or not.
If I say that this proves that straight is better than butted, should folks believe me?
You're showing your bias in believing that even tension trumps all, and there's no reason to believe this either. There's a long term consensu world wide, based on both practical experience, and theoretical analysis, that butted spokes build more durable (long lived before spoke failure) wheels. This is tough to refute, but folks will blieve what they will.
There's also no debate, except among non-experts, that butted spokes have better strength for a given weight (or are lighter for the same strength) than their plain gauge counterparts. The calculus changes somewhat with straight pull spokes, but comparing apples to apples, there's no debate among experts about the superiority of butted spokes.
Of course, as you say, other factors come into play, but that's true of everything in life, and those factors don't negate the benefits of DB spokes properly selected for the needs of the wheel.
I don't sell spokes (any more) and have no interest in twisting anybody's arm, and many will do fine with plain gauge spokes. But if you do have spoke breakage issues, one of the best things you can do to address them is to switch to DB spokes.