Great thread, oldie but goodie because of its thoughtful discussion of several topics.
Handling, fetishism, novelty , thoughtful comments and pure riding, with several great lines summing things up well.

One of my surgery professors once said, "Whenever you see more than one approach to a problem, it means that nothing in particular is working very well."
The standard diamond frame bike hasn't been around for 130 years because of the soul crushing war on inspiration creativity and diversity.
That said ,
at what point does the addition of more than vestigial suspension push a 16"bike back towards 20"weight fold and handling?
And does suspension add only to very specific task customization?
There are some streets I dread on the 16"s, but that's why I have other bikes, and take other roads.