Airbus340FO,
Despite what Airbus engineers might say, who wants to dump fuel in a lightning zone? Some things just aren't right! It's Darwinistic.
I remember the old DC-8 allowed thrust reverser deployment in flight. I saw it on my initial IOE but never used it, and when I became a captain, wouldn't allow it to be used, despite the lack of other drag alternatives as the 8 had no in-flight spoilers and a 230 KIAS gear and flaps limit. If God wanted me to use reversers in flight, He wouldn't have written a memory item in case they didn't retract!
As for fuel dumping, I want to be 5,000 feet above the ground, overwater, or have no option, i.e. the aircraft is going down if I don't dump. I'm not worried at all about other aircraft, although if I were a receiver in pre-contact position on a tanker, different rules would apply, of course.