Jaxon;
Interestingly I went back to some familiar operations manuals to find out what they had to say regarding really cold wing surfaces and... The freedom to depart with no de- or anti-icing is written there. The words are pretty specific but the notion I expressed above does have an official qualifier - that if the wing surfaces are super cold and the precip is falling in super-cold temperatures, notwithstanding the warm-fuel argument, the Captain has the freedom and authority to decide to depart, (which the ground lead can override if s/he chooses).
Now I have seen such circumstances in practical ops and I can tell you from this experience that after Air Florida, (a long time ago now), we in Canada anyway, always de-iced. "It'll blow off" was last heard more than twenty years ago, so practically-speaking, the provision is not used. What it does do for air and ground crews is provide the option where in the judgement of all involved, it is safe to depart under such circumstances. That's one ops manual for one operator as approved by the regulator. Likely the regs provide similar freedom but in a very careful and specific manner.
Good thread, in my view - those who roast others without all the facts just want their name in lights perhaps, while those who know are either simply heads-down quietly doing the daily work or can't be bothered arguing with MSFSim's. (BTW, I dislike the abbreviation, "SLF" because it is really dis-respectful to those who pay our salaries. If someone is a passenger, just say so). Like the medical and legal professions (which do not to my knowledge share the complete, utter openess with which professional airline crews have chosen to discuss their views here), there is always great controversy in the details of how something should or should not be accomplished. I expressed my views clearly and remain supportive of the original intervention, hopefully which will have been a good discussion and perhaps even lesson for fellow aviators. The rest should be left to history.