I am not sure what you mean by "flipping burgers," as in a 30 year career, and I am sure 411A would agree, my job, his (and most of my compatriots) has to been to apply the highest professional standards at all material times such that the trust placed in us by our employers and our regulators towards everyone and everything in our charge, satisfies the highest expectations.
What I mean and please do not think I am questioning your integrity or probity, is that the world has changed a lot in the past 30 years.
Institutions that were once trusted are no longer trusted and people are generally more inquisitive and feel entitled (one may disagree, but it does not change their feeling) to know more and be involved more.
My flippant comment was really saying that this is the new reality and as a professional, one has to consider the reaction of the great unwashed and manage it, or one may become an ex professional.
This non event is a typical example and my questions to you easily lead you into the trap of looking defensive and secretive; I know full well what a plug type door is, but my question about the failure mode was not unreasonable and the DC10 incident will be remembered by many.
I respectfully diasagree with Flying Lawyer's comment, because the act of cramming everybody into a small area is unusual and people typically fly enough to understand this.
So information is required, although the words 'jammed' or 'broken' would not feature in my vocabulary as they would quite reaonably alarm someone with no understanding of a deferred defect or MEL.
The airline industry is generally awful at managing its customers in my opinion and it needs to get better quickly.
Blaming gate agents is really pathetic, since someone at management level with the necessay gumption should be drafting the message.