I expected the odd stupid and smart @ss reply just not so quickly !.

The fact is that in a high workload situation the more information that you have on the directional orientation of an aircraft the quicker you can act.

Slingsby just how much quicker could you assess the speed, range and direction of an aircraft with a large lump of tail illuminated and nav lights vs three little spots of light ?.

Slingsby, funny how info can be twisted. The KAL aircraft had all its lights OFF (including nav lights, anti coll and logo) and the cabin crew are accustomed to closing all the window shades during cruise, so even the light from the cabin was blocked.
Meanwhile the USAF had a spy flight in the vicinity that was being tracked by Russian radar and they confused the two airplanes. If they had been able to visually identify the KAL airplane maybe they would not have pulled the trigger.

Well provided your'e not trying to keep a low profile for security reasons, i think tail lighting should be kept on in all phases of flight.it really helps in identifying traffic.in fact it can be most necessary when on the taxi.