I see your point. But we trade security for convenience 24/7/365. We could all have bulletproof glass in our homes, personal security cameras everywhere, backup generators, panic rooms, etc, but we don't, because it's not convenient (and I know the expense is primarily what makes it not convenient, but I think it's still a valid argument).

Providing access to Wikipedia over http to people in third world countries may be worth the risk of someone MITMing the site with propaganda.

The suggestion is only to give some users the option.

Mitm with propaganda is the least of the worries. Full on exploit code is.

The fact is as an ecosystem develops completely increases. Lifeforms in that ecosystem have to spend more time and effort protecting themselves from outside attacks as time progresses.

Unfortunately convenience usually does tradeoff against security. Thoughtful UX can deliver both, but it's rare to find in practice.

That casual dismissal of davidmurdoch's counterargument comes across tone-deaf to people stuck on crappy connections.

No, but it's a good idea to have the option, so long as people are aware of the implications.