The reason we clash is because you keep presenting SP as the very best option, period.

As with development language choices, data access choices are circumstantial and sophisticated developers can use a combination to best effect. Only the least sophisticated will insist that one and only one option is correct all the time. In this particular case, with 75% of her customers refusing external access to the database and the developer providing all support herself, SP would seem a particularly troublesome choice as she herself noted. She is not in a position to debate with the customers on this point. On the other hand, you have previously cited examples of customers who only allow SP access to data; to use anything else would be exceedingly foolish in that case. These examples simply prove that flexibility and a good understanding of one's customers is in order.

I can understand why you prefer to shoehorn me into an anti-SP position because I cannot agree that SP is always right... but writings in the wiki and elsewhere make that an impossible task for you. Join me in advocating appropriate choices depending on circumstances, and we'll have nothing to disagree about.