I try real hard on forums I participate in, to not mis-inform anyone. Certainly I do not do so intentionally, and should I ever suggest that someone do something that is in violation of a code, regulation, rule or commonly accepted practice, I will clearly state so, leaving the reader to decide for themselves if that might be what they want to do.
Personally, I think that there are circumstances and situations under which double tapping of a breaker should be allowed (both wires being identical in diameter) but I also see why it is simply not allowed (an exception being the Square D Homeline breakers designed for two wires) and I merely point out the code requirements so the reader will not be mis lead or mis informed.
Code Zealot, no, I don't think so. I work in a business where many lives are at stake every day, should I do something wrong, and I have to sign for every little step of everything I do (airline aircraft maintenance). Just like in the electrical business, there are short cuts, which a knowledgeable person can apply to make the job precede, but it becomes a "do as I say, not as I do" situation, where I cannot suggest or recommend the shortcuts because there are too many variables. Do I do this? possibly, on occasion. A task might tell me to install hinge bolts 3, 5 and 7 first and then go back and install the others. I know the reason for this is that some engineer dreamed this up as a way to do the task, while the end product, all the bolts installed, comes out the same............. well, you get the picture. Try doing something exactly like the car manufacturers factory manuals tell you to some time..... then you will know what I am talking about. In the industry, we refer to this as Tribal Knowledge, and no one in the business of regulating a safety related industry likes to hear this. Only in black and white, follow the manuals, and the rules are allowed. If you did that, nothing, in any industry, would get done on time and within any kind of reasonable cost. Your airline ticket would cost many times what it does now, your electricity would cost more, every product you have or touch would cost much more, you would not be able to afford your house..............
Rules, procedures, and codes, follow them unless you have some darn good reason not to. Mark is correct, how many people get shocked, how many buildings burn down, long after something is done wrong, we'll never know, but it does happen, and it shouldn't. The NEC is unique in the fact that is is written by groups of people who work in the industry, and from suggestions and input from many others who work in the industry. In many industries and fields, the rules, regulations, and procedures, are written by someone in a cubicle, who has no ability to perform the task at hand, or understand what is really needed to actually do the work, they dream up something, write it down, and pass it down to the peons who actually have to do the work. That is why the NEC works so well and has for so long, is that it is the result of input from the working stiffs.
Charles