'As a result, appeals to "preserving distinctions" that are "important for communication" and to "avoiding ambiguity" are baseless and indefensible in this case.'
"no matter which form you use, people will understand what you are trying to say."
That is simply not true. Case in point: when I saw the title "The language I wish go was" I expected to find an article about google cancelling the go language.
I'm not a native English speaker, but I do think my English is pretty good. Care to explain why the plain past form made you expect that?
In any case, an article titled "Go language cancelled" would have shown up much before anything else. That's what's generally meant by "context".