Correct, and that (intentional) misunderstanding was part of the point. I had a 6th grade teacher who struggled with the idea that multiplying two negative numbers produces a positive number. I imagine someone like her asking a question based on their misunderstanding. They'll get a corrective answer that may not help them much. I'll show them how to improve their question and I hope the response will be enlightening and informative.

The response to my second question included a link to an article that suggests all numbers (including natural and whole numbers) are in fact human constructs and may be considered imaginary. That is an enlightening insight that would help us both stop thinking of the words "negative" and "imaginary" as perfectly well defined in our heads. Those words are just tools that can help us convey the most appropriate meaning for the context.

Without the link to the article, that hypothetical conversation probably would not have worked out as well.