>Is that reason enough to dismiss the idea?

Usually, no. But we're not dealing with "will my photo sharing startup succeed?"

>unless suicide is an area where you have more potential to cause harm than to do good

It's extremely difficult to give good advice to a suicidal person. Almost everything can be interpreted as negative. Your dealing with someone who is in a dangerous mind set. Even telling someone "it'll get better" can make it worse. This is why I stressed the importance of experience.

Some information: http://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideWatch/comments/1cep2h/psa_wha...