I think whoever mentioned that the usual method of getting into fish keeping is to get a tank first then put a bunch of inappropriate fish in it hit the nail on the head.
I've worked vet clinics most of my life, and sadly poor education before acquiring a pet is the norm. Doesn't matter whether it's a dog, cat, horse, or an aquarium by and large people will go out and get started without understanding what they're getting into. People will buy a purebred chihuahua and be abhorred that they have to have dental cleanings done every 6 months. People will get 3 cats and then not understand why they have inappropriate elimination issues when they have 1 litter box between the 3 cats that they clean every 3 or 4 days. People by a 10 gallon aquarium and put a comet and a betta in it and find out the hard way it won't work.
Honestly, the overstocking thread and threads like it about cycling are very similar to questions that I spent most of my time answering as a vet technician about nutrition, proper care, and health of pets. For fish keepers, they don't have a vet and many stores that sell aquariums and equipment are equally uneducated or sadly in it just to make a buck. Where do they turn? To sources like this forum where people really care about their aquariums and are willing to take the time to help them get started the right way or to fix the myriad of issues that have come up from starting the wrong way.
On a side note, I ask stocking questions as a fairly new aquarist because to me it is one of the hardest questions to answer. For someone like yourself, T1, who has been keeping fish for many years with great success it is a easy question. For many of is its hard. Honestly just trying to answer your question, as I feel that it's an important one. Although as an experienced horse keeper I can tell you all the signs of founder to look for and a battery of first steps to treat it, I wouldn't expect someone new to the game to know. And everyone on here is volunteer, not getting compensated for the time they spend working with fish newbies. I personally am grateful for all the help and advice I've received as people have saved my butt from a lot of beginner mistakes.
So I agree for an experienced aquarist you may not need stocking advice, but for all us who are not as experienced it's truly helpful!