Maybe in this case it’s a way to avoid too harsh criticism. It’s like, “hey, if I’m missing something I don’t have a degree so don’t take this as an authoritative piece”.
If it serves like a content warning then sure but it's dubious, a lot of outright junk appears here without anything like that-- that's what discussion threads are for:)
and about avoiding negative feedback, well I'm 36 and I don't have a degree... What can I do to avoid harsh criticism? I clearly can't use my age right? (right now I try to ignore it if it's not constructive or try to not become depressed and use it if it is, but overall I don't think this industry is so harsh criticism wise)
A lovely piece of advice I came across from Larry King in his book How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere:
If you're about to give a public speech and you don't have much experience (and are thus anxious), come out and state as the first thing (something like) "Hey, I don't talk publicly and this is scary, but I'll try my best".
This immediately can make you less anxious as any mistakes you make can be understood (rather than criticized) by the audience.
When commenting outside my area of expertise I often mention my lack of qualifications so as to invite gentle corrections to my mistakes (and to make others not assume I speak from great knowledge).
