You can't have a 'forgiving conversation' at a tournament if you're attempting to argue with someone who believes playing by RAW is the only way to play the game. At that point all you can do is have a TO step in and make a ruling, and it's 50/50 whether they go by RAW or presumed intent at that point. They'd certainly be well within their rights to say 'well, that's what the rule says, and while it's definitely fucking stupid, we gotta play by the rules, so too bad'.

Reasonable and agreed upon assumptions is perfectly fine if you have a regular playgroup, because you know everyone is on the same page. It's a little be less feasible at a tournament where you could be playing people who didn't have playgroups that operated under those assumptions.