Don't take anything off during flower, this causes stress which in turn hermies a plant or worst case kill your plant. And even in the last couple of weeks it is not wise to cause your plants any stress because they can still go Hermie and all effortwill go into making seeds rather than THC production. But you can bend leafs around and tuck them in so more light gets to the buds... And the reason some people take the piss is because it is considered a golden rule. And something you will learn very fast when reading and learning how to grow weed. But there is many times where some people do not research. And some consider it to be a insult/idiotic that someone even asked in the first place. Usually it is whose to search your question before asking. There is a lot of infomnation out there. So just have a long read up. And if you already have, then polish your skills..... And for everyone else we are here to help and guide people in the right direction, not terrorise them, or how will what we do be passed on, all most people need is a push in the right direction.. We all male mistakes. And mostly all of us it will involve not enough research...