...a 5 watt rig into a 6 over 6 over 6 on a huge tower on 20 meters is HARDLY QRP even though the rules say so...
(my bold)
Rules? What rules? Certainly nothing in Part 97.
If you are entering a contest or making contacts for an award, then,
yes, you follow the rules that are set for that activity. And if the
sponsor wants to write the rules in terms of ERP, that is their choice.
Otherwise, you can do whatever you want. It really doesn't matter
if you call it QRP or QRPP. The first time I entered an ARRL contest,
100 watts was in the QRP category.
And for hams who regularly run at (or above) the legal limit, they
might still consider it QRP, because, for them, it is.
The Q-signal, after all, simply translates to "reduce power".
If I want to turn my rig up from 5 watts to 6 or 10 watts, and I'm
not participating in an activity with specific rules otherwise, then
that isn't a problem. Or I can turn it down to 2 watts - who cares?
There are no
rules that apply.
(My older rigs couldn't run more than about 3W anyway.)
Personally, one of the things that I find satisfying about running
low power is that it emphasizes antenna effectiveness. I see
hams talking about what a wonderful antenna some mediocre
product is because they made a contact with it running 100W,
when I've done as well with 3 watts to a dipole. As it is, I think
too many hams assume that the answer to their problems is to
run more power, when the real solution is to improve their
antenna. (Especially with all the carp and other fishy products
that have become more common as marketing takes precedence
over technical competence.)
In the end, we each make of ham radio whatever we want to.
Better antennas will improve performance at whatever power
level we choose to use. Each of us gets to choose whether we
will enjoy the hobby (and life) more if we improve our antennas,
increase power, or just take it as a challenge to do the best we can
with what we have. There are no rules for that, beyond the limits
set in Part 97.