Well, I didn't say tears 'weren't' bad..I was implying that it depends on the situation. Tears 'could' be bad, for sure...but it depends ..which is the point I was trying to make and I think is a very important distinction in communication regarding comic book grading. 'Tears are bad' just doesn't convey useful information..although, your follow up response is much more useful. Lots of things can drop a grade from 9.2 to 9.0 or 9.0 to 8.5 or 8.0 to 7.5 ..so, IDK how much a quarter inch tear really effects the grading...it's definitely not spelled out anywhere. Seems to be more of a personal choice for people and a proprietary decision for CGC (meaning, they don't want to tell us how it effects the grading)