Yea, I'd agree. Often 'would' is avoided when discussing past habits, and instead, the simple past is used with an adverb like 'always' or 'often.'If that were the intent, the author would (or should) have written it in a different way, even if it were simply by the addition of "often."Do you agree? It just seems too random for it to be expressing a past habit...
By the way, should'nt it be 'if that had been the intent,' Sap? (Or perhaps this is yet another exception to the standard forumlae, since the intent is still present)