Quote - let's define 'distance' first. Between origins, between center of mass, between "heart of the matter" (whatever that is), is it the closest distance between the outsides of objects, and do we have to take displacement maps into account?

Allowing me to click on 2 points and displaying the distance between them would be a good start.

Quote - Poser is an artists tool. Painters don't measure, tailors do. So, what do we need it for, in the first place?

It started as an astists tool, then it morphed into a tool capable of creating realistic worlds populated by realistic figures and realistic props, alas, with eyeballed scale and proportions. It's time it had a proper measuring tool.

Painters don't measure? Maybe for abstract seascapes that's true, but most painters have at some stage used a thumb on a brush-handle with arm outstretched. Ever tried to set up a three point architectural perspective without the ability to measure? If you want to get proportions right, measuring is a no brainer.