Searching for more about "Operating Swiming Pools at High PH"...

[PoolDoc]

Your posts has made clear a couple of changes I need to make, on that page, to emphasize or clarify things you are overlooking.

#1 - I didn't make it explicit, but the high end of that range that I've worked with is 8.2, not higher.
#2 - At that time, I was using a color block that allowed measurement to 8.2. The Taylor (and most other blocks I've seen) only got to 7.8. You can only go as high as you can measure -- when you try to go higher than that, you have to remember that your readings above, say, 7.8 do not actually mean 7.8 -- they could be 8.0 or 8.5.
#3 - The most important take-away from that page is NOT "run at high pH", but rather "don't fight your pool if you don't have to do so!" THAT idea is a fundamental element of the BBB Method: if your pool 'wants' to be at 8.1, and you can adjust, do so. But, if your pool 'wants' to be at 7.2, then adjust to that!

It's still too complex to sum up here, but Chem_Geek has laid out enough analysis to offer a reasonable basis for understanding why some pools 'want' to be at one level and other pools 'want' to be at another. When I wrote that page, I knew that different pools 'wanted' different levels . . . and that they were MUCH easier to operate if you let them 'be' at that level, but I didn't know why.