My comment comes from my experience as an electrical engineer:
- Putting electronics outside is bad engineering practice due to thermal effects and should be avoided as much as is technically possible. Maybe this is OK in Northern Germany, not so much in Southern Italy, Greece, or most of the US (NYC is at Madrid latitude, Washington DC is at tip of Southern Italy latitude)
- Ethernet cables are seldom rated for outdoor installation (UV protected and mechanical resistance) and should be careful considered for that application.
- Ethernet cables cannot be easily and properly protected against lightning. Electrical codes require grounding for antennas and a grounded surge arrester device (SPD) before entering the house. Gas-filled SPD are very common for coax cables.
The Ethernet STP shielding is just to drain interference EM fields, will not protect against an atmospheric discharge.
abcd567 even wrote a whole whitepaper on this subject: Lightning Protection Guide
But yeah… who cares? All it matters is that we should not hurt any feelings.