I am confused. Lots of folks say you cannot build a deck and use tongue and groove joinery because of thermal expansion, rot, etc. Then there are all sorts of porches built with tongue and groove construction that are just as exposed as most decks. Several composite manufacturers sell tongue and groove versions of their plastic wood which expands much more than wood. Finally, ads in Fine Homebuilding show decks built with Ipe, Brazilian Cherry or Tigerwood that are clearly tongue and groove.
My question is this: If I live in a temperate area (Central California) and use a tough, stable hardwood (Brazilian Cherry), why not use tongue and groove construction on a deck? Has anyone tried it?