Dear DN, and design community at large,

We've grown as a community, coming together as like-minded individuals to discuss the craft we all hold so dear. It's a beautiful thing when people who share a passion elevate their knowledge and skills by combining their powers like Planeteers.

However, there's this gag-reflex, generally following an overdose of trend X, where people feel the need to very publicly rip a tool/pattern to pieces. "Research" gets done ("my grandpa couldn't figure out how it works!") and opinions are polled ("none of my colleagues liked the idea!") and posted online in an attempt to make others see how wrong they are for using said techniques. Bonus points if you go out of your way to find examples in the wild.

Don't get me wrong, you can write an opinion piece. By all means, opinions are a great thing. But if you state your opinion as a fact, you risk coming off as an arrogant twat or a short-sighted ... erm... well a short-sighted arrogant twat, I guess.

There's no need to tell people something is a giant unusable piece of garbage. You do that, and you're making yourself (or your brand) look like a douche. Instead, try telling your audience that you're writing an opinion. Try not writing in absolutes. Or give your facts some context.

Saying "this sucks" requires proper prefacing or a well written follow-up, or you'll risk losing your audience.

So, here's my advice: next time you think "OMG THIS PATTERN IS ANNOYING THE SHITS OUTTA ME" or "FFS THIS TOOL SUCKS" take 10 seconds to think of a situation or case where it could be applied. You know, before you tell everyone and their mother that nobody should ever come near it.

Failing that, go get some coffee, and try again.

Have an awesome day.