I hate the name, that's for sure.

It depends.

I think a good hero image enhances the story/content in some way otherwise it's superfluous and sometimes annoying.

I view them in a similar light to book covers. Whilst you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, a good book cover matches the tone of the content which follows.

They aren't always relevant (think DN) & don't contribute to the website's offering, but they help to grab attention and set the tone – most of the time.

Hate. They take up valuable real estate and virtually serve no purpose in regards to content. First thing you do is scroll past it to the actual content. That being said, everyone wants one.

As with every other tool in the arsenal of a good designer, the hero area needs to be used in the right place, at the right time.

They can be useful to set a tone, identify yourself, or entice the user to commit to reading more.

Again, it's a tool, and tools are not inherently good or evil.

I think they're great if they're done right. There's something nice about loading a page without immediately having to scan through a ton of content. It's a nice visual 'breather' before scrolling down to read. But you should use that space to tell your story.

They work great when you need to set the stage for something meaty, but used without any real need and they just become design nonsense and detract from the overall purpose of a page. Not everything needs a grand entrance, but some pages definitely make sense.

If you consider the intent of the page, then I think you can know when to use them. If users will be visiting frequently and looking to complete a specific task such as an e-comm site, it really makes no sense to include such a dominant element that just gets in the way of what the user wants to do.

Articles or portfolio sites, however, where people will likely only visit once and the visuals can stand to be quite strong in order to leave a lasting impression, then I think a nice hero serves the purpose quite well.

A lot of hero areas are filled with mission statements or propositions that mean nothing and give no clear indication of what is offered.

Done right, you immediately know what's what and sets the tone for everything else.

Like everything, it's context.

It all depends on the use of image. There is no strict ruling whether to use it or not. It is a concept and will work well when used smartly. The following website uses it smartly.

http://www.synergy-it.pk

Design is contextual and has a story behind it. To use strong words on a single element from the outside of some design is not very useful. It depends on the context of the content, message, and expression as to whether something is right or wrong for a certain situation.

Anybody who is categorically for or against a certain tool in their designer toolkit, is probably not the most awesome designer.

Edit: Hadn't seen that Dirk van Boxtel had touched on this already, I agree entirely.