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Vague They

Making sweeping generalizations about an undefined "they" without clarifying who this group actually is.

"The funny thing is they all say one thing but do another."

"They never want to hear opposing viewpoints."

"They're always moving the goalposts."

"They claim to care about X but they ignore Y."

Why It's Unproductive​

Obscures the actual target of criticism, making it impossible to evaluate the claim or respond meaningfully. It's tempting because vague enemies feel like shared understanding, but it turns discussion into shadow-boxing with undefined groups. Often inflates fringe positions into representative beliefs or attacks scarecrows that don't exist in meaningful numbers.

The Better Move​

Name who you actually mean. Even a rough label like "most commenters in that thread" or "the top three browser vendors" forces you to check whether the claim holds up once the target is visible.

Why It's Better​

Specific targets make claims testable. Once the group is named, everyone can evaluate whether the characterization is fair instead of just vibing with the frustration.

Examples​

OP: "I'm tired of how politicians ignore climate science." Antipattern: "The funny thing is they all claim to follow the science but then they do nothing about it." Better: "Plenty of legislators say they accept the science. But voting records show only about 40% have backed concrete emissions policies, so the gap is real."

OP: "AI keeps getting better but the critics won't acknowledge it." Antipattern: "They never surrender. Always moving targets." Better: "Which critics? The 'LLMs will never write code' crowd has mostly gone quiet. The current skeptics are asking different questions about reliability."

OP: "Malls and airports are tracking people through their phones now." Antipattern: "They say it's for public safety but they obviously use it for marketing too." Better: "In the EU, building individual profiles without consent is illegal, but aggregate foot-traffic analytics are fair game. The question is whether anyone's actually enforcing the line."