...which is a criticism. "It doesn't excite me"

which is a dismissal. It adds nothing of value, provides no actionable task, doesn’t do anything beyond saying “I want something else” which is like “okay but that’s not within the realm of what this singular person can do so is irrelevant”

This is semantics. If I present something and the response is "meh" then that is important information to me.

Let people express themselves without policing it.

Attitudes like yours create echo chambers of sycophants. I personally hate an environment where the only feedback allowed is positive-to-neutral. Negative things, like dismissal that you seem to hate so much for some reason, are feedback too.

Welcome to the thunderdome.

You’re missing the point. Nobody is saying don’t critique it. Critique is constructive. Meh is dismissive

Be as brutally critical as needed but criticism should be something of value.

“Meh” is the equivalent to “neat”. It adds nothing, but unlike neat, it takes away pride.

Also if we’re taking the meta discussion, then you’re doing the same thing you’re saying not to do. People are just giving feedback , but unlike the original comment it’s constructive feedback.

I don’t get it. “Nice job”, “Meh”, and “This sucks.” are all dismissals, but they are also feedback, which is just as important as long form critique.

And I didn’t merely say “Meh”, I followed up with some more text and added a new dimension to the discussion.

Not to mention that Dang often tells people to not be dismissive. If you don't like it, click back and see something else. Or do something more important like prepare for standup.