I don't know, I really hate all the vapid congratulations and "oh, that's great" and whatnot I get from friends, usually the older more polite ones. That seems to be the world this person wants.
These things do not tell me what's broken, what to work on next, etc.. There's a possibility they aren't just being nice and thing x they complimented is good and then in the big clue game of life I can search for something else to work on. Even then it isn't as good, though. Telling me about something that is broken results in no search, just me having to decide if it is worth the hours to fix/improve it.
I'm not thinking of flattery at all. I'm thinking of people too polite to say what they really think, and so what they do say is useless. He goes on and on about how hard it is to be critical and kind at the same time, the truth is, most people will just take the shortcut and just be kind. They are cutting things out and inserting meaningless pleasantries, not adding false compliments to get something.
Ok, and why do you think they are inserting meaningless pleasantries? Because they want something in return, even if it's more meaningless pleasantries. :)
These things do not tell me what's broken, what to work on next, etc.. There's a possibility they aren't just being nice and thing x they complimented is good and then in the big clue game of life I can search for something else to work on. Even then it isn't as good, though. Telling me about something that is broken results in no search, just me having to decide if it is worth the hours to fix/improve it.