You have also used a catch-all, but yours was personal and rude. The rest of your point is useful…just please remember that there are real people typing words into this app.

To respond to your point,

(1) is it a PITA because it’s hard to see something in the periphery or for some other reason? (2) Is there an example of a web app that you’ve noticed provides feedback very well? (3) would you consider a toast acceptable when the UX designer doesn’t consider the information critical? As in…the user can safely assume their action was accomplished but a little feedback is a nice sugar.

> bad at UX design using the “pro app” catch-all to justify all sorts of bad decisions

No, pro apps actually have completely different UX requirements.

In a pro app, the UX requirement is to be able to perform actions QUICKLY and RELIABLY, meaning it works the same way every time with a minimal number of steps.

This leads to "cluttered" interfaces with lots of information, because this way actions can be performed quickly AND results/data are always in the same place so it's reliable. Take an IDE with multiple panels with output going in/out. Quick to see what you need to, everything is sectioned off so you know right where to look, and everything is one or two clicks away.

However, casual apps have almost opposite requirements! They need to be non-intimating and simple. Simple is at odds with quick to use IF the use case is complex. Simple and quick to use can ONLY coexist in a scenario that is simple in it of itself, i.e. not a pro app but a simple app.