I really don't have that negative an image in my head of you. You're talented at what you do, but you don't do much in terms of functionality, and the way you style your articles constantly strikes me as sensationalist rather than logical. You go for things that are striking even when your selections don't enhance what you're writing, in other words.

Further, the way that you present yourself, both here and there, suggest to me that the things you write are neither sincere nor passionate, even when you design them to look like you care about them. I come from a writing background, and your writings strike me as dishonest. But that's the only dislike I have for you, and all the comments I posted were to that effect.

As I wrote in reply to somebody else in that thread: I was glad people were calling you out, not because I dislike you, but because in most threads talking about your stuff I felt that were I to interject by saying "Dustin's writings seem insincere", I'd come across as either needlessly negative or outright douchey, and it's something I'd have felt awkward emailing you about. So I like that I can say what's been on my mind for a while. But it's not like I hold a grudge: If you ever start writing earnestly, I'm sure I'll love to see what you have to say. Until then, I'll keep judging you by the insincerity you put out for me to read.

What do you mean by insincerity?

The way you write make me feel that you're writing more for the publicity your writing will get than you are because you have a personal itch to write. It feels very corporate. Your first few articles occasionally really interested me, but sometimes you'd write a shallow article and cover it up with a design, and your last half-dozen or so have seemed either empty or deliberately attempting controversy. I really liked your article on sleep, for instance, because the design fitted what you were saying, ones like your article on your brain were overwrought and made me feel that you didn't really find the subject interesting, you were just writing for page views and Twitter follows.

I have to think about how to better phrase it—that's just my top-of-the-head reaction—but I had the same feeling last night when we talked, like you cared more about the image I had of you than you did about what I had to say. We didn't have a conversation last night so much as we had a PR session, and that rubs me the wrong way.

Because this is more of a private conversation -- and because you've negatively referenced our previous interaction without context -- I've sent you an email.