An article comprised of a list is a kind of promise to the reader that you are not going to have a complicated or nuanced argument. It's a list. The items wil

An article comprised of a list is a kind of promise to the reader that you are not going to have a complicated or nuanced argument. It's a list. The items will be clearly delineated and will probably only superficially refer back to themselves. I think this is why these lists are popular. They are easy to read and easy to digest. I don't think there is anything wrong, per se, with a list. It has the advantages I point out. The problem comes where you have a complicated and nuanced topic and distill it to a list. Because you have simplified the argument, it is usually one sided and deficient. That's why it is usually trash. It doesn't have to be, though, IMHO. Some things lend themselves well to being expressed as a list (for example, a list of potential alternative solutions to a problem).