The problem can also be in people's heads: for years I've tried to write "clean" code, but since then I've noticed that at times my coworkers who don't have a c

The problem can also be in people's heads: for years I've tried to write "clean" code, but since then I've noticed that at times my coworkers who don't have a clue would do their jobs faster than me. In some situations "ugly" is OK. So the conclusion is that "good" and "ugly" aren't precise concepts and depend on the context. As such I think they should better be avoided.