I think it's just that what you wrote is the difference between good writer and great writer. > the line between writing in a colloquial, sarcastic, dry, opin

I think it's just that what you wrote is the difference between good writer and great writer. > the line between writing in a colloquial, sarcastic, dry, opinionated, florid, or satirical style; and being arrogant; If the point they're making is clear, the prose is informative, entertaining and never boring, being smug is a writing style like any other, people will like it. If the writing is annoying, people will criticize the smugness, when in reality that just means they didn't like it. It's also possible that the success of sarcastic, satirical styles drew a lot of people to these styles, and not all of them are successful in using these styles.