Isn't the problem elsewhere here? The fact that people are using an API whose entire purpose they don't understand? "I passed a flag without understanding at al

Isn't the problem elsewhere here? The fact that people are using an API whose entire purpose they don't understand? "I passed a flag without understanding at all what it's supposed to do" doesn't seem specific to atomics at all. This feels exactly like crossing an intersection without looking around despite noticing a sign saying "blind intersection", then being surprised when you get hit, then blaming it on the sign being "tricky" to reason about. There was nothing tricky about the logic... you just ignored it.