TIL:
https://tr.opensuse.org/Patterns#What_are_Patterns.3F
> Patterns include a list of software packages to install. (...) Patterns define a type of functionality the system should have. They do this by either directly naming required packages, by grouping of sub-patterns, or a combination thereof.
What do you find annoying about them in Thumbleweed?
I only tried Tumbleweed for a couple of days a few weeks back because I needed to switch distros, and this was the only thing that seemed a bit annoying. Other than that it seemed like a solid and friendly distro.
For example, if you update the pattern "gnome", it will by default reinstall cheese, even if you uninstalled it before.
Thankfully, they thought about this and there is a flag you can use (--no-recommends) to avoid reinstalling all recommended packages. It really is a minor annoyance, but I understand it could be annoying for new and inexperienced users.