X considered harmful is one of computing's oldest memes, 44 years old this month, and was well sort of co-created by two of its foremost computer scientists. (Dijkstra and Wirth)
Yep, that's probably the worst thing about the meme. Because the original was so famous, all others piggy back on it, giving their own arguments some amount of weight.
(off-topic, but goto statements being harmful has been debunked several times over).
Why? When I see "considered harmful" in a title, I know pretty much what kind of article to expect. I think it's a useful shorthand, and that its origins, and the whimsical attitude associated with it, are irrelevant. What alternative title would you suggest for this article?
"Why the merits of REST are overstated"
"Considered harmful" is a flippant way to dismiss detractors.
Especially here where it's cheap linkbait for an article whose actual claim seems to be “Gee, REST is hard to get right sometimes”. Not that I like the inflamed rhetoric of an actual “considered harmful” call to arms, either.