Your example about this hinge is nurturing behaviour. This is exactly what people should be doing- identifying issues and also at least suggesting they be fixed before proceeding if not offering a fix themselves.

There is more to your reputation than what sounds like a genuine growth mindset.

Maybe. I tend to focus on "blockers," and things that can go wrong, first. I suspect a lot of people want to be buttered up, before the problems are discussed (i.e. "That's a really great idea! Have you thought about how often the hinge is stressed?")

I'm a bit "spectrumish," so I sometimes miss the niceties.

The Japanese were not reticent about discussing problems. It was fairly brutal, but we made great stuff.