BBQ is supposed to be fun. Community. Gathering around a pit with a beer and eating good food. Somewhere along the way it turned into a competition over who has the most opinions about bark, smoke rings, and post oak.
I smoked a brisket last weekend. My neighbor came over, took one bite, and gave me a 10-minute lecture about my temp being too high and my wrap being too early. Bro it's a backyard cookout not a pitmaster competition.
Not every brisket needs to be competition-grade. Sometimes it's just meat and fire and a good time. Let people enjoy things.
The smoke ring discourse is out of control. It doesn't even affect flavor. It's just a visual marker. Relax.