I was posting while you were responding to Derrel, therefore I didn't see your acknowledgements. My post was also directed more towards all the newbies, and, yes, a bit towards you as well.
There is a place, time and effective way to use space. The most common misuse of space you see on this, and other fora, is putting a subject on left/right side of frame, looking in that direction, but the space is on the opposite side. This makes for a pic that looks claustrophobic as the visual "feel" is that the person is crammed up against the side of the frame. The effective way of doing this is to have the empty space where the subject is looking/facing (sometimes referred to as "looking space"). Sometimes empty space is just that. It actually detracts from the pic because of the visual sense of being off balance. So you're correct in saying using space isn't an objective mistake, but the way it's (mis)used often is.
As far as minimizing your comments, certainly not my intent. Once you've been here for a while, and hopefully you will be, you'll see time and again newbs saying the exact same things that I referenced. They know their pics are perfect because they are exactly what they intended. I call shenanigans. Again, artistic conventions are in place for a reason; they work. And they work because they are based on the way the human eye/brain connection works. Without understanding how things work, it's impossible to consistantly break rules in a way that makes for a good shot.
The best I can do is keep learning and keep practicing.
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