'Best practice' is widely used and accepted as describing the optimal solution. However I believe this term can often mislead us more than guide us. It's too heavy-handed and absolute, and can lead to blind adoption of practices that may not be the best fit for our problems.

I'd prefer the term 'common practices' to be used instead, as it more accurately describes the nature of the term. I believe 'best practices' should be used when we're unsure of how to approach a problem, but the ultimate goal should be to apply our critical thinking skills and find the optimal solution.