There are patterns and then there are patterns that
have been written.  See also PatternsVsDescriptions.
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There are many forms for writing patterns that work.  I've
heard concerns from several people that the motivational part of
patterns, the context and forces, are being neglected in
many written patterns.  In the DesignPatterns book, I find it rather
hard to pick a general solution out of a pattern.  I don't
find the "structure" diagram in the book, or the object
models in Coad's book, sufficient to ''get'' the pattern.
This is a counterpoint to the more commonly stated view,
that every pattern ''must'' have a picture, some picture.
Personally, I try to capture all the elements of a good
pattern into a conversational style with no obvious formal
structure.  That way, people who aren't familiar with the
trappings of patterns aren't intimidated, and will be able
to understand my patterns without being indoctrinated into
"the patterns movement."  --n00b