I certainly agree with this that it is inconsistency. With a straight up notation handbook and agreed upon "language" I would have been happy to get over the hump once, maybe twice, but when I spend 15 minutes re-assuring yourself that the notation in this proof/formula/paper is just a variation of another equivalent notation, it makes me irritated and that interferes with my appreciation of the concepts being presented. Do it enough and I just throw the paper out.