Is using "null" just a bad SQL coding habit? But other developers aren't so sure that null is required.

In using the NULL Object pattern, you would have to write less boiler plate code like checking for null values as shown in the code snippet given below.

Maybe one could shade perspectives, consider one approach as “positive” and the other as “negative.” More preferable might be a description of “direct-NULL” when using a NULL and an “indirect-NULL” ...