Which actually seems pretty reasonable assuming a median somewhere around the middle. That's +/- ~$60K which is a fair bit of money but seems like rational range for a given role.

I have a different reaction as I find this information useful. The lower range tells me if it's even within what I'm targeting. And if I get to an offer stage and I'm at the lower end of the spectrum, I would want to know why.

It does at least save you from the "senior devops engineer with 15 years experience" roles that get you all the way through the interview before dropping "and the salary is $50k".

150 k$/yr is roughly dividing line to the top quartile of software developer pay.

150 - 275 k$ definitely does not encompass 75% of software jobs in the USA

Is that happening in practice? When I see listings, they're usually in a range of $30k or so. Still a huge range, but sort of in the ballpark, and often enough to know I don't want to read any further because the range is too low.

sounds good to me unless you make 250k and are looking for a 20% pay boost. Someone making 100-130k sees a good minimum, someone 150-200k sees potential for salary and likely ends up negotiating. Someone making 300k wouldn't bother unless they are very sure they can negotiate higher (or are fine taking a pay cut for non-salary benefits).

I think the point here is more that the floor is still a very reasonable salary to live on. Not necessarily for every engineer, but I would not pity someone struggling to live on 150k without dire circumstances.