This was in the US? As someone who didn't learn that rule, I've always found it very strange and, frankly, ugly.
From the article:
> There was just one space width available in the typewriter, so words and sentences were separated by the same distance. The double space was used to differentiate sentences and improve the readability of the text.
I would dispute this. Sentences are separated by a period as well as a single space character, and that's not the same distance as just a single space because the period doesn't have the same visual weight as a word character. A ". " still looks 'wider' than a " ", even if it technically isn't!
The extra space produced a visually "extra" pause.
Just as these blank lines produce an even greater separation. It's about emphasis, and it's going away (IMO) because it's a nicety, not an obligatory part of clarity and communication. Also, because early editing software wasn't complex enough to correctly distinguish between a sentence end and "Dr. Edward Jones". [EDIT: the gd HN editor removed my extra space!!!]
Especially since the previous two questions used head/tail. IMO, the wording would be better as "find all the lines" since that's what the command does.
I read on a 16” MacBook Pro. Size and display quality were not an issue.
I could have read it entirely with the aliased font, but it triggered me just enough for me to disable it (I’m doing web dev these days, so it took me ~5s; if it would have taken me more I would not have done it).
This has always frustrated me. You wouldn't go to a doctor, hear that you need an appendix removed, and feel "belittled and undermined"!
The 'problem' (it's a problem from my pov) is that clients simply think they know better when it comes to digital/computer/online stuff. They're used to browsing the web, so they think they know what a good website is. They know how to write a letter in MS Word, so they think they can write good web copy. Etc.
> You wouldn't go to a doctor, hear that you need an appendix removed, and feel "belittled and undermined"!
It happens more than you'd think, even in the HN comment section! Go to any thread where the topic is medical or diseases. Plenty of people distrust their doctor and advocate going to the doctor with your own crackpot theory you "researched" on WebMD. There's a huge anti-credential streak, even here. A lot of people see professional service providers of all kinds as "mere gatekeeping implementors of my own ideas" rather than experts in the field.
A lot of it is internal politics. As a consultant, you see the tip of the iceberg. There may be rational reasons for seemingly irrational decisions that you're not privy to. Your contact's boss wants it done some particular way, so your contact insists on doing it that way. Or your contact has recommended doing it some way internally, and they don't want to be made to look a fool by an outside consultant. Etc.
There’s a site that collects stories about experiences like this. It used to be called Clients From Hell, but got absorbed into a bigger site, called Not Always Right[0]. I suspect some of the stories are apocryphal, but it can be entertaining.
> This has always frustrated me. You wouldn't go to a doctor, hear that you need an appendix removed, and feel "belittled and undermined"!
Many people absolutely do. Hell, look at the number of people who refused to take a safe and effective vaccine during a pandemic!
> The 'problem' (it's a problem from my pov) is that clients simply think they know better when it comes to digital/computer/online stuff.
I must also say there is definitely a reasonable point to challenge your doctor. While they're an expert, they're still human. As a software engineer, I expect my non-expert colleagues to challenge me, and I've come up with better ideas as a result.
As a real-life example, I'm currently trying to get treatment for my Morton's neuroma (foot-nerve issue). The orthopaedic consultant wants to do a neurectomy but I want to investigate alternatives before taking the leap. Why? The alternatives, while they may not work, won't make things appreciable worse, whereas a neurectomy has a 3-6 month recovery if it goes well and can't really be undone if it goes wrong.
> I also don't get why a web-development consultant would feel so responsible for a pretty typical business decision by their client.
Because they are an expert in their field and the client, presumably, isn't? I can't imagine another field—hairdressing, construction, financial advice—where the client would reject the paid expert's viewpoint so readily and firmly.
Its bikeshedding - they can see it so they have an opinion on it. I think it happens in many fields where the output is visual - photography, advertising,.....
There is also a general feeling that websites are primarily about design (rather than development) and that the design is aesthetic (rather than UI).
> I can't imagine another field—hairdressing, construction, financial advice
For financial advice, maybe not as readily, but it definitely happens pretty firmly. Lots of people have lost money taking risks they have been warned about. A lot during booms because of FOMO, and a lot because people do not even take advice in the first place.
But honestly, they are more likely to NOT be experts in the business of the client. They are experts on tech, their own business and aesthetic.
People come to hairdressers with own ideas about how their hair should look like and reject hairdressers advice. In fact, hairdressers are not even trying to give you advice unless you explicitly ask for it. They sometimes makes mild suggestions and offers, but that is it.
Frankly, financial advisors are more likely to give advice designed to max out their bonuses rather then one good for you. You probably should firmly reject that financial product or flat tire insurance.
What is the purpose of a website for a business? There is only one correct answer to that question, and if you get it right then you can make great websites for any business. This is also a question you as a webmaster have to ask your business clients and explain to them if they have the wrong idea.
The expertise offered here is "how to build a website". If the client is insisting that the dev use a specific javascript library, that would be odd.
The client here is just requesting specific content on their website, similar to someone requesting a granite countertop in their kitchen; that seems fine, even if its not particularly classy or aesthetically pleasing to the contractor.
Do we know that for a fact? You described them as a "web development consultant", but I couldn't tell for certain what their exact role on this project was. Their services page (https://www.nicchan.me/services/) lists both "Web Application front-ends" and "translate your designs into a scalable system", so I think they offer a range.
Both of those sound like expertise in building a website, and not like expertise in business strategy.
To be clear, I would personally have a similar view to the author here. I'm just surprised that they think their opinion on the strategy side matters so much to their client!
It's more similar to someone asking for a cardboard countertop - any contractor would be well within their rights to tell them it's a bad idea and would be negligent if they didn't.
From the article:
> There was just one space width available in the typewriter, so words and sentences were separated by the same distance. The double space was used to differentiate sentences and improve the readability of the text.
I would dispute this. Sentences are separated by a period as well as a single space character, and that's not the same distance as just a single space because the period doesn't have the same visual weight as a word character. A ". " still looks 'wider' than a " ", even if it technically isn't!
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