One thing I've sort of felt about modern web development for years now is how far we've deviated from core web design principles when they were created the decades ago.
Now, I understand that it's expected for things to evolve and change over time. I get that. What I'm talking about is how, for example, web app designers treat web sites like infinitely malleable canvases from which they can create their custom masterpieces on.
People might ask, well, what's the big deal about that? (cont.)
In the somewhat common scenario (especially when dealing with large groups of people who are stakeholders in a project), you'll get often contradictory and competing ideas for the design of a web site. Links are formatted one way one month, then the next month they have new links but they want them formatted differently.
So you might get one set of formatting guidelines this time, but no one refers to them in subsequent design iterations. People keep making things up as they go along. (cont.)
You also get design requirements that make no sense, just because it's possible to do it. "We want our dates formatted with slash separators on this table, but in the next table we want dots." Never mind that only one of these options are relevant in a clients locale, and don't get me started on the whole accessibility issue.
It's crazy.
So yeah. I do like the flexibility the modern web offers but it sure does open the door to a lot of bad decision-making on the design side of things.
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