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Ask HN: Why do we (tend to) obsess about syntax but dismiss writing well?

by dvrp on 4/11/25, 4:30 AM with 2 comments

I feel that we bikeshed variable names but then tend to send the most noisy Slack/Email/whatever messages. Yet, there’s so much discussion around naming, but not so much around information transmission.

  • by almosthere on 4/11/25, 5:16 AM

    Not entirely sure what you're referring to, but if you're referring to sending transactional emails, the software engineer worries more about template_id, name, email and whatever other variables need to be passed to the email/text system - the guy in charge of "messaging" should not be the same engineer.

    Aside, I hate it when we call something a "UI" or a person a "user". That's a sign that the programmatic language broke through (where it should not have) and people use it laymen terms. Calling someone a "user" in a magazine article bugs the fucking shit out of me.

  • by johncoltrane on 4/11/25, 5:09 AM

    You said it yourself:

    > bikeshed