20231027-pointless_developers.txt
I think there's a trend in programming, especially web design, where
devs are just running in circles. I've talked about destructive
stupidity before, and this is similar. Nowadays I feel like we've hit
a wall in terms of software. Creatively, there isn't much we more we
actually need and haven't made. I'm surely not the first person to say
or think this. I'm sure it's been an opinion for a while. But recently
it's been really impeding my end user workflow.
YT redesigned their settings menu. All they did was swap two settings.
That's no big deal, right? You're probably right, but it had been that
way for a while and changing the speed had been muscle memory so
ingrained that I end up clicking the wrong option. The thing that
drives me inside is that the embedded YT player, which is virtually
identical, uses the old option list. Everything is where it should be.
So not only is it annoying, but it's not even consistent.
This annoyance got me thinking: why change it at all? What's the
point? There was nothing wrong with it before and it certainly wasn't
broken. So why change it? I think this has been a thing for a long
time: good devs make software that doesn't need to be updated much at
all. Then there's no reason to keep the dev. I mean no bugs means no
need to keep them on payroll. I'm convinced that some bad design is
made to selfishly keep the dev employed. You can't fix a code problem
without a dev.
As a dev, while I can logically follow this practice, it just
illustrates a failure in the capitalist system. Why should devs that,
willfully or not, make buggy programs, be paid in perpetuity for
making mistakes while quality devs make something right the first
time? Why do devs reinvent the UI that does nothing but confuse
others? I get that the traditional menu bar may not be as "intuitive"
as a ribbon with pictographs, but everyone can learn it and it doesn't
require relearning.
It's just a frustration to see things working just fine and for no
reason, some UI/UX "expert" or corporate hack business major decides
it's not good enough. It's also probably working to sell new copies. I
mean seriously, has there been anything added to an office suite that
has been substantial since Word 2003? I mean I don't use macros, but I
understand they're powerful. But I don't know what else they've added
that even matter. The truth is there's no reason to pay more than once
for basic software like that, but I guess that's why so many products
are going to subscription models.
It's just sad to see an industry that knows better just continue to
fuck over the end user in the name of profit.
