Confessions of an HTML Snob

I'll address those in order:

• HTML is NOT a programming language, it is a simple coding process which anyone can learn regardless of programming experience. You can learn the basics in just a few hours. (About as much time as it takes most people, I imagine, to learn to use an HTML editor.)

• HTML editors such as FrontPage and PageMill aren't infallible. They make mistakes-- mistakes you can't fix unless you understand the code. Also, there are certain things that those programs simply can't do. If you ever want to create more than just a basic page, I guarantee that you'll eventually have to hack some HTML.

• I'm not saying that you have to hand-code everything, I simply think that you should be ABLE TO should the need arise. HTML editors are useful tools that can make the coding process much quicker and simpler (even I have been known to use FrontPage for tedious, repetitive tasks), but that's all they are: TOOLS. You shouldn't be dependent on them to do all the work for you.

• Just because you're not getting paid for something isn't an excuse for being lazy. Why bother to put up a web site if you're not going to put some effort into it?

For me, it comes down to an issue of pride. My web site is a source of pride-- something I can show to the world and feel that I've accomplished something. Where's the pride in spending five minutes dropping some text into a FrontPage template and calling it done? What have you accomplished?

It also comes down to an issue of independence. I can't stand the thought of being completely dependent on a single piece of software. Programs crash, hard drives fail, files get corrupted. But if you know HTML, you can make do, if need be, with any text editor or word processor on any computer in the world.

But most important of all, it's an issue of competence. I'm an extremist when it comes to competence. I don't believe in doing something unless I can do it well; if it's something I want to do, I believe in taking the time to learn to do it well. No doubt there are plenty of people who are competent at web publishing but who don't know HTML. But those are the exceptions, and even they would probably do an even better job if they had a better understanding of the medium.

Furthermore, I see the popularity of HTML editors as a yet another aspect of the ever-growing push to make computers "so easy that anyone can use them!" Now don't get me wrong- I'm all for making computers easy to use. But there are limits to how much things can be simplified. There comes a point when you're doing people an injustice by making it TOO easy for them. The process becomes completely abstract- all they know is that they push this button and this happens, but they have no understanding of what is actually going on, even on the most basic level. There are people who don't even realize that HTML editors are writing code or creating files- they just know that they're "making web pages." Similarly, there are people who have no concept of moving files around in Windows- they're just "dragging and dropping."

In short, they're not learning ANYTHING. They're making mysterious hand gestures over a magic box, all the while feeling happy and smug because they've "entered the Information Age."

Am I the only one who sees a contradiction here?