I think we’re probably more in agreement than you think.

Like the Sandi Metz talk, I don’t think these are rules that everyone has to follow strictly. These are rules of thumb that are meant to help bloggers who have trouble finding people interested in their writing. As bloggers gain more experience, they can develop more nuanced decisions on my guidance.

we have so many spaces where the code we write or emails we send or takes we have must fit within the confines of some extant style guide or database column, but my claim is that your blog is your space to be yourself and there’s nothing forcing you to write a blog “that performs well.”

This is true, and if someone is blogging for the joy of blogging and has no interest in what happens after they hit publish, then this is not a useful post for them.

The vast majority of bloggers I talk to do care about what happens after they hit publish, though. They don’t aspire to be famous, but I rarely see bloggers say that they truly don’t care about whether anyone reads their writing. They’re interested in avoiding mistakes that drive away potential readers.

i find that people who vocally prescribe rules for others, be it in fashion, writing, art, or other avenues of self expression have lost sight of where they have ended up. for the rest of us, it is good to remember that we’re grown ups, we know more, and we have enough experience to gradually develop our own practice in a way that enriches us best.

I’m having trouble understanding what your position is.

If someone is experienced in an activity, they shouldn’t share what they’ve learned about that activity? Or are you specifically against teaching in the form of “rules?” Does Scott Meyers require some self-reflection in your view for writing rules like “Use const wherever possible” in Effective C++?

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