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It absolutely means something: it's an article/thread ID number. Now, that's not as transparent to grok or as high resolution as something like the date and ti

It absolutely means something: it's an article/thread ID number. Now, that's not as transparent to grok or as high resolution as something like the date and title path schema that's become popular, but it's still something that some users will recognize and possibly even know how to get some utility out of -- if nothing else, by copying the URL and pasting it somewhere for sharing or use or storage. And that's the worst case scenario for URL utility. If we get into a recognizable scheme like the date-title path, there's a lot more apparent information and it can often be transparent how changing the URL can be an interface. We've had an interface that allows users who don't grok URLs to ignore them OR learn by observation and experimentation how they work -- and allows users who are already there to easily note and access them for two decades. This trend towards leaving them out doesn't allow that progression or utility.

CognitiveLens 10y ago
The argument is about whether they mean anything to _people_, though, as part of the user interface. URLs are hugely meaningful to software, and the ability to share them is critical, but that's independent of whether they are shown at the top of the window. Semantic URLs are helpful, but they're an awkward tool for changing the interface as you describe it. If a web application is relying _at all_ on people moving URL path elements around to access the content they want, it has already lost. I think URLs are fundamental to the web, but not fundamental to the user interface, which is an important distinction - I don't mind at all that in my native mobile and desktop application, there is no unique view identifier displayed at the top of the application window for every view available, and I think a mature web can equally hide, but not eliminate, that identifier.

CognitiveLens 10y ago

The argument is about whether they mean anything to _people_, though, as part of the user interface. URLs are hugely meaningful to software, and the ability to share them is critical, but that's independent of whether they are shown at the top of the window. Semantic URLs are helpful, but they're an awkward tool for changing the interface as you describe it. If a web application is relying _at all_ on people moving URL path elements around to access the content they want, it has already lost. I think URLs are fundamental to the web, but not fundamental to the user interface, which is an important distinction - I don't mind at all that in my native mobile and desktop application, there is no unique view identifier displayed at the top of the application window for every view available, and I think a mature web can equally hide, but not eliminate, that identifier.