4 ms·

Tables don't work in a world that requires responsive layout. I don't want to be pinching and zooming all over the place to read content on a handheld device.

Animats 9y ago
At least with tables you can view all the content and you can zoom in. There are many botched sites now where on some devices you can't scroll, or can't scroll far enough to even see all the content, or can't zoom in far enough to read it.
- stephenr 9y ago
  That's an argument against botched sites (or, for good css), NOT an argument for tables.
slavik81 9y ago
HN is one of the most mobile-friendly sites I visit and it's still table-based.
- stephenr 9y ago
  Then you visit some very unfriendly sites. The only part of HN that is remotely easy to read on mobile are the homepage/etc list pages, which recently became slightly better to read sometimes (I don't know why but the new mobile-friendly scaling doesn't always kick in). Those pages have zero need for a table based layout - they're vertical lists of stuff. The comments threads are honestly terrible to read on mobile.
- npunt 9y ago
  just wait until someone quotes someone and you have to scroll all the way over here ---->
  - garaetjjte 9y ago
    Because this is not quote, but code block.
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      Or when the nesting gets deep and you have about 3 words per line ... or you're trying to visually identify the comment hierarchy.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- detaro 9y ago
  It also doesn't really have much along the lines of a "responsive layout" in the sense of one that changes (outside of scaling) with different browser sizes/shapes. (But the typical clean forum also doesn't really need one, so using "outdated" tech is fine. CSS Grid is nice because it allows to do things that weren't (easily) done before, but not everybody wants or needs them)
- underwater 9y ago
  Hacker News is a single column. That's the simplest layout to build using CSS. It really doesn't need tables or grid layouts.
tootie 9y ago
Pinching and zooming is very underrated. I like it better than scrolling and digging through hidden menus.
- stephenr 9y ago
  Responsive design isn't about hidden menus. At its most basic, it's just reflowing content to fit the given viewport width.

Animats 9y ago

At least with tables you can view all the content and you can zoom in. There are many botched sites now where on some devices you can't scroll, or can't scroll far enough to even see all the content, or can't zoom in far enough to read it.

stephenr 9y ago
That's an argument against botched sites (or, for good css), NOT an argument for tables.

slavik81 9y ago

HN is one of the most mobile-friendly sites I visit and it's still table-based.

stephenr 9y ago
Then you visit some very unfriendly sites. The only part of HN that is remotely easy to read on mobile are the homepage/etc list pages, which recently became slightly better to read sometimes (I don't know why but the new mobile-friendly scaling doesn't always kick in). Those pages have zero need for a table based layout - they're vertical lists of stuff. The comments threads are honestly terrible to read on mobile.
npunt 9y ago
just wait until someone quotes someone and you have to scroll all the way over here ---->
- garaetjjte 9y ago
  Because this is not quote, but code block.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    Or when the nesting gets deep and you have about 3 words per line ... or you're trying to visually identify the comment hierarchy.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
detaro 9y ago
It also doesn't really have much along the lines of a "responsive layout" in the sense of one that changes (outside of scaling) with different browser sizes/shapes. (But the typical clean forum also doesn't really need one, so using "outdated" tech is fine. CSS Grid is nice because it allows to do things that weren't (easily) done before, but not everybody wants or needs them)
underwater 9y ago
Hacker News is a single column. That's the simplest layout to build using CSS. It really doesn't need tables or grid layouts.

tootie 9y ago

Pinching and zooming is very underrated. I like it better than scrolling and digging through hidden menus.

stephenr 9y ago
Responsive design isn't about hidden menus. At its most basic, it's just reflowing content to fit the given viewport width.