The main problem is that code isn't like other text. Strict rules are BS because they count characters that don't contribute to the actual content that you're

The main problem is that code isn't like other text. Strict rules are BS because they count characters that don't contribute to the actual content that you're parsing. This includes punctuation and especially whitespace. I tend to keep lines short in general, too, but strict limits just for the sake of it are indeed more hinderance that helpful.