The hyper consistent UI guidelines of the 80s and 90s were born in an era when we had to convince grown human beings to use these brand new (to them) systems wi

The hyper consistent UI guidelines of the 80s and 90s were born in an era when we had to convince grown human beings to use these brand new (to them) systems without feeling too embarrassed about being awful at it. Today, and perhaps for decades to come, by the time someone touches a PC, they've been screwing around on phones and tablets. They live their lives on the internet and apps, where "standard looking" often implies "cheap and knock-off", and long term consistency often implies "stale and old". They already know that nothing is consistent, and things aren't always what they seem. Today the point on significantly diminishing returns on spending resources on UI consistency is lower than ever. It's fun to pick on the textboxes, but it doesn't matter. It won't stop anyone from being productive and happy using the software.