That's quite curious. I'd probably be someone you'd consider a member of the "80 character mafia", but I am also pretty insistent on long, descriptive variable

That's quite curious. I'd probably be someone you'd consider a member of the "80 character mafia", but I am also pretty insistent on long, descriptive variable names. Good code is readable code (so even if it's bad code, it's clear why it is so). What you lose with 80 character limit, you also win just as much.