I studied design. I know what an en-dash is, and an em-dash, and I know when to use them. I know about reading gravity, and page furniture and leading and kerni

I studied design. I know what an en-dash is, and an em-dash, and I know when to use them. I know about reading gravity, and page furniture and leading and kerning and ligatures and all that stuff. I love that stuff. But in the end "Proper typography" is just a set of general guidelines. They are not unbreakable rules; nor are they applicable to every audience in every situation. In fact, one design rule that I remember is to "understand your audience". I think the audience for Hacker News generally prizes economy, efficiency, time and information density; wants to see more LOC on screen not less, and probably a reasonable percentage spend their day looking at screens like this: https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/0*cZ0wb7K2E6qtZttQ.jpg https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/0*cZ0wb7K2E6qtZtt... (This is an exaggeration, but exaggerations are useful for understanding sometimes). It's less a wierd hostility to proper typography, and more an understandable hostility to affecting what is comfortable and efficient; lastly don't underestimate the power of an idiosyncratic design: it has character, it is recognisable, and it stands out.