>By couching it in these terms, it implies that anyone who follows best practices has given in to “lies and fear!” Who wants to be swayed by that? That is some

>By couching it in these terms, it implies that anyone who follows best practices has given in to “lies and fear!” Who wants to be swayed by that? That is some fairly brazen rhetorical sleight of hand. Schlueter is obviously not attacking the following of best practices. He is saying that semicolons-everywhere isn't a best practice and he gives an argument that the most common rationales given for the practice do not hold water. There are a few flaws with his argument, but what it certainly is not is a general condemnation of the following of actual, bonafide best practices. Pretending otherwise is akin to accusing someone of "siding with the terrorists" because they argue that people should be allowed to take bottled water on airplanes.