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No. It's not beautiful. Stop saying that! That word is so overused in software that it is no devoid of all meaning. It's a loading screen. It's perhaps even a

No. It's not beautiful. Stop saying that! That word is so overused in software that it is no devoid of all meaning. It's a loading screen. It's perhaps even a nice looking loading screen. Well, it's not ugly. It is missing a lot of functionality though. But it's less rage inducing than the spinning pin wheel so that's good I guess. 2015 would be a better year if we all agreed to stop using the word beautiful with respect to any and all things digital.

pdabbadabba 12y ago
Can a loading screen not be beautiful? Would the world really be a better place if we all said "very pretty" instead of "beautiful"? Maybe you just don't like it as much as other people do. That just means your tastes differ, not that others are abusing language.
- nirvdrum 12y ago
  Calling everything beautiful diminishes the value of the word. And most apps posted to HN are described as beautiful. It's mostly just become filler text now. Worse, this judgment isn't coming from an impartial critic, but usually the author himself/herself. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but not telling others how to judge your product was drilled into me. Also, being beautiful isn't an inherently valuable attribute. If your product is utterly useless, but good looking, then it's still utterly useless. Some form of user study about the utility of the aesthetic design would be a nice addition in these sorts of declarations. I don't think the issue is with this project per se, but the trend in the presentation of these sorts of "show HN" posts.
- marrs 12y ago
  I suspect the parent is disappointed by the lack of ambition, or maybe thinks that the PleaseWait authors are just trying to get eyeballs on their site. The animations are pretty bog-standard, let's be honest. I'd stretch to calling them aesthetically pleasing, but there's no way I'd describe them as beautiful.
eudoxus 12y ago
So you don't think UI/UX design can be beautiful? I Agree that it takes alot for me to use the word "Beautiful" in the context of software aka Code. But design isn't code. And although I do think this library is supporting the case of being lazy and not optimizing your code and load times. I do think its beautiful. Just my 2 ¢
- forrestthewoods 12y ago
  Can UI/UX be beautiful? Sure. Are things that self-proclaim to be beautiful actually beautiful? Very rarely. The term is wildly overused.
  - ams6110 12y ago
    Agreed. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course, but the word (along with "passion") is almost always gratuitous when used in the context of software or software development. Do we have "How to be passionate about beautiful UI in 7 days, for dummies" yet?
packetslave 12y ago
I can't find a citation for it right now, but I seem to remember reading that Steve Jobs would never say something was beautiful when giving a keynote. He would always say "we think it's really beautiful" or something similar. My understanding is that he believed that no one could tell another person that something is beautiful. A person could only decide that for themselves.

pdabbadabba 12y ago

Can a loading screen not be beautiful? Would the world really be a better place if we all said "very pretty" instead of "beautiful"? Maybe you just don't like it as much as other people do. That just means your tastes differ, not that others are abusing language.

nirvdrum 12y ago
Calling everything beautiful diminishes the value of the word. And most apps posted to HN are described as beautiful. It's mostly just become filler text now. Worse, this judgment isn't coming from an impartial critic, but usually the author himself/herself. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but not telling others how to judge your product was drilled into me. Also, being beautiful isn't an inherently valuable attribute. If your product is utterly useless, but good looking, then it's still utterly useless. Some form of user study about the utility of the aesthetic design would be a nice addition in these sorts of declarations. I don't think the issue is with this project per se, but the trend in the presentation of these sorts of "show HN" posts.
marrs 12y ago
I suspect the parent is disappointed by the lack of ambition, or maybe thinks that the PleaseWait authors are just trying to get eyeballs on their site. The animations are pretty bog-standard, let's be honest. I'd stretch to calling them aesthetically pleasing, but there's no way I'd describe them as beautiful.

eudoxus 12y ago

So you don't think UI/UX design can be beautiful? I Agree that it takes alot for me to use the word "Beautiful" in the context of software aka Code. But design isn't code. And although I do think this library is supporting the case of being lazy and not optimizing your code and load times. I do think its beautiful. Just my 2 ¢

forrestthewoods 12y ago
Can UI/UX be beautiful? Sure. Are things that self-proclaim to be beautiful actually beautiful? Very rarely. The term is wildly overused.
- ams6110 12y ago
  Agreed. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course, but the word (along with "passion") is almost always gratuitous when used in the context of software or software development. Do we have "How to be passionate about beautiful UI in 7 days, for dummies" yet?

packetslave 12y ago

I can't find a citation for it right now, but I seem to remember reading that Steve Jobs would never say something was beautiful when giving a keynote. He would always say "we think it's really beautiful" or something similar. My understanding is that he believed that no one could tell another person that something is beautiful. A person could only decide that for themselves.