I had the advantage of having a mentor early in my career hold my code to the highest standards with regards to using the semantics of HTML. We were working on a big redesign of a large website for BigCorp, but we were still a small team on a deadline. She would not accept any excuses, and she guided me to think through HTML element selection until we found what we considered the best choice. I was taking the bus to work most days and used the time to read on the bus and at home the thick book "CSS: The Definitive Guide" by Eric Meyer cover to cover.
As you mention, working with HTML, and even more so CSS, can be a source of frustration. The UX of actually working with them is tedious work. However I can write today that all these years later, the high standards that my mentor held me to (and the project required) helped me to master HTML and CSS in a way that made doing that work less tedious, and easier over time. I was being paid to be educated by an expert - I considered it a great opportunity, and believe I have been proven correct.
In the post Vasilis writes that they told their students the assignment "doesn’t have to be semantic and shit". I consider this a missed opportunity to hold them to higher standards and help the students build a strength that can help them for years to come. More broadly, I believe this to be an example of current generations being limited by their mentors and educators lowering standards, and potentially robbing them of opportunities. Impedimentum Via Est.
I'd argue that the semantics of <bigcorp-career> vs <into-webdev-class> are different enough that it's a bit of an antipattern to apply the same style to each.
As you mention, working with HTML, and even more so CSS, can be a source of frustration. The UX of actually working with them is tedious work. However I can write today that all these years later, the high standards that my mentor held me to (and the project required) helped me to master HTML and CSS in a way that made doing that work less tedious, and easier over time. I was being paid to be educated by an expert - I considered it a great opportunity, and believe I have been proven correct.
In the post Vasilis writes that they told their students the assignment "doesn’t have to be semantic and shit". I consider this a missed opportunity to hold them to higher standards and help the students build a strength that can help them for years to come. More broadly, I believe this to be an example of current generations being limited by their mentors and educators lowering standards, and potentially robbing them of opportunities. Impedimentum Via Est.