Link archive: July 5th, 2017

Patterns in language and language in patterns. – Ellen de Vries – Medium

A transcript of the superb talk that Ellen delivered at Patterns Day. So good!

whiteink — Tech lead: an introduction

A series of posts on the decisions and trade-offs involved in being a tech lead:

I think good tech leads spend a lot of their time somewhere in between the two extremes, adjusting the balance as circumstances demand.

It is as if you were doing work

Stop dilly-dallying and just get this work done, okay?

prettydiff/wisdom: Building better developers by specifying criteria of success

I frequently see web developers struggling to become better, but without a path or any indication of clear direction. This repository is an attempt to sharing my experiences, and any contributions, that can help provide such a direction.

It’s broken down into four parts:

I don’t necessarily agree with everything here (and I really don’t like the “rockstar” labelling), but that’s okay:

Anything written here is open to debate and challenges are encouraged.

Is it really safe to start using CSS Grid Layout?

Rachel uncovers a great phrase for dealing with older browsers:

It isn’t your fault, but it is your problem.

She points to multiple ways of using CSS Grid today while still providing a decent experience for older browsers.

Crucially, there’s one message that hasn’t changed in fifteen years:

Websites do not need to look the same in every browser.

It’s crazy that there are still designers and developers who haven’t internalised this. And before anyone starts claiming that the problem is with the clients and the bosses, Rachel has plenty of advice for talking with them too.

Your job is to learn about new things, and advise your client or your boss in the best way to achieve their business goals through your use of the available technology. You can only do that if you have learned about the new things. You can then advise them which compromises are worth making.