Thread by @modernserf

I know a lot of people identify with this article but the divide that this article presents makes zero sense to me css-tricks.com/the-great-divi…

You could make a case for splitting the field between "UX Engineer" and "Frontend Infrastructure Engineer" maybe? But the skill sets would still be mostly overlapping

FE Infra would specialize in build tools and framework plumbing, UX would specialize in interaction design, but both groups fundamentally need to "get" the HTML, CSS, accessibility, etc

I know there are a lot of JS thoughtleaders -- people on "my side" -- who take pride in not knowing CSS. they are dipshits and you shouldn't work with them

OTOH -- if you are interested in building web *apps* (as distinct from web *sites*), you need to at least be conversant in modern JS frameworks

"Modern JS frameworks are the worst way to build a web application, except for all the others"

there's an interesting question raised by the article that I don't think it fully engages with: "why is the frontend discourse dominated by JavaScript?"

and it reminded me that, when I was learning web design (circa 2010) the discussion was much less focused on _tools_, and much more on _methodologies_

its (relatively) easy to release a new tool that's an evolutionary advancement over an older one, but it's quite difficult to develop a new way of working or thinking

But the methodologies last much longer. I've moved on from SASS to styled-components, but I still write my media queries mobile-first

I think he might have meant this as snark but I think this is a good example of why a performance-focused "JS developer" _needs_ a deep understanding of CSS

https://twitter.com/searls/status/1087483637745049600

I guess my "full stack developers are real" rant has now joined "pumpkin spice is the opposite of white people food" and the hotdog/sandwich thing in my semiannual rant calendar

https://twitter.com/modernserf/status/1011046063669698560?s=21

I think my main problem with this article might be that its core premise is accurate -- the job market for frontend developers undervalues skills around markup, a11y, UX -- but it _reinforces_ the divide, rather than challenging it

I think this is best exemplified by this pull quote:
> In my experience, “full-stack developers” always translates to “programmers who can do front-end code because they have to and it’s ‘easy’.” It’s never the other way around.

> The term “full-stack developer” implies that a developer is equally adept at both frontend code and backend code, but I’ve never in my personal experience witnessed anyone who truly fits that description.

The first part I strongly agree with. The second part is -- well, not *total* bullshit, but

In my circles, the people who identify as full-stack are frontend specialists -- including markup, a11y, UX -- who also can build an API server

I think people end up with this skillset _because_ FE work was undervalued for so long, and they needed to get involved in decision-making on the backend to get their work done

I recognize that a lot of _employers_ see me as "a backend programmer that won't complain about writing JavaScript" but that's not who I am, and that's not what our industry has to be