did google closure compiler or other js obfuscation tools ruin education or open design?
i dont think view source has been instrumental to the web or education. yes there have been good moments and uses of it, we all have our anecdotes, but it's not a killer feature.
i would happily remove the ability to view source in favor of a faster, richer web site.
I think this feature is instrumental, or rather should be instrumental.
We are talking about the platform that will soon define the main medium of human expression. It's no less significant then everyday language. It should be open, by design.
i dont understand this. what does open mean? how open does "open" need to be, to be truly open?
there's 7 layers on the osi stack. there is no internet without them. do you need to know how all of them are designed to be "open"? even if you go on wikipedia and read the designs, you'll get an abstract view of them. but does that tell you enough? the implementations are all different.
focusing just on layer 7, the page you are viewing, do you need to see the actual html blocks, css, javascript to be "open"? of a sizable website, this front facing page is only represents a fraction of all the tools to produce the site. do you need to know how those hidden parts work too to be "open"?
i think the big distinction for me is HTTP vs Internet. if i click on a page and it includes a remote javascript file, i want to know that my computer is connecting to another server to get that file, but do i really have to be able to read it? my computer already connects to others over the internet in non-HTTP settings where I cant read what i'm getting.
The question of "How open?" should be answered in a design process where "As open as possible" is kept as a goal, along other goals such as "As fast as possible" and "As safe as possible", etc. They should be all considered as factors in the trade-off decisions.
i dont think view source has been instrumental to the web or education. yes there have been good moments and uses of it, we all have our anecdotes, but it's not a killer feature.
i would happily remove the ability to view source in favor of a faster, richer web site.