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Comment by nicksergeant | Hacker News Reader

Interesting. I was wondering when folks would be overwhelmed by the content of HTML5 Boilerplate. I expect this trend to continue.

FWIW, these boilerplates are enormously useful for reference and gaining knowledge of how HTML5 works, but rewriting and expanding our personal boilerplates is what we do as front-end devs. We never had a standardized boilerplate for HTML 4, after all.

Personally, I take bits and pieces of knowledge and techniques from these boilerplates, roll them into my own base template, and build on them with each project.

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I am afraid these boilerplates will be an excuse for many not to learn a thing about what they are doing, like we had XHTML doctypes slapped onto the pages (or place there by IDEs).

I agree with that, and I think these things really started to pop up because it is generally thought that front-end folks are scared-of or don't-know-anything-about HTML5. It's the developers' response to help push HTML5.

Which is sad, considering that HTML5 makes is so very easy to write (valid) HTML off the top of your head:

  <!doctype html>
  <title>Hello World!</title>
  <p>insert important message to world here.

I agree that blind use without understanding is not the best case, but I still believe these boilerplates are helpful. Especially if the choice is between someone copy-pasting an HTML5 boilerplate or sticking with their IDE's HTML4/XHTML1 boilerplate because they don't have the time or inclination to fully grok the quirks of using HTML5 on a production site.

I finished the first iteration of a project recently, using HTML5Boilerplate merged with HTML/CSS purchased from ThemeForest. Even though I'm pretty well familiar with HTML5 and ended up pruning a bit of the boilerplate that wasn't necessary for my project, it was still a very welcome jumpstart.

It seems odd that anyone is capable of using HTML5 Boilerplate "without learning". It is almost impossible to use something without knowing what it is useful for.

Completely agree. The HTML template I used in my project framework is even more simple than this one. The framework itself is something I grow and change over time.

I can learn from things like the HTML5 Boilerplate but I like to know, tailor, organise, and optimise each part of my own framework. That's part of the learning process itself.

To you and necolas, I'd like to better understand how feelings of whelm accompany Boilerplate.

I've heard from Louis (author of this one) that the .htaccess and build scripts are full of mystery and intimidating. I think that's true and needs addressing. Otherwise I'm interested in what things ya'll think shouldn't be in there. :)

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