> Not sure I see the point in hating on one specific configuration language. If it was that bad, nobody would use it. And if you still think it's bad anyways, you can always improve on it. But very few actually want to put on the enormous amount of work needed to improve YAML or create a new language.

The point is that this format is like a virus. It doesn't need to be improved. It needs to go away. We already have a lot of great serialization formats that have all the use-cases covered. Whenever someone chooses to serialize configuration into YAML, they are unleashing hell upon all of the humans that have to use it.

Let me put it this way. If I was designing some software to sell to you that requires a config file, why would I skip over TOML (INI), JSON, or XML to pick YAML -- a brand new format that has a lot of funny rules that take training to understand? I would be subjecting you to confusion for no good reason. If I'm designing the software for a developer, I'd use JSON or XML. If I'm designing for a non-dev, I'd use TOML. If I'm intentionally trying to cause suffering, I'd choose YAML.

Edit: I wrote this comment in a way that makes it sound objective. Programmers like to think our arguments are all objective. Truthfully, I think the hate train is really about that fact that YAML seems to be very divisive -- some people really like it, and some people feel very frustrated with the format (like me). When those of us who don't like the format encounter some system, tool, or package that relies on YAML serialization, we lose our sh--. We feel that we're being subjected to a difficult and silly new format for reasons that seem entirely arbitrary.