in reply to Re: Down-vote Bad, Up-vote Good
in thread Down-vote Bad, Up-vote Good

Voting is between you and your conscience. There are no other rules.

Except the rules :)

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Re^3: Down-vote Bad, Up-vote Good
by CountZero (Bishop) on Jun 03, 2009 at 21:04 UTC
    Nope, they are not rules, they are guidelines.

    CountZero

    A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James

      --- [from gcide] --- guidelines \guidelines\ n. hypen is changed from WN: adjust hier. a rule or set of rules giving guidance on how to behave in a situation.
        A "rule" is binding; "guidance" is less strict as any lawyer will be able to tell you. So that definition is plainly wrong: you cannot have "rules" giving "guidance".

        Take the following example:

        1. a "speed limit" sign is a rule: you may not go faster.
        2. A "signpost" is a guidance: you are free to ignore the directions to your destination (and you will probably get lost, but that is besides the question here)

        CountZero

        A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James