Code Responsibly, Explained

Published on Jul 30, 2014 (updated Aug 10, 2021), filed under development. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon.)

A professional web developer focuses on at least ten priorities in his work. That’s the populist claim Code Responsibly has made since 2008.

It was time to explain why these things matter. Which prompted me to venture out and look for ten (or nine) industry experts to share their views about what it is that makes learning, accessibility, performance, semantics, validation, maintainability, collaboration, documentation, quality, and teaching so important.

The results are in, and I think the arguments and ideas are fantastic—please see for yourself, on the all new Code Responsibly!

Many thanks to Jens G., Loretta, Steve, Jeremy K., Yves, Jeremy W., Kerstin, Tony, and Christian for their kind contributions! More thanks to Tony for his help polishing the site. And shout-outs too to Vladimir and Stefan for their ideas during the early stages. It’s done!

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies (e.g., Google); I’m an active web and tool developer (code optimization, digital defense), a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and a book author (O’Reilly, Frontend Dogma).

I love trying things—in web development and engineering management, but also in politics and philosophy, where I hold to one idea in particular: that we can only be well if we take good care of everyone. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my perspectives and experiences. (Interpret charitably but be critical—and share feedback and advice that makes my work better.)