The Anti-Reset (to Reset to User Agent Styles)

Published on Aug 17, 2020 (updated Dec 14, 2021), filed under development, css. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon or on Bluesky.)

This is one of 180 articles that you can also read in an ebook: On Web Development II.

I advise against resets. You don’t need them. (We don’t need them.) I think they’re dying. (The reset detection extension barely registers anymore, though that also has other reasons.)

I advise against resets even though, vanity note, I’ve been one of the ones to come up with and promote them. That was in 2004, but I’ve never gone beyond that “universal reset.”

What’s the opposite of that universal reset? Of all resets? The anti-reset. You can write it yourself. It looks something like this, with force but not without flaws (I was impatient and am not sure I included just the needed pseudo-classes, and then there’s incomplete support at least for revert):

*,
::after,
::before,
::first-letter,
::first-line,
::selection,
:active,
:checked,
:disabled,
:enabled,
:focus,
:hover,
:indeterminate,
:target,
:visited {
  all: revert !important;
}

Here’s the gist. Here’s the bookmarklet. Here’s a test page. Firefox, yes, may offer best support. Chrome does not.

I advise against anti-resets 😊 That makes no sense now. But the reset of a reset is not no reset. It’s two resets. But that’s not the same as 0 × 0, it’s more like 1 + 1, when really you want 0, because you already have 1 (style sheet), and no more, old school, and so you don’t want 1 + 1 + 1 but 1 + 0, or 1 + 0 + 0, and that is just getting a bit very complicated now.

I advise against resets. I advise against anti-resets. You don’t need them. (Unless you do. Do whatever you deem appropriate.) See you around.

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, including Google; I’m an open-source developer and a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG); and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also with respect to politics and philosophy. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my experiences and perspectives. (Please share feedback—interpret charitably, keep it friendly, but do be critical.)