[pacifika]

Design by committee is not the best but if you need one more view to be convinced, as a non native English speakers the property names proposed are not communicating the meaning very well. Eg Defining the gap but drawing the separator.

[bung]

Was just wondering that myself.. why they went with "rule" in `column-rule` and now `row-rule`

[Telemakhos]

It’s the correct term from the technical vocabulary of book layout and printing. A rule is a line separating things on a page, while a border is a box.[0]. While the term originates in book printing shops, native English speakers would recognize it most easily from the terms “standard ruled” and “college ruled” as applied to loose-leaf notebook paper, describing the faint blue, printed horizontal lines providing guidance for straight handwriting.[1]

[0] https://practicaltypography.com/rules-and-borders.html [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruled_paper

[moomin]

I remember this argument from the 90s where large numbers of people were upset at having to learn the world "Font". What it came down to was, either you use the correct existing term, or you create a new term and end up with constant conflict between the two.

These days everyone knows what a font is.

[Sharlin]

Funnily the word "font" is in fact now used in digital publishing for what is more properly called "typeface". In traditional typesetting "font" refers to one specific size, weight and style of a typeface. That is, Helvetica is a typeface, Helvetica Light Oblique 12pt is a font.

[ghusbands]

The way a word is typically used is its general meaning, even if it has a different meaning in some technical circles.

[Eric_WVGG]

^ this

These days nobody knows what a font is.

[codetrotter]

I only know because a friend of mine studied design at the university.

Seems fine to me, it’s a fun piece of trivia for me that I am happy my friend told me. And at the same time, I don’t feel cheated for not having learned it myself in my education as mine was not in design :p

Also it does open up a neat avenue for designers to troll people if they are feeling mischievous.

Client: “This looks great, but could we try a different font?”

Designer: “Sure thing!”

Designer bumps size from 12pt to 14pt.

Designer: “There you go – different font!” :^)

[rerdavies]

A typeface would also be a font-family

[zarzavat]

While that may be true, I’ll say that as a native English speaker that reading is not the most obvious reading of “row rule”, which to me would be “A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result.”

Indeed a “CSS rule” is already a thing and it has nothing to do with lines.

[lelanthran]

> Indeed a “CSS rule” is already a thing and it has nothing to do with lines.

Shouldn't make a difference; we had the element `<hr>` (horizontal rule) since before CSS, after all.

[mary-ext]

honestly didn't know hr actually stood for that, huh

[pessimizer]

A ruler is an object that helps you draw lines.

It's also the monarch that makes the rules, but even the rules help you stay within the lines.

[layer8]

While that is right, “divider” or “divider line” are common as well, and easier to search for. Try a search for “rule page layout” or “rule typography” or “rule css”.

Admittedly, we already have <hr> and <table rules="…">.

[krispyfi]

> From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula and rigol.

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/rule#English

[pacifika]

Thanks that's helpful to know they picked a valid term, but if I'd hold a no-context poll (unless I mention ruler) a significant number of people wouldn't know this.

[hnlmorg]

How many of those people would know what CSS is though? Or understand the distinction between "internet" and "web"? Heck, a lot of people don't even understand the distinction between "wifi" and "internet" let alone anything actually technical.

I do get your point and can honestly relate to it. But I wouldn't argue that a no-context poll is the right way to define specialist jargon.

[blooalien]

> ... a significant number of people wouldn't know this.

While true, an even more significant number of folks into typography and design absolutely would (and arguably even should) know this.

[setr]

Choosing terminology without context is probably a terrible idea in general; you’re basically forcing everything to fit that “describe complex topics like I’m a toddler” framework, which is terribly inefficient for any non-novice practitioner in the subject.

The more important aspect is that, within the context, it’s internally consistent. If I bother to learn my terms, I’ll be able to utilize it functionally. And of course, that the term can actually be explained

[None4U]

There's already an element <hr> "horizontal rule" in HTML

[Joker_vD]

Couldn't they have at least used the word "ruler" then?

[Sharlin]

No, because a ruler is completely different from a rule.

[Joker_vD]

No? Both "rule" and "ruler" can denote this thing also called straightedge; but the word "ruler" is more commonly used in this sense, while "rule" generally means an instruction.

[Sharlin]

But here the meaning of "rule" is not "straightedge", but rather the derived meaning "a thin printed line or dash". So "ruler" would be improper because that word doesn't have the typographical meaning.

[krispyfi]

A ruler is called a "ruler" because it has rules.

> A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale or a line gauge or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruler

[alanbernstein]

I'm not sure about the real etymology, but I suppose a rule (line) is a special case of a rule (instruction): things should be aligned with this line.

[9dev]

Isn't a ruler a measuring device to measure a rule?

[karlshea]

It should be familiar from the <hr> tag (horizontal rule).

[bfgeek]

Part of the design constraint here is to reuse the existing properties that exist for multi-column layout which have existed for a long time - https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/column-rule

This proposal extends this mechanism to be more general.