[SquareWheel]

    He doesn't offer one good valid technical reason why not to use comments for meta-programming PHP other than "it just feels wrong" and an "icky feeling" which is entirely subjective.

Maybe it is subjective, but it sure gives me an icky feeling. You're breaking down a clear division between code and comment - fuzzing the lines. There's something about the idea that yes, I can only describe as being gross.

To each their own I guess, but it's not something I'd allow in one of my projects.

[prunebeads]

Some people don't like 4 space indentations, some don't like using tabs, and in most cases there's just an icky feeling behind it. Who's right?

In your own post, you give a reason for why you think (and not feel) it is wrong, and that's the right way to do. Icky feelings aren't. Maybe people saying that it feels wrong are crossing a line too?

[mercurial]

You can be intuitively against something, but not be able to work out why. A few hours later, you often realize the rational reasons behind your original feeling.

[prunebeads]

Indeed, but what if you don't? I'm not saying that intuition is bad. I'm saying that intuition is bad when trying to make a reasonable point.

[SquareWheel]

I'd agree with that, good insight.

Though I did make one (hopefully reasonable) point that it fuzzes the lines between code and explanation of that code, which I don't care for. The article also gives a valid reason that tools are not expecting this and won't correctly accommodate (though that could be considered a short-term problem).

[mercurial]

Sure. I read it as "there is something wrong with it, but I can't pinpoint what", which is fair enough in my book. It's not like this is the lynchpin of the article.

[prunebeads]

It's noise in disguise to me: filler to make it look like he has more arguments than he really has.