I think one of the main reasons some web design techniques are "bad" are because they don't sufficiently separate layout and design from content. The problem is - on a site like HN, you're primarily catering to a crowd that just wants a really simple, straightforward design that's easy to use to fast. We get that with a 1-pixel image. Adding css could potentially throw more complexity into the mix.
Proper semantic with CSS styling is faster. You don't have to repeat <font/> tags etc.
CSS is more "complex" only if you lack understanding how it works. Main reason that Ruby on Rails was (is?) such a success is that proper MVC (MTV) design pattern implementation made things simpler.
Yet, for average PHP programmer that'd be more "complex". Same with (X)HTML + CSS. It looks more complex only if you don't understand CSS or using WYSIWYG tools.
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I think one of the main reasons some web design techniques are "bad" are because they don't sufficiently separate layout and design from content. The problem is - on a site like HN, you're primarily catering to a crowd that just wants a really simple, straightforward design that's easy to use to fast. We get that with a 1-pixel image. Adding css could potentially throw more complexity into the mix.
Proper semantic with CSS styling is faster. You don't have to repeat <font/> tags etc.
CSS is more "complex" only if you lack understanding how it works. Main reason that Ruby on Rails was (is?) such a success is that proper MVC (MTV) design pattern implementation made things simpler.
Yet, for average PHP programmer that'd be more "complex". Same with (X)HTML + CSS. It looks more complex only if you don't understand CSS or using WYSIWYG tools.