Discussions over the importance of semantics are happening all the time, and every so often there’s an uproar over specific articles on the subject. Divya Manian caused a stir in her Smashing Magazine article <cite> Our Pointless Pursuit Of Semantic Value in November 2011, in which she argued we have become too caught up in trying to use HTML5′s semantics, and that the benefits aren’t worth it:
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Allow me to paint a picture: You are busy creating a website. You have a thought, “Oh, now I have to add an element.” Then another thought, “I feel so guilty adding a div. Div-itis is terrible, I hear.” Then, “I should use something else. The aside element might be appropriate.” Three searches and five articles later, you’re fairly confident that aside is not semantically correct. You decide on article, because at least it’s not a div. You’ve wasted 40 minutes, with no tangible benefit to show for it. — Divya Manian
This generated a storm of responses. Jeremy Keith concludes:
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But if you can get past the blustery tone and get to the kernel of the article, it’s a fairly straightforward message: don’t get too hung up on semantics to the detriment of other important facets of web development.
When I first met fellow HTML5 Doctor Bruce Lawson, I asked him this question: <q> If we have elements like <article>, why don’t we have one for products of a shop?
I understand more about HTML now than I did then, but at the time it seemed like a very logical element to add.
