The author of the piece is clearly not a designer, and clearly doesn&#x27;t have much of a handle on web design. They refer to HN and Pinboard as &#x27;eschewing user-friendly interfaces&#x27; which is the complete opposite of what these clean, fast, simple designs do; for the user in general, but especially for their intended audience.<p>I fear this is simply evidence of how years of exposure to appalling design has blinkered some people. I like your analogy, but I think a better one would be taking a typical paperback novel from your shelf and claiming it were &#x27;ugly&#x27; and &#x27;difficult to read&#x27;.