On Quark XPress’s Demise

[deirdre]

Back in the day, I used to write Quark XPress XTensions for a living, so this commentary (and linked article) about Quark XPress’s demise was fascinating.

One of those involved revamping and revising a significant (and sluggish) XTension to add new features.

I remember contacting Quark because of a problem we were having with so many boxes being laid out on the page (the XTension was for television listings, so there were often 600+).

They said, and I quote:

But why would you want to do that?

So I explained it to them, and they said:

Huh.

Here’s the thing. No matter what kind of program you write, someone will use it (or want to use it) in ways you don’t expect. You can learn to roll with that, or you can ignore it.

They chose to ignore it, as they chose with other customers.

And that is why oh so many of us no longer write Quark XTensions.

Originally published at deirdre.net. You can comment here or there.