I have had a few days now to get used to the new WordPress version, within which the biggest change is a the new “block editor” formatting for posts. I am old-school – I started working on websites when you wrote out the text long hand in html code – so the changes feel a bit foreign. It was a change (for the better) when gui-based interfaces were developed, and in truth, this block format is an improvement as well.
However, it does feel like there is more limitations (or perhaps I just haven’t learned how to do things yet). Part of the drawback of tools is that they encourage a set method of how to accomplish a task. That in itself is not a bad thing, but it does discourage some extent of creativity. Can you post content, yes, and can you customize it to fit your design, yes. But can the tool fit every possibility that a creator can imagine? I doubt it.
Naturally, this trade off is necessary for the improvement of the processes, and in most cases it is worth it. Faster editing, more consistent formatting, easier automation are all gains. But we need to be aware of the potential loss as well, to truly appreciate the gains.
In truth, I have not yet found an issue that I can’t resolve with the block editor, and I doubt I will – though I imagine I may have to compromise on a solution at some point. Its just an interesting philosophical thought on my part of the sacrifices that change and improvement bring along.
