Defaults

Defaults are good. The more you stray from defaults, the more you invite unexpected problems.

I am trying to stick to defaults more seriously. Unless I have a real good reason to switch, then I will try to stick with the default. For example, using default settings is always a good idea, because it gives you massively improved mobility.

Your experience carries over. Contrast this to rejection of defaults.

Reprogram yourself to use a dvorak keyboard. Congrats, now no one can use your computer, and you can’t use anyone else’s.

Maybe the payoff is worth the price. You have to judge that on a case by case basis. For me, after many forays into customization, I find myself now leaning heavily to the “stick to defaults” side.

Customizations are a liability. Aligning yourself with defaults means that your special case is not so special, it’s already been fixed, and if it hasn’t there is a #1 hit in google with the answer to your problem just waiting for you.

This is one reason I really like Rails. It’s so old, and the defaults are so clear, that finding solutions to problems is a breeze. I don’t run into obscure things, just obvious things that thousands of other devs have experienced and posted about online.