> Sometimes I wonder if we are really equipped to navigate it and understand it. Maybe AI/computation is really the only way to try to have a holistic view of the complexities. Perhaps trying to understand biology with our biological brain has inherent limitations like a piece of software trying to understand the hardware it resides in.
Agreed, also I think it's naive to assume it's always the developers fault when something like this happens. (In the 90's) more often than not it was some douchebag marketer clamouring about people 'leaving' their site and convincing management to open new windows for outbound links.
There's always been a divide between what developers encourage, and what clients ask for and want. This is one of the better arguments FOR developers creating javascript-heavy single page sites (for themselves, or demos)... if they had to rely on their clients they'd probably be years behind the curve.
This reminds me of a coworker who, although generally horrible at his job, despised by his colleagues, and only really concerned about his next pay raise would - on occasion - remind us that HE was the one who wrote a small piece of critical software we still used to this day.