Every so often there’s a request for the possibility to add neutral reasons to Slant. An alternative to pros or cons that is a statement without inherent benefit or drawback.
I want to have a discussion about this.
Here are my thoughts:
In most cases it’s brought up when there’s a disagreement about a stated pro or a con. For example, someone adds a pro that framework X uses Sass. That person sees benefit in all that Sass provides, while another sees it as a hassle to set up. They talk it out and over time come to the conclusion that it’s neither a pro, nor a con. It’s just a factual statement that framework X uses Sass.
And they are correct. Sort of. That statement has both pros and cons embedded within it and that’s why it can’t clearly be put in one category or another.
If the first person had added pros explaining how using Sass has benefits A, B & C and the second person added a con stating how it’s a hassle to set up, it wouldn’t be an issue and the answer would be more complete as a result. And I think that’s what we ultimately want.
In my opinion, a good p/c title consists of two things. Cause and effect. What and why. Benefit (or drawback) and reason.
It’s not only about the fact that the TV has HDMI 2.0, it’s also about the fact that HDMI 2.0 can trasmit 4K at 60fps. Inveresly, it’s not only about the fact that this TV can transmit 4K at 60fps, it’s about the fact that this TV can transmit 4K at 60fps because it has HDMI 2.0.
The first example’s more obvious, but the second one is important as well. Adding the reason for the benefit in the inverse example gives context to the claim. (I can elaborate if this needs elaborating)
Of course this could lead to an absurd situation if benefits of each and every single feature would be listed independetly. Not only would it flood the site, but how many times do I need to be explained that these 7 benefits are provided by HDMI 2.0? Especially if I already know what are the benefits of HDMI 2.0 and I can read it in the spec sheet?
If not for the length, I’d say have 1 pro title with all benefits of feature x listed and 1 con title with all drawbacks of feature x listed. With in-depth explanations in descriptions.