HTML Tags Memory Test

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

An online “HTML tags memory test” game prompts web developers to see how many element names they can recall, revealing how few tags most people actually use day to day. Participants trade strategies, complain about missing or deprecated elements like `<marquee>`, `<center>`, and `<font>`, and reminisce about older versions of HTML versus today’s more semantic, accessibility‑oriented standards. The conversation also surfaces little‑known tags, questions about what counts as a “valid” element across specs and browsers, and lighthearted gripes about the verbosity and real‑world usefulness of semantic markup.

Overview of the Game

  • Browser-based “HTML Tags Memory Test” where users type HTML element names and see how many they can recall.
  • Many long-time HTML authors are surprised how few they remember, typically scoring 30–80; a few reach ~90+.
  • Several people forget very common elements (e.g., div, img, headings, html/head/body, lists, script, meta).

Cheating, Source Peeking, and Introspection

  • The input pattern or JS arrays in the source reveal all valid answers; people note it’s trivially “cheatable.”
  • Some argue this isn’t an exam and that using dev tools or Google is no worse than real-world coding habits.
  • A few share console snippets to list missed elements and link directly to MDN pages.

Validity, Deprecation, and What Counts as “HTML”

  • Debate over inclusion/exclusion of tags like marquee, blink, font, center, frame, frameset, keygen, xmp, plaintext.
  • Some say marquee/blink were never standard; others point out that current specs include marquee only as an obsolete, non‑conforming element.
  • Confusion about whether SVG and MathML child elements should count as “HTML elements” versus foreign content hosted in HTML.
  • Discussion about comment syntax (<!-- -->) and whether it should be treated as a “tag.”

Semantic vs Presentational HTML

  • Frustration over having to use verbose semantic elements (strong, em, nav, footer) instead of shorter or older ones.
  • Extended debate over b/i vs strong/em:
    • One side emphasizes semantics, accessibility, and separating intention from presentation.
    • Another complains about readability of verbose tags and the complexity of picking the “right” semantic tag.
  • Later spec changes redefining b and i as semantic (not just “bold/italic”) are noted, encouraging pragmatic use.
  • Some skepticism about “semantic HTML” in practice, with mentions of heavy div usage and utility CSS frameworks like Tailwind.

Obscure and Niche Elements

  • Users highlight rarely used but interesting elements: ruby, track, dfn, samp, kbd, output, details, dialog, figure/figcaption, map/area, base, portal, hgroup, template, wbr, etc.
  • q is praised for localized quotation marks, though its implementation quirks (non-selectable quotes) are criticized.

Game Design Feedback

  • Requests for an “I give up” button and a post-game list of missed tags.
  • Layout suggestions: better handling when the list of found tags grows long.