Switching the copy from Lorem to boilderplate makes it even worse.
The important point is that lorem ipsum is not content, rather, it is a tool for approximating the aesthetic of content that might be placed there in the future.
Nobody is saying that design begins with fonts/layout/color (although that does happen at times), rather, that when you get to a point where you need to decide how bodies of text will look, you use things like lorem ipsum to approximate how other text will behave within that field.
The other thing about lorem ipsum, which you may be missing and the op certainly misses, is that by not actually being english, you don't get hung up on the meaning of the content, rather, you can pseudo-objectively evaluate the aesthetic choices used to set the text. again, the whole point is to create a template for setting actual text very well.
the largest problem with lorem ipsum is people using it who don't understand why they are using it. I think that using dummy copy that looks like legitimate content is more harmful than using random latin. At least with real latin, you don't delude yourself into thinking that it's anything other than text used to decide formal typographic or layout choices.
“When you are designing with Lorem Ipsum, you diminish the importance of the copy by lowering it to the same level as any other visual element. The text simply becomes another supporting role, serving to make other aspects more aesthetic. Instead of your design enhancing the meaning of the content, your content is enhancing your design.”
That’s just so wrong. Line heights, line lengths, fonts, font sizes and margins are vitally import visual properties of your website. If you want to make sure that you picked the correct values for those properties and if you don’t yet have copy, you should use Lorem Ipsum. Text is certainly not just a visual element but it is also a visual element.
You diminish the importance of copy if you insert some crappy boilerplate stuff which has really nothing to do with your client. Lorem Ipsum is a clear signal that the copy is not yet finished and needs to be finished.
“By adding Lorem Ipsum to the design you are essentially dressing your king before you know his size.”
You can decide which colors and fabrics to use before you know the king’s size.
There certainly are situations where the copy has to be known before you can start laying out elements (forms are a example), but in those cases you shouldn’t use boilerplate, you should use the real copy! You actually need to!
“The point I tried to make is that you and your clients need to be thinking, understanding and gathering content before the design. Using Lorem Ipsum is a way to half-heartedly go about the most important part of your site.”
And crappy boilerplate stuff will make that point … how exactly? At worst clients will just take the boilerplate, change a few words and leave it at that. Lorem Ipsum is a powerful reminder that text is important! Clients often don’t get that, that’s certainly true, but the best remedy for that is telling them – again and again – not changing the filler text.
(And, as was already said here, searching for Lorem Ipsum is hell of a lot easier than searching for crappy boilerplate stuff.)
The biggest problem with Lorem Ipsum is that it’s pseudo Latin and as such doesn’t have the same word lengths or letter frequencies as English. None of this nonsense, though.