Re:Dear Web Developers: EFF Needs Your Help
by dwaltrip on Wednesday April 16, 2014 @12:28PM
(#7598733)
They don't teach HTML in physics or stats. Most people also don't take an intro to computer programming course.
Re:Dear Web Developers: EFF Needs Your Help
by rprospero on Wednesday April 16, 2014 @01:00PM
(#7598961)
They may not teach HTML, but my alma mater taught python to freshman physics students. By senior year, you would have at least learned two additional languages. That's just from the physics courses - if you decided to take an intro to cs course (which most did), you would have learned a fourth (but probably not a FORTH).
While they wouldn't specifically know HTML or Javascript, they'd know enough to how to read the language documentation and gain basic proficiency in a week. They wouldn't be a Douglas Crockford, but they could help out an open source project.
Of course, this was at a state school. Things might be different elsewhere.
Basic proficiency in a random programming language and some grasp of HTML is something that's taught in a high school computer class or any introductory course for a tangentially related college program such as statistics or physics - this level of proficiency is something that a random student (of not-computer subjects) is somewhat likely to have.
I mean, it definitely is technical and does require some background, but it's appropriate to say "a bit technical, but you don't need to be an expert".