Add .txt As the Extension of Your Readme file

[crazygringo]

Interesting... most commenters here (so far) seem to be against the extension.

Can someone explain why? Except for executables, all the files I use have extensions -- .jpg, .html, .png, .mp3, .sh, and so on. Why should text files be any different? "README" doesn't tell me if it's text, or markdown, or HTML, or anything. Having ".txt" lets me know the format without opening it first to see.

I just can't figure out why anyone would ever not put a ".txt" extension on a text file, when the entire consumer ecosystem of computing uses extensions to help automate actions more usefully.

[jfb]

I hate them because they're an abstraction leak. The type of a file's content is different from the application that I want to use to manipulate it, which both are in turn different from the name I chose to give the file. That current file systems and the GUI representations on top of them are so badly designed as to confuse three unrelated concepts is a failing of software and as clear an indication as you could ask for of the triumph of Worse Is Better.

[chadillac83]

README files have been .txt for years... the only time I would expect an extension on one is if it's NOT a .txt file.

If you're a novice programmer and you're working with a library that has a README file you'll only be confused 1 time, after that you'll know. If your OS gets confused... well, that's your fault for your OS selection and you should be used to using "open with...".

[astrodust]

If it has a "format", add an extension. If it's plain text, it should be redundant.

README for text, README.md for markdown, README.rtf for RTF, etc.

That some operating systems can't figure out what to do with a plain-text file is not the issue here. Hacking on an extension to appease this seems messy.

[uulbiy]

An image extension can be one of many formats (png, jpg, gif etc). The format is important here because the application that will open it (the image viewer for example) needs to be able to understand it[1]. The README is a simple plain text file. It has no requirements. Just open it with your text editor.

Adding a .txt extension would not be an earth-collapsing-into-a-black-hole kind of thing but there is a problem with it. You are only doing it so that an application can open it more easily. So, here we have a suggestion to change all README files so that an application can open them instead of changing an application so that it can open all README files. Not a good idea!

[1]: Actually I lied, the file extension is not that important; it only gives a hint of the format and reading the file will reveal it's format. However, you might want to open different image formats with different image processing applications.

[drcube]

> An extension ‘txt’ also informs novice users about the role of these files: they are not programming code, they are primarily meant to be read.

If only the file name hinted at that fact...

[walls]

Using that logic, let's get rid of extensions entirely.

All applications from now on shall just be named EXECUTE.

[troym]

I will not: I will not allow the ignorance that spews from Redmond to infect my software.

I will not: I will not cater to users with a broken OS.

I will not: I will not bother because it represents the minimal technical hurdle for Windows users.

[chc]

What a facile display of false heroism. Ignoring users is the second easiest thing in the world, right after declaring that you're too cool for Microsoft. But this opinion has neither heart nor intellect behind it. It's pure hipsterism — "Yeah, I'm above Microsoft and all the sheeple who use their products!"

If you don't want to support Windows, that's cool. It's your choice. But don't act like this is some great moral stance any more than companies refusing to provide device drivers for Linux.

[shocks]

And yet I bet you build websites with IE support in mind.

[martin-adams]

Forget adding a .txt to the end of a file. I want Notepad to understand \n.

[rammark]

This is a really important point. TXT files are associated with Notepad by default. If we want README.txt (or README.md/rst/org.txt) files to be read by the least sophisticated users, then they should all have Windows line endings.

[stack0v3erfl0w]

Wordpad does.

[drcube]

Here's a nickel, kid. Get yourself a better OS.

[shocks]

Oh shut up. The issue here is much more than just "Windows suckzzz!!!!". Get off your high horse and stop being an OS elitist, it's pathetic.

edit: I now understand this is a reference to a comic that was published when I was five years old. Hah.

[troni]

No thanks. The files are not broken, your idea of needing to double-click the file is the problem here.

[koala_advert]

Yea GUIs are stupid!

[VMG]

So the user must always decide what to do with a file instead of the user interface? Seems backwards to me.

[jfb]

No. File extensions are stupid and broken.

[VMG]

Why? What's wrong with encoding metadata about the content in the filename?

[ekyo777]

although it doesn't seems to bring much I'm not against the .txt extension for README but '.md.txt' feels like an horrid idea.

Maybe it's only me but I think it brings more confusion for pretty much no gain. is it markdown ? is it a normal text file? is it a custom extension ?

[micro-ram]

.md is a special type of .txt file. Nothing wrong with having a README.md. Let the OS have a default for reading .md files. In Windows that may be Notepad or something completely specialized like markdownpad.com. If we are adding .txt because the target is novice users, then you should have README.txt so they can click on it.

[arocks]

In fact Winzip recognizes extension-less README files quite well. It shows them in a different color and most users understand that it is something to be viewed. The name 'README' is pretty obvious.

While we are at it, do we still need to use the three letter extensions which are a legacy of the MS-DOS era and FAT filesystems? A couple of years down the line, people would wonder why we tried to save one letter by typing 'txt'!

[rafekett]

I don't work on anything with a README that is for nontechnical users, and I don't produce technical material for anything other than UNIX. No one I work with that I care about pleasing uses it. I'd rather stick with the tried and true convention.

[futhey]

While it may make logical sense to some people, the ultimate implication when you see a .txt file is that the developer uses Windows. I'm not sure a lot of developers are comfortable with that.

[shocks]

Your comment is ignorant. There is nothing wrong with a developer that uses Windows and anyone who thinks similarly is equally ignorant.

[facorreia]

Yes, tens of millions of developers are comfortable with the notion of developers using Windows.

[Luc]

Your principles VS hundreds of millions of instances where people are forced to go through a right-click menu tree...

I think I'll choose the annoyance-reduction.

[ultimoo]

I don't know why the OP is a screenshot of github that is linked to github. Maybe it is some new kind of link bait. Here is the content --

"But I really feel like these extensionless files are a bad idea for usability. They look odd in Windows explorer, and they break Quicklook on Mac.

An extension ‘txt’ also informs novice users about the role of these files: they are not programming code, they are primarily meant to be read."

[niggler]

"Maybe it is some new kind of link bait."

Ghostery shows one analytics package, Disconnect shows 4.

Trying to rack up pageviews for future ads?

[BruceIV]

This isn't only of use to Windows users - lazy ZSH users can set up a suffix alias for .txt, so that you can open README.txt just by typing its name, but that doesn't work for files without extensions (like README).

[niggler]

Do people use README or README.md for README files formatted in markdown?

[VeejayRampay]

README.md or README.markdown which IIRC is the proper extension for markdown files since .md had already been claimed by some other (now most likely obscure) file format prior to Markdown's rise to stardom.

[arrakeen]

the quicklook problem on mac can be solved with this plugin: http://whomwah.github.io/qlstephen/

[silon5]

IMO, using .txt extension is just fine and a good idea. But it will not help until MS fixes their notepad to handle standard Unix text files.

[joshguthrie]

That's ironic coming from a site where the header appears in Comic Sans to me because of some web font usage.

[jasonlotito]

> That's ironic coming from a site where the header appears in Comic Sans

Which is odd because the site doesn't use Comic Sans. If it's appearing as Comic Sans to you, the problem is on your end.

Also, not sure how that makes it ironic.

[blacktulip]

README_FOR_WINDOWS_USERS.txt

[ekyo777]

I assume this would explain how to open an extensionless file? ;)

[freeasinfree]

READ.ME