April 12, 2026
Nobody reads? Robots disagree
The Miller Principle
The Miller Principle: “No one reads” — humans clap back, robots say “We do”
TLDR: A developer joked that nobody reads documentation, specs, or long emails; commenters countered with love for excellent guides like Python, SQLite, Arch Wiki, and Laravel while joking that AI reads everything. The crowd’s bottom line: bad docs get ignored, great docs get used—by people and machines alike.
A developer revived an old zinger — the “Miller Principle” — claiming no one reads anything: not docs, specs, code comments, UI text, or emails longer than a line. The internet promptly… read it. Cue chaos. One camp rolled in with receipts: “I’ve found value in the Python docs, SQLite docs, and the legendary Arch Wiki.” Another cheered the Laravel docs for being beginner-friendly and saving solo developers from their own future selves. The vibe: good docs get read; bad ones get ghosted.
Then came the plot twist: the robot uprising — of readers. “The agents will read them,” one commenter quipped, as another doubled down with, “LLMs read everything,” referring to large language models (AI that chews through tons of text). Suddenly the thread looked like a custody battle for documentation: humans vs. machines over who actually pays attention.
Comedy gold kept flowing. “I read this entire post and all the comments,” someone declared, claiming a live dunk on the Miller Principle. Others joked that the only person who reads code comments is “future me at 3 a.m.” desperately trying to remember why past-me did that.
Under the memes, a quiet verdict formed: yes, attention is scarce, but clarity wins. People will read when docs are structured, practical, and respectful of time. Whether it’s a dev on deadline or an AI agent digesting everything, the takeaway is painfully human: write like someone might actually read it — because, surprise, they are.
Key Points
- •Alex Miller introduces the “Miller Principle”: “No one reads anything.”
- •He claims the principle remains relevant years after he created it.
- •The principle is said to apply to user documentation, specifications, code comments, UI text, and emails longer than one line.
- •The article provides a list of applicable contexts without further examples or data.
- •Miller alludes to having other principles but suggests readers would not read them.