because it worked for millennials! it wasn't an unfounded expectation. remember Flash? remember how many Flash games were programmed by 12yos? how many websites on Geocities and Angelfire? the 5kr1pt k1dd13z in the hacking scene? it was a golden generation of computer literacy. dev tools were basic tools, we were exposed to foundational technologies while they were new, and the Internet was oriented around producing content rather than consuming it. then came the app era, and the TV-ification of the Internet, and those skills atrophied.