Why use tables to structure your layout?

Question

Looking at the source code for Stack Overflow, I noticed they have used tables and inline CSS quite a bit, also something I found odd was use of inline table attribute forma

Answer 1

Having not been involved in SO development, I only speak generally:

I've found that tables are often easier and more consistent across browsers than CSS-based layouts.

Also, emitting random CSS here and there often happens when trying to get things done. It can be refactored later, I suppose.

With respect to why they chose to set a table's width in HTML instead of CSS, I couldn't say.

I know that SO used a real, honest to goodness designer when they started. I don't know, though, if that designer gave them an image of what the site should look like or actual markup.

Please don't flame me for saying so. We're not all CSS ninjas.

Answer 2

I'm a reasonably smart person, not too far below average at least, but I find css layout totally unintuitive. Tables are extremely intuitive. I think one measure of a good technology is how often you have to refer to the manual while reading it. Tables blow CSS out of the water in this way compared to css. Again and again, when using css, I have to dig to figure out how to do something like this