sampotts/plyr

[Improvement] use BEM in a proper way and make plyr CSS more modular.

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#567 opened on Apr 24, 2017

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 (7 comments) (1 reaction) (1 assignee)JavaScript (25,318 stars) (2,856 forks)batch import
Help WantedImprovement

Description

Hey,

It's great that you try to use the BEM methodology in your CSS. But your CSS is not fully compatible with BEM. You use BEM syntax (-- for modifiers and __ for elements) which is good, but there is a lot of nested selectors which is against BEM rules.

For example:

.plyr__controls {
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    line-height: 1;
    text-align: center;

    // Spacing
    > button,
    .plyr__progress {
    // ... code
   }
}

This it not a valid BEM syntax.

Because of this sometimes overwriting your styles is problematic - one have to deal with specificity issues.

Istead of nesting you should break your styles into smaller modules. Here's a great article on how to deal with common BEM problems: https://medium.com/fed-or-dead/battling-bem-5-common-problems-and-how-to-avoid-them-5bbd23dee319

Contributor guide

Tech stack
cssjavascript
Domain
frontend
Issue type
refactor
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Understanding of BEM methodologyCSS specificity knowledgeFamiliarity with plyr CSS structure
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
The issue requests refactoring the plyr CSS to follow BEM methodology properly by removing nested selectors. Currently, the CSS uses nesting that increases specificity. To address this, audit the CSS files (likely under src/css/) and convert nested rules into separate BEM modifier/element classes. For example, replace `.plyr controls > button, .plyr controls .plyr progress` with standalone `.plyr controls` and then use modifiers like `.plyr controls button` if needed. The linked Medium article provides guidance on common BEM pitfalls. Since there is an assignee but no open PR, communication with the maintainer about the current status may be needed before starting.