As someone who has created more hacks like you describe than I care to admit, you actually make the case of precisely why you don't parse HTML with regex.
Because that code works fine for 5 years until it blows up after something upstream changes. From a RoI calculation this might be perfectly fine if you're still around and remember how to fix it - it's a 5 minute fix after all! But if you've left, or if that system became old and crufty and fragile you may have just burned 3 days tracking it down.
If someone is asking this question, it is entirely appropriate to tell them "don't ever do that" - they obviously lack the experience and big picture thinking to know when it is appropriate to deviate due to business reasons. If you leave it at that I agree you're being a dick - whenever shooting someone's idea down you had damn well better have some appropriate alternative options.
Because that code works fine for 5 years until it blows up after something upstream changes. From a RoI calculation this might be perfectly fine if you're still around and remember how to fix it - it's a 5 minute fix after all! But if you've left, or if that system became old and crufty and fragile you may have just burned 3 days tracking it down.
If someone is asking this question, it is entirely appropriate to tell them "don't ever do that" - they obviously lack the experience and big picture thinking to know when it is appropriate to deviate due to business reasons. If you leave it at that I agree you're being a dick - whenever shooting someone's idea down you had damn well better have some appropriate alternative options.