Wizard zines (Magic Magazines) is slightly different from other technical publications. Here’s my approach: Magazines focus on the basics: things that haven’t changed much in the last 10 years and that probably won’t change much in the next 10 years. That’s why there is a log about HTTP, and not, say, about the Python query module. HTTP/1.1 was defined in 1997! The basics haven’t changed since 1997, because we need backward compatibility on the internet!

The basics are important for two reasons:

you can just learn them once. Since HTTP is not changing much, you can study it now and not doubt your knowledge. It will be the same in 5 years.
everything based on them becomes MUCH SIMPLER. If you know HTTP, learning curl or AWS API or queries or whatever you need in your work becomes MUCH EASIER. It’s easier to Google, easier to ask colleagues a question, and easier to read the documentation.
Everyone needs to learn new things

One thing that I find unfortunate in programming culture is that “knowing the basics is really useful!” can sometimes play a bad joke on you (“oh, you don’t know how THINGS work? WELL, YOU HAVE TO!! IF YOU DON’T KNOW, YOU’RE NOT A REAL PROGRAMMER.”)

It’s OKAY to live 5, 10, or 15 years in your programming career without learning anything that feels “basic.” We all need to learn something new in order to do our jobs well!