I agree a centered URL is a bit of aesthetic ridiculousness when exposing the entire URL.
Aesthetic opinions aside, the linked complaint relies on a workflow that could be considered a UI anti-pattern.
1. Move hand to mouse.
2. Position cursor.
3. Click URL bar. (activate caret)
4. Move hand(s) to keyboard.
5. Type replacement.
The following workflow lends itself more easily to UI automation (and muscle memory)
1. Type Command-L. ("Open Location…" which selects all in location bar.)
2. Type left/right-arrow. (Move caret to left/right side of location bar.)
3. Option left/right-arrow. (move caret left/right one "word".)
4. Type replacement.
The distinct advantage of the second workflow is that it is susceptible to the automated editing of URLs of many tabs using Keyboard Maestro [0] and a simple AppleScript.
Combined with keyboard tab-switching (Command-shift-[ and Command-shift-] for next left and right tab, respectively, you can fast web-page switch to spot small differences similar to the way in which a Hinman Collator works to highlight differences between bound books. [1]
Admittedly (and a bit off-topic), the link I provide for the Hinman Collator doesn't exactly illuminate what such a device does. A better demonstration of how collation can be used to highlight subtle visual differences between two artifacts can be derived in the service of solving a puzzle from one of my favorite web sites, Kindertrauma. [2]
The puzzle, which asks you to spot the differences between a series of two photos, is mildly challenging. That mild challenge is reduced to laughably simple when the images are collated. [3]
EDIT: Move parenthetical into footnote. Add adverbial phrase to footnote parenthetical. Rewrite Kindertrauma example. General readability.
[0] https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/ (I'd be embarrassed to name drop Keyboard Maestro yet again here on HN if it just weren't so darned useful. A truly amazing piece of software Keyboard Maestro is. No relationship except as a satisfied user.)
