Seriously though, good for you I guess? Not sure why you’re grandstanding about it.
Meanwhile, I’m doing it the way I have in years past: as a fun set of puzzles that let me write code I enjoy in a language I like, because I do actually enjoy writing code, and only until my real-life schedule no longer allows.
Nobody’s saving the world by posting on their personal blogs about how they’re bravely and boldly not doing a series of optional advent-calendar puzzles.
I’m not “Grandstanding” so much as “resisting”; I’ve been peer pressured into participating for half a decade. It’s always made me feel bad. There’s no shame in opting out.
Sometimes communicating feelings and sentiments with others can be rather meaningful for some. Reading someone else’s articulation of thoughts and feelings that you share or resonate with but haven’t formed a clear picture of can be rather useful.
While grandstanding might be a bit odd, it seems to me the broader point is about tech culture in general and what else it could be.
The point about the dark third place resonated with me for instance, where fruitful and fulfilling third places can be quite hard to build and find IMO.
I think the author’s idea of painting it as a dark third place is way off base (pretty much every point seems off base). Is reading a book a dark third place because you didn’t write the book?
Third places are where you might have a conversation about the fun puzzle you solved, they aren’t the puzzle.
Well they state elsewhere in the post, rightly or wrongly, that they don’t think these are fun puzzles but instead promote a problematic junior dev ego thing. Beyond that the main thrust of their reasoning seems to be the whole developer “culture” of “needing” to do work outside of work. If you come to oppose this and don’t find the problems/solutions edifying, then “fun puzzle” is no longer an apt description and I think it makes a lot of sense to see the whole thing as relatively “dark” compared to what a nice or fulfilling “third place” can be.
The idea that these puzzles which people are obviously enjoying are contributing to a poor culture among developers is not supported by his arguments. The author should simply make their case about the poor culture instead of shoe horning in a poor example of it backed with contrived reasons.
If you don’t like the puzzles, ignore them. Same as any leisure activity, don’t force it. There’s nothing wrong with not participating. The author’s idea that there is something wrong with not participating is his problem.
Well, if you don’t like their reasoning or rejection of AoC … you can ignore it too. I think you’re taking this a bit too seriously, it was never intended as a grand thesis on dev culture. It is a statement of a relatively specific sentiment that some agree or resonate with and some don’t. You’re looking for logic when there’s just opinion.
Thank u Jason, very cool !!
Seriously though, good for you I guess? Not sure why you’re grandstanding about it.
Meanwhile, I’m doing it the way I have in years past: as a fun set of puzzles that let me write code I enjoy in a language I like, because I do actually enjoy writing code, and only until my real-life schedule no longer allows.
Nobody’s saving the world by posting on their personal blogs about how they’re bravely and boldly not doing a series of optional advent-calendar puzzles.
I’m not “Grandstanding” so much as “resisting”; I’ve been peer pressured into participating for half a decade. It’s always made me feel bad. There’s no shame in opting out.
I mean, is “other people are having fun” really something that demands a resistance?
Or could you, perhaps, just not do it and not care whether that makes you “cool” or not?
It’s like that bit from Community: “wear it because of them, don’t wear it because of them — either way, it’s for them.”
Just be you, without having to have some sort of faux “resistance” to justify yourself.
Sometimes communicating feelings and sentiments with others can be rather meaningful for some. Reading someone else’s articulation of thoughts and feelings that you share or resonate with but haven’t formed a clear picture of can be rather useful.
I hope you don’t mind my asking; what’s the nature of the peer pressure to participate you’re facing?
While grandstanding might be a bit odd, it seems to me the broader point is about tech culture in general and what else it could be.
The point about the dark third place resonated with me for instance, where fruitful and fulfilling third places can be quite hard to build and find IMO.
I think the author’s idea of painting it as a dark third place is way off base (pretty much every point seems off base). Is reading a book a dark third place because you didn’t write the book?
Third places are where you might have a conversation about the fun puzzle you solved, they aren’t the puzzle.
Well they state elsewhere in the post, rightly or wrongly, that they don’t think these are fun puzzles but instead promote a problematic junior dev ego thing. Beyond that the main thrust of their reasoning seems to be the whole developer “culture” of “needing” to do work outside of work. If you come to oppose this and don’t find the problems/solutions edifying, then “fun puzzle” is no longer an apt description and I think it makes a lot of sense to see the whole thing as relatively “dark” compared to what a nice or fulfilling “third place” can be.
It’s not even a third place.
The idea that these puzzles which people are obviously enjoying are contributing to a poor culture among developers is not supported by his arguments. The author should simply make their case about the poor culture instead of shoe horning in a poor example of it backed with contrived reasons.
If you don’t like the puzzles, ignore them. Same as any leisure activity, don’t force it. There’s nothing wrong with not participating. The author’s idea that there is something wrong with not participating is his problem.
Well, if you don’t like their reasoning or rejection of AoC … you can ignore it too. I think you’re taking this a bit too seriously, it was never intended as a grand thesis on dev culture. It is a statement of a relatively specific sentiment that some agree or resonate with and some don’t. You’re looking for logic when there’s just opinion.
On the contrary, my point is that his proclamations shouldn’t be taken seriously at all.