If the worst case size of that linked list is small, then I would say that I would trust that programmer more than the one that throws every searched linked list into a tree structure regardless of size.
In the case of sharding by project, it actually seems like a decent move given that a single Basecamp account has potentially large space requirements (75 GB), and you can't realistically provision enough space on a box to meet all the needs of a bunch of expanding accounts on that box. Being able to throw an entire project onto a new server and assuming that everything associated with a project is on that one server are both nice simplifying assumptions which seem like they would strike a nice balance.
Please stop painting everything with broad black and white strokes, programming and business in general are frequently more about striking the right balance of compromises than about knowing the "best" way to do things. There's usually not a universal "best". 37Signals seem to be doing a marvelous job balancing those compromises between their various disciplines, especially given their massive success with customers.
Edit: This is assuming they're storing attachment files on the same machine, which might very well be wrong. It would be pretty hard for one group to get up to 75GB of todo's and other text content...
In the case of sharding by project, it actually seems like a decent move given that a single Basecamp account has potentially large space requirements (75 GB), and you can't realistically provision enough space on a box to meet all the needs of a bunch of expanding accounts on that box. Being able to throw an entire project onto a new server and assuming that everything associated with a project is on that one server are both nice simplifying assumptions which seem like they would strike a nice balance.
Please stop painting everything with broad black and white strokes, programming and business in general are frequently more about striking the right balance of compromises than about knowing the "best" way to do things. There's usually not a universal "best". 37Signals seem to be doing a marvelous job balancing those compromises between their various disciplines, especially given their massive success with customers.
Edit: This is assuming they're storing attachment files on the same machine, which might very well be wrong. It would be pretty hard for one group to get up to 75GB of todo's and other text content...