So you're avoiding a technology because of unrelated teenagers' internet comments. Is that any more useful than adopting a technology because of unrelated teenagers' internet comments?
Both are entirely reasonable, especially if it's something you're doing in your free time.
Internet toxicity can entirely suck the fun out of participating in a community, thereby defeating the purpose of participating in it.
But, similarly, a really fun community can do the opposite. I used to participate in the Ruby community more for the people than anything else. I never actually loved the language all that much.
> So you're avoiding a technology because of unrelated teenagers' internet comments.
A) What makes you think it's a teenager? The internet makes even ordinary people act in ways they would not act IRL.
B) It's completely reasonable to avoid something because you don't like the community. Comments like the quoted one in GP post are definitely not rare from the Rust community.
the rust community can deal with caustic advocacy or they can do nothing. they've chosen to do nothing, from what I can tell.
accordingly, I've chosen to stay away from that product and its community.
this is not a crackpot point of view, this is the point of view of a sane person who realizes that his time on earth is finite and who has zero appetite for games.
This is completely wrong. You should never hold people responsible for the behavior of others whom they have no control over. What do you even want the Rust maintainers to do about it?
Rust really is a great replacement for C++, despite how oversold it is by the more enthusiastic elements of the community. I'd recommend trying it out with an open mind.
> Linux evangelists were far more obnoxious when Linux was first making the rounds.
Yes, absolutely.
> This is just how tech works and how tech people tend to behave.
I really think that that this old guard mentality needs to die out. Rudeness is protected in the industry because we normalize that it's... what, intrinsic to programming? But that just isn't true, and it's harmful to everyone in the field.
I think you're attempting a reductio ad absurdum here, but, since your 2nd sentence isn't really true, you haven't achieved the "ad absurdum" bit.
Back in the day, yes, the Linux community was indeed quite bothersome. That's why I fairly quickly switched to FreeBSD as my primary OS. I found I had a lot fewer toxic interactions in the FreeBSD community than I did the Linux one. In time, FreeBSD didn't really cut it for me any more, so I switched to OS X. The Mac community does have its incorrigible elements, too, but they are much easier to avoid than they are with Linux, where interacting with the community is a must in order to get help.
Yes, these things do have implications for open source communities. Personally, I suspect that, all along, the biggest headwind for Linux on the desktop has actually been that the social environment surrounding Linux tends to alienate people who might otherwise have stuck around to help make it more successful.
LOL, I can still remember the python "enthusiast" who lived across the hall from me in the freshman dorm in 1996/97. He is forever etched in my brain.
I ran into him at a bar in Indianapolis 10 years or so ago when our alma mater was in the Sweet Sixteen. Must have drunkenly passed along my email address.
Because about a year ago, he sent me a link to an interview he had given about the new thing he was passionate about. I congratulated him and asked a few questions out of kindness. Yeah, the response was exactly what you could imagine. All future emails from him go directly to the trash.
that is why I won't use python and why just the mention of "Linux desktop" puts a sour taste in my mouth.
feverish advocates detract from the thing they aim to augment, and yeah, the worst thing about anything on the internet is its community, by a wide margin.
