11–20 of 27 posts
Damn, these comments make us sound like a bunch of robots :)
Server monitoring software that cheers when good things happen, boos when bad things happen, and gasps when major changes happen, that would be interesting. Not "play cheer.wav" but something more crowdy and cumulative.
Some significant portion of the audience's life is just about to change significantly - and they can already sense the downstream bliss. I downright cried in joy the first time I saw OS X terminal.app's ability to dynamically resize linewraps (phoo on you secureCRT), and Terminal Tabs that detach, no preset max-column-width, or even line-buffer! I was ready to dance for Joy! Imagine being hit with a whole host of tho…
I've wondered the same thing! During Google's IO conference, the speakers expected and encouraged applause. Apple conferences are an even stronger example. It feels phoney, but perhaps it isn't. I don't think the thought process is complex enough to involve considerations of financial benefit from cheering. My theory is that there is a critical mass of "fans" of the company (Google, Apple, etc), and they are very ent…
I've only been at one academic meeting where people really let loose and cheered. It was in the late 1990s, at a conference on energy efficiency. A presenter brought a pretty fancy bike up on stage and talked about riding it rather than driving. Somebody in the audience shouted out, "Sure, but what did the bike cost?"
There was a moment of pause while everybody recognized the presenter had probably a $3000 bicycle up there. But he hoisted it over his head, stepped back up to the mike, and said, "I'll tell you what it cost... What I was willing to pay!"
The whole audience erupted in a sustained wave of cheers. It was, as other commenters have noted, an expression of approval, an outlet for their passion, and just plain fun.
In some ways, though, I think the setup for that wild cheering was the conflict that it resolved. If his presentation had started out with "This is my bike. It cost a lot, but I was willing to pay it..." I doubt anybody would have cheered. Maybe academic conferences tend to discourage expressions of joy exactly because they tend to formalize conflict, to steer it down certain accepted lines? Whereas tech presentations probably have a lot less inherent conflict that has to be channeled in order to keep it productive?
I've wondered the same thing! During Google's IO conference, the speakers expected and encouraged applause. Apple conferences are an even stronger example. It feels phoney, but perhaps it isn't. I don't think the thought process is complex enough to involve considerations of financial benefit from cheering. My theory is that there is a critical mass of "fans" of the company (Google, Apple, etc), and they are very ent…
Some significant portion of the audience's life is just about to change significantly - and they can already sense the downstream bliss. I downright cried in joy the first time I saw OS X terminal.app's ability to dynamically resize linewraps (phoo on you secureCRT), and Terminal Tabs that detach, no preset max-column-width, or even line-buffer! I was ready to dance for Joy! Imagine being hit with a whole host of tho…
Here's me hoping you forgot your tags
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's me hoping you forgot your tags
Here's me thinking you don't spend that much time in a terminal :)
A) Seriously, Terminal.app is probably about 50% of the reason I use OS X instead of Windows XP - I have two keyboards and two 30" monitors sitting in front of me, so the choice really is mine. (Windows XP wins on the Microsoft Outlook Calendar + Visio side of things)
And so, if you are spending upwards of 30 Hours/week with an application, and something just made it even 5% better - wouldn't you want to express your appreciation at positive changes?
And given that many of us debate operating systems and programming languages, discuss tools and improvements, and learn new technologies in our off time, as fun - well, given all that, I don't think expressing that passion at a major event is all that peculiar.