On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
david.heinemeierhansson.com
On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
1–7 of 7 posts
Re: On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
#2Personally, I have no problem with profanity. I swear when I'm with friends and occasionally during meetings with my immediate team at work. It does help people relate to you and makes for a more casual atmosphere.
However, in the context of a large meeting, formal presentation, or conference, I always avoid using profanity.
I don't think its so much about who is offended and who isn't but more so about maintaining a sense of professionalism. I truly believe in a formal setting there are much better ways to get your point across than to resort to profanity, methods that will help maintain an image of credibility, intellect, and thoughtfulness.
Re: On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
#3I might start swearing if we keep talking about this on HN.
Re: On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
#4I like DHH. There is no vice we can put his balls in to change his behavior. He speaks his mind about groupon, and swearing. He's made his "fuck you money". He doesn't have to adjust his language for fear of repercussions in his professional life.
If he did anything less than speak his mind, we'd be getting a disingenuous experience of him. The gap between public DHH and private DHH is narrow, presumably.
DHH isn't asking anyone to like him. If his swearing is offensive to you, that's ok. But by trying to change his or Zach Holmans behavior, you're trying to censor them. That's not ok.
Re: On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
#5The funny part of this is that maybe everyone is tired of this argument after so many weeks of it. No one whining in the comments of this story. Yet, anyway.
Re: On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
#6I wonder what Robert Graves would make of all this? [See his Lars Porsena, or the Future of Swearing and Improper Language, 1927, Kegan, Paul, and Trench, London]
Re: On the subject of swearing - DHH, the pioneer
#7I like DHH. There is no vice we can put his balls in to change his behavior. He speaks his mind about groupon, and swearing. He's made his "fuck you money". He doesn't have to adjust his language for fear of repercussions in his professional life. If he did anything less than speak his mind, we'd be getting a disingenuous experience of him. The gap between public DHH and private DHH is narrow, presumably. DHH isn't a…
I always attributed DHH's characteristics to a worldly European bravado. He uses language, but not in a vile way. It's punctuations of emotion and emphasis. There's a quality of "opinionated, hot, european guy being loud = cool; others = know your place."
Be careful not to conflate the simple language issue with the heavier weighted, and slightly related, issues of inappropriate misogyny and child rapist jokes.