_Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#1

Post by sp4rki » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 3:19 PM UTC

_Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
akitaonrails.com

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#2

Post by cbs » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 4:18 PM UTC

A documentary about the guy that just wanted to fade into the sunset. Interesting.

That's fine and all, but is the Ruby community still pretending to respect this guy? If so, why are they making a big public video tribute to a guy that not only chose to disappear, but took all his work down with him too?

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#3

Post by 89a » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 4:18 PM UTC

This headline made me think he might be back for a second :(

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#4

Post by raganwald » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 4:40 PM UTC

cbs wrote: post #2

A documentary about the guy that just wanted to fade into the sunset. Interesting. That's fine and all, but is the Ruby community still pretending to respect this guy? If so, why are they making a big public video tribute to a guy that not only chose to disappear, but took all his work down with him too?

I don't know what "The Ruby Community" is, but I can tell you that I respect this guy. I'm unsettled about the documentary. If it was made with his blessing, I'm ok with it. If not, if it's a kind of "unauthorized biography," then I have some questions to ask. But it could very well be a documentary about how he affected people's lives without digging into who he is and the private life he may want to lead. I'd be ok with that.

But of course I respect him.

I don't know if you're referring to me when you say "pretending to respect him," so I won't direct my remarks to you personally, but I will say that I would find the suggestion that I am pretending to respect anybody insulting.

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#5

Post by peteretep » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 4:53 PM UTC

The idolisation of _why is just plain weird.

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#6

Post by jamesaguilar » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 4:57 PM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #5

The idolisation of _why is just plain weird.

B-b-but he's a rock star! You're a rockstar, I'm a rockstar, we're all rockstars!

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#7

Post by raganwald » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 4:59 PM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #5

The idolisation of _why is just plain weird.

You find this surprising? I suggest that if you present something or somebody in a highly idiosyncratic, quirky way, you will attract people who are themselves highly idiosyncratic and quirky. And to the extent that they are emotionally invested in their quirkiness, they will become emotionally attached to this quirky thing you present.

I just watched a documentary about Jeff Dowd and a "Lebowski Fest." In a world where people play dress-up over movies, I'm surprised there aren't more cults of personality in software.

Now please excuse me, I have to reserve the George Clinton Starchild costume. I'm delivering a keynote at Øredev, and I have to look my best.

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#8

Post by saraid216 » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 5:00 PM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #5

The idolisation of _why is just plain weird.

It's not any weirder than our other idolizations.

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#9

Post by chc » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 5:08 PM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #5

The idolisation of _why is just plain weird.

Then you probably weren't there at the time. _Why was a hugely inspiring figure for a lot of the Ruby community just when the language was starting to take off. His love of doing neat things with Ruby was infectious, and it really helped a lot of people find joy in what they were doing. The fact that he later disappeared doesn't make those memories disappear.

(Not to say that I think this thing is called for, but I know I still remember him very fondly and his contributions to the world are still something I look up to. I don't see anything weird about that.)

Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver

#10

Post by sp4rki » Thu, Sep 06, 2012, 5:25 PM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #5

The idolisation of _why is just plain weird.

I agree it's weird. I also read his intro to ruby guide. I don't idolize him, but I respect him quite a lot. I think he earned said respect and to a point maybe even earned being idolized, not necessarily because he wrote an intro to ruby, but because the way he did such task was incredibly engaging and fun.

I do have to accept that I also have an extremely weird sense of humor (which is based on my encyclopedic knowledge of trivial, useless, and completely irrelevant facts [...wait! I had something for this!] ), and therefore I can totally relate to his methods and tactics of expression.

I posted the story for a reason though. In a world where we're reading about startup this and startup that boilerplate news over and over again, it's a bit refreshing to stop for a minute and get a small insight into the mind of a person who did quite a bit for the "community", and maybe -just maybe - get inspired to find an equally engaging and fun way to communicate to others whatever it is we can contribute to the distribution of knowledge and the further advancement of people's careers in the world of software development.

Also: http://tryruby.org/