It has potential to be the new thing, since several details synergize to make this incident more powerful:
1. Previous claims that Rust code often just works after compiling.
2. Previous claims that low-level error-handling idioms like matching, using Result, etc improve code reliability.
3. Previous claims that using unwrap in example code is ok for brevity. Also, Rust developers would know not to use it in production code.
4. The fact that significant portions of the internet were taken down because a production unwrap from a big, mature player and one of the Rust early adopters.
Sure, Rust is not the problem here, but rather Clownflare being too big and not having their SRE processes fully up to par for their size. Perhaps they are simply too big to operate at the needed level of reliability.
However, Rust anti-fans can easily ignore the above and simply press the issue and debate the minutiae of error handling, human reliability, etc. It’s surprisingly effective and might even catch the ear of management.
However, this article is overall not at the level expected of Rust anti-fans in 2025. I commend the author for trying, but they need to improve in several areas like providing iron-clad real-world examples, proving the required level of experience, focusing more on pain points like dependencies and the potential for supply-chain attacks, addressing reskilling issues and internal corporate politics, etc.
There was a blog by a veteran Rust game developer a while back which single-handedly destroyed the enthusiasm for Rust in gaming. That is the gold standard of Rust criticism for me.