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_why's site is updated

whytheluckystiff.net

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Re: _why's site is updated

#91

Post by DigitalJack »

noonespecial wrote: post #77
bitops wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any specific "exile event", but it did seem some time before he left that there was a trend in the Ruby/Rails community that made him feel unwelcome. That trend was "replace why's libraries and make noise about how his library wasn't any good". Hpricot in particular was under heavy assault. I'll be the first to say that maybe it wasn't always the most performant solution, but for a long time it was t…

I always thought that sucked. Its easy to take something that exists and make it better. Its damn hard to decide that something should exist in the first place and give it a try. Like X only betterer is the ghetto of the technically talented but uncreative.

I'm glad people improve on others work. Sad if they are jerks about it, but there I'd no shame in standing in the shoulders of others.

Re: _why's site is updated

#92

Post by sabat »

joelmichael wrote: post #84

_why, to respond to your questions in SOLICIT, you don't have to play the _why character if you don't want to. Most of us are happy to see you, whether you act bizarre or not. We miss your insight and commentary and sense of humor. Experiment if you like, and ignore the jerks. For everyone else, _why made some videos before, here is my favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXZ_htL1rOI

Hear hear! _why, if you're listening, joelmichael speaks for many/most of us: we just wish you'd come back. You don't have to be a character. We'd just like to have _you around.

Re: _why's site is updated

#93

Post by bmelton »

bitops wrote: post #41
enoptix wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the second image uses the word "exile" several times. Exile is typically associated with being cast out from one's group. The _why saga was before my time as a Rubyist but I always thought he vanished, i.e. left on his own accord. Was there an "exile" event that I am not aware of? Or does anyone know what he's talking about?

I can't think of any specific "exile event", but it did seem some time before he left that there was a trend in the Ruby/Rails community that made him feel unwelcome. That trend was "replace why's libraries and make noise about how his library wasn't any good". Hpricot in particular was under heavy assault. I'll be the first to say that maybe it wasn't always the most performant solution, but for a long time it was t…

While I've never followed either of the stories that closely, isn't that fairly similar to what happened with Zed Shaw? Only in Zed's case he ended up finding a happy home in the Python community vs. completely disappearing from the face of the earth forever.

Re: _why's site is updated

#94

Post by bmelton »

milesf wrote: post #83

Summary: Who's this guy _why? (also known as why the lucky stiff): http://bit.ly/whytheluckystiff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff -- The site http://whytheluckystiff.net is being hosted on GitHub under this account: https://github.com/cwales/cwales.github.com/ -- The git repo for the site has seen activity today, and has sparked conversation: https://github.com/cwales/cwales.github.com/issues -- The…

Any idea on what the erased bit on DESOLEE is after the end? Looks very clearly like something was written there, but I can't make it out.. something about 'three' or maybe 'there'.

Re: _why's site is updated

#95

Post by rdouble »

bmelton wrote: post #93
bitops wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any specific "exile event", but it did seem some time before he left that there was a trend in the Ruby/Rails community that made him feel unwelcome. That trend was "replace why's libraries and make noise about how his library wasn't any good". Hpricot in particular was under heavy assault. I'll be the first to say that maybe it wasn't always the most performant solution, but for a long time it was t…

While I've never followed either of the stories that closely, isn't that fairly similar to what happened with Zed Shaw? Only in Zed's case he ended up finding a happy home in the Python community vs. completely disappearing from the face of the earth forever.

Not really.

Re: _why's site is updated

#98

Post by ngcazz »

dccoolgai wrote: post #24

Based on a cursory examination of the comments, it seems like this would be a lot of fun (I'm guessing it's like a riddle or something)? Would someone care to offer a primer or background on what this is / how you start following the clues?

I found the correspondence between the names of the files and their contents extremely amusing.

Re: _why's site is updated

#99

Post by Evbn »

pizza wrote: post #86
hariis wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It works the other way around. Be who you are first. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

This is a nice message, and I know what you're trying to get at, but this is really just a great example of survivorship bias (history being written by the victors).

It is also a statement of prerequisites. When mounting an effort for major change, rarely does winning come without the other phases.

Although sometimes ignoring comes later, or being ignored is winning.

Re: _why's site is updated

#100

Post by Evbn »

bmelton wrote: post #93
bitops wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any specific "exile event", but it did seem some time before he left that there was a trend in the Ruby/Rails community that made him feel unwelcome. That trend was "replace why's libraries and make noise about how his library wasn't any good". Hpricot in particular was under heavy assault. I'll be the first to say that maybe it wasn't always the most performant solution, but for a long time it was t…

While I've never followed either of the stories that closely, isn't that fairly similar to what happened with Zed Shaw? Only in Zed's case he ended up finding a happy home in the Python community vs. completely disappearing from the face of the earth forever.

Zed (his real name? Seems like one) became famous by putting on a loud obnoxious persona, plus complaining that people used his work (mongrel) without appreciating him.

Why (not his real name!) became famous for his work's weirdness. And his "enemies" disliked how capricious and weird his work was, not the sort of thing to build a Real Serious Business on. and he fled from the public eye into self-imposed exile when people started piercing his intentional veil of anonymity.

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