I don’t think about _why every day the way I used to, but I still miss his presence.
Where did he go? I know he likes anonymity, but it's really sad that he just left.
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
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Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#12I've always felt this was a singular achievement, one which perfectly captured the spirit of its author, the community he inhabited, and a particular zeitgeist in programming and on the internet. The need for various other authors to attempt to replicate it for other languages by creating rambling, twee books with wacky titles and comic characters of their own, I've frankly found a bit sad and underwhelming. It's a bit like Boaty McBoatface. It was funny because it broke all the traditional austere rules for naming things, not because Nouny McNounface is somehow innately funny. And yet the joke is replicated endlessly as if each time it's possible for it to be new.
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#13Why do Rubyists like this convoluted and almost childish communication style?
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#14Why do Rubyists like this convoluted and almost childish communication style?
[deleted]
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#15Why do Rubyists like this convoluted and almost childish communication style?
My discrete math book was included tons of quotes from The Hunting of the Snark.
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#16This book always brings back good memories for me.
If you are interested in diving deeper into _why's work you can find a comprehensive catalogue of his public works here https://viewsourcecode.org/why/.
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#17Why do Rubyists like this convoluted and almost childish communication style?
Why do some people like onions?
Let's not say "Why do Rubyists like this…", consider instead "Why do humans like this…". Some of us liked it because it was fun, and appealed to our sense of humor. Ruby was weird back then. Some of us didn't like it, and for them there was the Pickaxe book among others.
Personally I loved what _why did in the early Ruby scene. In fact one day I cold mailed him because I was feeling rather blue, and he sent back a link to a new project of his he hadn't released yet that blew my mind back then. It was smaller community, and there was more room for play and joy.
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#18_why if you're out there we miss you.
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#19I remember a documentary was being made on _why. Anyone know where that got up to?
Re: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (2004)
#20Why do Rubyists like this convoluted and almost childish communication style?
Honestly, I would not recommend this book to somebody who wanted to learn Ruby.
I wouldn't recommend this to somebody who had a serious project or task to solve.
However, I love that this added flavor to the Ruby community. For years afterwards people would hide Easter eggs like "chunky bacon" in their conference slides. It was a fun inside joke to share with fellow Rubyists.
I mean, Python has references to Monty Python skits in their stuff.
Sometimes it's just fun to be silly.