My knowledge-gap confession: even after many years with the languages, I can't write a main() in Python or Java without looking up the format.
"Knowledge means knowing where it is written down."
Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
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Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#22Every time that I read this about remote work, all I can think is how much I miss IRC and the culture that came from it.
We were doing remote work effectively decades ago. Don't have hallway conversations to fix bugs? Easy, just post your problems on the team chat and someone (often one of several people) would love to drop by to help.
I'm not sure exactly all of the forces that have led to this changing so much, but I'm certain that merely blaming "remote work" isn't it.
Somehow we were better at using remote tools while literally in the same office than some teams are at using them now while fully remote.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#23The section on cyberharassment is really troubling, although with the current vitriol on AI I'm not surprised. Do wish the author mentioned the name of the site though, if only so I can avoid it (and not in the Always Sunny "oh no terrible! where?" way)
I was as curious as you were. Turns out there are only so many popular threaded discussion sites in the vein of HN on the Internet, so an educated guess is all it takes.
Without making judgment on the actions of any involved party, I do wonder why the author would choose to bring up this incident and submit it as part of a story to a site where there is a significant overlap in readership.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#24My knowledge-gap confession: even after many years with the languages, I can't write a main() in Python or Java without looking up the format.
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Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#25Every time that I read this about remote work, all I can think is how much I miss IRC and the culture that came from it. We were doing remote work effectively decades ago. Don't have hallway conversations to fix bugs? Easy, just post your problems on the team chat and someone (often one of several people) would love to drop by to help. I'm not sure exactly all of the forces that have led to this changing so much, but…
Electronic chat is really not the same as face-to-face communication. Neither are video calls.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#26Like the post overall, but the last section is a bit weird for "confessions" as it's all HIGHLY subjective. For example, I worked at a company where no one worked from home and we paired 100% of the time. When COVID hit, we started pairing over Tuple and I found it to be a superior experience to pairing in person (Tuple's drawing and attention drawing tools are far more accurate than my finger, I can use my own keyboard the odd time I want to control my pair's computer, and there are no office distractions of other pairs in the same room are benefits that come to mind). I continued to enjoy (and prefer) it for the 1.5 years I stayed after lockdown.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#27> Remote work sucks Work sucks in general. Remote work is of course not perfect, but its problems need to be compared against non-remote work problems..
Remote work isn’t for everyone. Their point of view is just as valid as your point of view.
And this is my biggest complaint about arguments about remote working. People turn it into something that’s evidence-based when actually it’s a deeply subjective topic and thus different personality types thrive in different working environments.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#28Every time that I read this about remote work, all I can think is how much I miss IRC and the culture that came from it. We were doing remote work effectively decades ago. Don't have hallway conversations to fix bugs? Easy, just post your problems on the team chat and someone (often one of several people) would love to drop by to help. I'm not sure exactly all of the forces that have led to this changing so much, but…
> Somehow we were better at using remote tools while literally in the same office than some teams are at using them now while fully remote.
I couldn't agree more. I pushed to get the place I worked for to use Slack when it first launched, moving us off AIM (ha!). Our use of Slack when we shared an office in the twenty-teens was so much better than the use I've seen of Slack/competitors on fully-remote teams.
I wonder if it's because the failure mode was, as you said, to "drop by." Now the failure mode is... just failure.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#29Every time that I read this about remote work, all I can think is how much I miss IRC and the culture that came from it. We were doing remote work effectively decades ago. Don't have hallway conversations to fix bugs? Easy, just post your problems on the team chat and someone (often one of several people) would love to drop by to help. I'm not sure exactly all of the forces that have led to this changing so much, but…
Electronic chat is really not the same as face-to-face communication. Neither are video calls.
For me, electronic chat is better most of the time.
Re: Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
#30Here’s a great idea for a good opportunist: A “Confessions of a Software Developer” website where devs can come in and make anonymous confessions.
It would attract the humble-braggers. ;)