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Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

blog.desdelinux.net

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Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#211

Post by Brian_K_White »

whoopdedo wrote: post #37

From the research paper: > we calculate the swear factor as the number of swearwords divided by the lines of code That's what I suspected. Assuming that most swear words will be contained in comments, what this is actually measuring is the ratio of comments to code. In other words, code that is more heavily commented is better. I think we already knew this. That said I would like to see a more critical analysis. Firs…

The observation of the association is already valid since it doesn't try to say anything that no one can say.

Saying "control for comment density" presumes one knows how to even do that or how to even define it.

How do you decide that a given line of code or comment should weigh more or less than another?

If a codebase has both a lot of swear words and a lot of all other words, so what?

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#212

Post by 9dev »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #203
jancsika wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In other words, code that is more heavily commented is better. It could also be that understanding code in any non-trivial project is likely to back the developer into a corner where they become frustrated and swear at the computer. More importantly, the lack of swearing might be a sign that the devs lack the competence to know when they are cornered.

I think anger is a sign the developer actually cares about what they are doing. In my experience, people who don't care aren't at all irritated by the imperfections of the software they have to use, they just accept it, slay their dragon and move on. People who care tend to get very angry about what's ultimately philosophical matters.

That bares the question whether it’s healthy to care so much about code it makes you angry. Being able to slay dragons instead of arguing what the perfect angle to cut off their wings is might be a benefit after all.

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#213

Post by matheusmoreira »

9dev wrote: post #212
matheusmoreira wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think anger is a sign the developer actually cares about what they are doing. In my experience, people who don't care aren't at all irritated by the imperfections of the software they have to use, they just accept it, slay their dragon and move on. People who care tend to get very angry about what's ultimately philosophical matters.

That bares the question whether it’s healthy to care so much about code it makes you angry. Being able to slay dragons instead of arguing what the perfect angle to cut off their wings is might be a benefit after all.

The question of whether it's more profitable not to care is easier to answer: it definitely is.

Software reflects our understanding of the problems and concepts at hand. Good software implies developers who understand what they are doing and why they're doing it. The reality though is that good software is almost always not actually necessary. Corporations are perfectly happy pushing out minimum viable products as fast as possible.

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#214

Post by blarghyblarg »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #160
blarghyblarg wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281... It's really not a big leap, though. People who are afraid of violating a code of conduct because they're "under the watch of language police" are basically experiencing a form of anxiety that may or may not have a basis in reality. Being afraid of being sent to the HR DEI board because you named a process 'Child1' then ran Kill(Child1) ... or any less ob…

This tells me more about the impacts of anxiety writ large than it highlights the problem of “language policing.”

"Oh, THEY are policing my language. THEY are watching everything I say!"

You're reading the idea of language policing as some actual thing, like people are hanging over someone watching every word they say. It certainly might be true in some offices or with some coworkers, but, I'm pretty sure feeling that your every word is policed is closer to a form of anxiety than an actual problem in most offices.

Or, your coworkers are basically bullying you over minor nitpicks, which will keep you in a state of mild anxiety.

Either way, having to monitor your every word is definitely closer to being anxious than not, and is definitely going to have some impact on your performance.

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#215

Post by blarghyblarg »

didntcheck wrote: post #168
blarghyblarg wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best programmers I've worked with swore at their coworkers regularly, but never in their code. They were not great people, and I'd happily kick them in the face if I would encounter no legal or professional repercussions, but, there definitely does seem to be some correlation (in my experience) between being abrasive and being a skilled programmer.

Swore at or swore while talking to? There's quite a big difference. I don't see profanity as inherently abrasive, and some of the biggest dickheads I've met in workplaces didn't swear much at all (some were of the Professor Umbridge type, so kept up an air of perfect professionalism)

literally right there in the comment. "swore at regularly".

Anyways, I definitely agree that swearing isn't the same as abrasive, but swearing at people is definitely an abrasive trait. Also agree that some of the biggest dickheads around keep up an air of professionalism.

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#216

Post by blarghyblarg »

ftxbro wrote: post #65
blarghyblarg wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best programmers I've worked with swore at their coworkers regularly, but never in their code. They were not great people, and I'd happily kick them in the face if I would encounter no legal or professional repercussions, but, there definitely does seem to be some correlation (in my experience) between being abrasive and being a skilled programmer.

apotheosis in terry davis

RIP. Likely the Platonic Ideal of an abrasive programmer. I'd put mid 00s Linus Torvalds as the apotheosis. Despite being an incredibly abrasive person, he has left a mark on history.

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#217

Post by classified »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #186
tessierashpool wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as long as we’re designing the ideal experiment for someone else to do, let’s throw in the commit messages as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if code quality goes up with comment curses and down again with commit message curses.

My favorite infamous example being the MPV C locale commit: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/commit/1e70e82baa9193f6f02... You can really feel the author's rage at the state of the world.

That's a great rant, and not unjustified. I feel with the author.

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#219

Post by fsckboy »

WalterBright wrote: post #143
fsckboy wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Correlation is not causality. I'm fond of pointing out, despite every time I get downvoted, that causation is the thing we have no knowledge of, and therefore correlation is all we have. As Feynman said about gravity, there is no how or why to gravity, as far as we know it's simply a property of matter. But of course, that means we only know that because of the perfect correlation between matter and gravity, includ…

Maybe gravity causes matter.

gravitas matters, if you will ;)

Re: Open source code with profanity in comments is statistically better

#220

Post by Forgeties79 »

blarghyblarg wrote: post #214
Forgeties79 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This tells me more about the impacts of anxiety writ large than it highlights the problem of “language policing.”

"Oh, THEY are policing my language. THEY are watching everything I say!" You're reading the idea of language policing as some actual thing, like people are hanging over someone watching every word they say. It certainly might be true in some offices or with some coworkers, but, I'm pretty sure feeling that your every word is policed is closer to a form of anxiety than an actual problem in most offices. Or, your cowor…

> You're reading the idea of language policing as some actual thing, like people are hanging over someone watching every word they say.

I’m not sure where you got that impression. I didn’t say anything like that anywhere. You’re just making assumptions in service to what appears to be some axe grinding.

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