I posted an article about programming yesterday. (punctuated equilibrium in software development) In it I try to share some insights I've had about software development, and illustrate it with a library I work on that I think is interesting. I posted it to reddit /r/programming, obviously hoping to get a bit of attention with it. I think the topic is interesting to other developers, and writing it took a bit of time. Besides, I'm human enough to want positive attention.

My reddit post quickly sank from sight with nary an upvote. That got me thinking about what kind of posts I could make that would draw more attention. I joked a bit that having strong opinions boldly spoken gets more attention -- but I should blame the topic and my writing more than anything else. To blame the outside world makes you stop learning from it, and I want to learn.

In engineering there are always trade offs, and it's important to be aware of them. It is also nicer to be respectful of works that people have put a lot of time and effort in. And if you disregard them you are also less likely to learn and grow. So I won't go out there and say Morepath, the Python web framework I work on, is better than, say, Flask or Django or Pyramid. It depends on what you're doing. When I compare Morepath to other web frameworks, I probably don't excite you; it may in fact be sleep inducing.

I think Morepath is great. I think it solves problems that many Flask and Django developers don't even fully realize they actually have. That's in fact part of the problem I have in explaining it. But I also recognize that in many circumstances other frameworks are the better choice, for a variety of reasons.

But sometimes I wish I was more bold in expressing my opinions than I usually am. Sometimes I wish I was more like Bob Strongpinion.

Who is Bob Strongpinion?

Bob Strongpinion has strong opinions and conviction. He would blog saying all other web frameworks suck compared to Morepath. He'd have a lot blog posts with eye-catching titles:

Django was yesterday. The future belongs to Morepath.

10 Reasons Morepath is just plain better.

You're doing configuration wrong. This library gets it right. (Dectate)

Single dispatch is over. Get ready for predicate dispatch. (Reg)

Why routing to the model instead of the view is winning.

Bob Strongpinion posts a lot of articles with lists, and they're all 10 items explaining that what he likes is plain better. Bob Strongpinion doesn't believe in trade offs in engineering. There's better, and there's worse, and what he likes is just plain better. Bob Strongpinion knows there's ONE tool that's right for EVERY job.

If someone doesn't agree with Bob Strongpinion's choice of tools, they're either stupid, or more likely, evil. Bob Strongpinion may not have more experience in a problem domain than you do, but it's the RIGHT experience so he's still right.

When Bob Strongpinion makes a pronouncement in a comment thread, the case is closed. Disagree with him and incur his righteous wrath.

Engineering projects with Bob Strongpinion on it always succeed as he picks the right tools. And when they don't, it's someone else's fault. When Bob Strongpinion doesn't get to use his favorite tools it's no wonder the project failed.

When Bob Strongpinion uses an operating system, it's because it's the best one for everyone, unless they're too wimpy, so he's still elite. Bob Strongpinion definitely believes systemd is a great conspiracy to destroy Linux.

Conclusion

I think Bob Strongpinion would get a lot more upvotes on reddit. He'd get attention; some of it negative, but a lot of it would be positive.

"Yeah, Strongpinion! You tell the truth about software development!"

And he's always right. Obvious comparisons to certain public figures come to mind. You can see why his mindset would be comfortable, so it's understandable why Bob Strongpinion lives among us.

I sometimes wish I could be more like Bob Strongpinion when I promote my own work. As you can see from the above, I can channel him pretty well. I snuck him in while rejecting him, how sneaky! The Strongpinion must be strong in me. I've even done a list of 10 bullet points before. It got some upvotes.

But in the end I keep choosing not to be him.

Preserved Comments

Sean Upton

There are those of us who have quietly (well, sort of) read and absorbed your thoughts on software for quite a long time. You do not need to stir the pot to have influence that may be well beyond what you see in places like reddit.

Marfig

And anyone should be glad you are not him. In all truth, reddit is clearly not the best place to post... err... anything, really. The culture of that place is intellectually uninteresting (to say it nicely), which makes it a rather obtuse way to share or gather knowledge. But it is also unpredictable; your article could gather a 100 votes on some other day.

And yet, see what happens when you stick to the core community of the subject you wish to address; I got to your blog through the Planet Python aggregator.

Knowledge should be shared in server mode. Put your knowledge up, open a "port", "listen to requests", and automatically serve your knowledge . Don't care who makes requests or how many requests are made. In the end, it's our human responsibility to share knowledge, but it is our individual responsibility to look for it.

Gary

I've been a programmer for 35 years, having consumed an almost uncountable number of blogs and other content along the way. I've followed the development of Morepath with interest and found the idea of punctuated equilibrium in software thought-provoking. Your contemplation of Bob Strongopinion makes me ashamed to tell you that this is the first comment I've made on any post--anywhere. It's simply not occurred to me that my feedback might be appreciated/interesting/worthwhile enough to warrant it.

Thinking about it, I believe I've developed a strong "intake-only" mindset--the Internet is where I go to stuff a bit more into my brain. The nature of the medium (and probably some personal failing :) ) make it too easy to forget that there are human beings putting a lot of work into this content.

Like many things on the Internet, if there's one instance of something there a likely many more. Not to be too dramatic, but who knows how many minds like mine you've touched along the way? That we may have passively contributed to the creation of the Bob Strongopinions of the Net is disturbing. I agree with Marfig that Reddit is a poor barometer and I hope you'll take some encouragement from this.