Software is an art of ongoing human collaboration. Take Redis. The future of this technology has a lot to do with what Salvatore Sanfilippo thinks and says now and in the future.
So when someone takes a stand or a position, they're telling you what ecosystem you need to be involved in. When I go to Rails Conf, I'm not just there because of the Ruby framework, I'm there because of the people and the culture. It's intertwined.
It's often complicated, but still intertwined.
What's not complicated, in my opinion, is the Sonmez case. Not only was this tirade flagrant and entirely self-inflicted (he didn't misspeak, he was on the attack the whole time), it was on brand and non-surprising.
Have you seen his YouTube channel, featuring such hits as "How to have sex with a woman from work"?
His advice is literally to be their boss or in a position of power over them.
His entire existence is cartoonishly misogynistic.
I think even having this discussion with Sonmez in mind is kind of doing injustice to areas of legitimate grey area.
The fact that Bob Martin is defending Sonmez is mind-boggling.
Uncle Bob Martin
@unclebobmartin
The cancel culture is in high dudgeon today. All the smug virtue signalers enjoying a bloody good pile-on. It is that culture, that toxic ideology, that in my estimation deserves cancellation far more than their victims do.
19:35 PM - 21 Oct 2019
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I've seen situations where the punishment does not fit the crime, or things get unnecessarily dramatic in the Twitterverse, and this is not one of them. No amount of blacklisting or boycotting is enough to get Sonmez out of his role as an influence on software culture.
And culture is the right word here. Sonmez' entire contribution as far as I can tell is cultural. He's not the author of a framework or operating system. He's an author whose trade is software development.
I actually read Sonmez's book "Soft Skills". I don't remember all the details but I recall finding it a useful read. But there are so many alternatives to that book.
Martin's contribution to this debacle is also in keeping with a reputation of being insensitive and asinine.
Social media amplifies the ability for powerful people to cause harm, and without consequences the populous has no recourse.
Yikes. Didn't know about the YouTube channel. This guy is almost cartoonishly misogynistic.
For me, at least, knowing things like this about the author of a book (or a musician or whatever), it's something I think about while reading or otherwise absorbing their work. It's difficult for me to think of the artist as separate from their art.
In fact, it's sometimes difficult for me to enjoy a piece of art (especially visual art like paintings) at all unless I know a bit about the backstory behind the piece, or the author's inspirations for creating it. Knowing that Sonmez was probably thinking about ways of tricking women into sleeping with him while writing Soft Skills would make that book unreadable for me, even if the content of the book itself was useful.
What are your recommended alternatives to Soft Skills? I'd rather promote them than Sonmez's work.
Software is an art of ongoing human collaboration. Take Redis. The future of this technology has a lot to do with what Salvatore Sanfilippo thinks and says now and in the future.
So when someone takes a stand or a position, they're telling you what ecosystem you need to be involved in. When I go to Rails Conf, I'm not just there because of the Ruby framework, I'm there because of the people and the culture. It's intertwined.
It's often complicated, but still intertwined.
What's not complicated, in my opinion, is the Sonmez case. Not only was this tirade flagrant and entirely self-inflicted (he didn't misspeak, he was on the attack the whole time), it was on brand and non-surprising.
Have you seen his YouTube channel, featuring such hits as "How to have sex with a woman from work"?
His advice is literally to be their boss or in a position of power over them.
His entire existence is cartoonishly misogynistic.
I think even having this discussion with Sonmez in mind is kind of doing injustice to areas of legitimate grey area.
The fact that Bob Martin is defending Sonmez is mind-boggling.
I've seen situations where the punishment does not fit the crime, or things get unnecessarily dramatic in the Twitterverse, and this is not one of them. No amount of blacklisting or boycotting is enough to get Sonmez out of his role as an influence on software culture.
And culture is the right word here. Sonmez' entire contribution as far as I can tell is cultural. He's not the author of a framework or operating system. He's an author whose trade is software development.
I actually read Sonmez's book "Soft Skills". I don't remember all the details but I recall finding it a useful read. But there are so many alternatives to that book.
Martin's contribution to this debacle is also in keeping with a reputation of being insensitive and asinine.
Social media amplifies the ability for powerful people to cause harm, and without consequences the populous has no recourse.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
Yikes. Didn't know about the YouTube channel. This guy is almost cartoonishly misogynistic.
For me, at least, knowing things like this about the author of a book (or a musician or whatever), it's something I think about while reading or otherwise absorbing their work. It's difficult for me to think of the artist as separate from their art.
In fact, it's sometimes difficult for me to enjoy a piece of art (especially visual art like paintings) at all unless I know a bit about the backstory behind the piece, or the author's inspirations for creating it. Knowing that Sonmez was probably thinking about ways of tricking women into sleeping with him while writing Soft Skills would make that book unreadable for me, even if the content of the book itself was useful.
What are your recommended alternatives to Soft Skills? I'd rather promote them than Sonmez's work.
Everything I wanted to say, and then some, with far more brevity than I am capable of. Well said, Ben.