Revenge of the Heinemeier-Hansson
So David Heinemeier-Hansson has done it again. He’s made some loud, slightly abrasive, not-so-well-thought out comment disparaging more “mature” technologies while pushing Rails. Just as when he was debating semantics in an effort to defend his fledgling technology, DHH has got people buzzing about Rails and its figurehead. Most of the reactions were predictably and correctly critical, but I believe that DHH’s basic motive is to spread the word about Rails, to get people talking, to spur discussion.
So, good job there… evangelists should be technically savvy, slightly abrasive, and push push push the tech, which DHH succeeds in doing. And I know I’m contributing to his success by talking about it. I don’t mind all that. That’s cool, really. I’ve known some other evangelists in my time who were fantastic at getting their views in other people’s heads, in getting people to meme-ify their phrases. The difference here being that DHH is an enginner, at least, who knows what he’s talking about. Rails is built off
To his credit, David’s apologized (in writing, no less!). And, reading the post he was critiquing, he did the right thing; the guy was praising Rails but just being a little cautious… sort of thinking out loud, musing about his options… maybe even soliciting opinions in a friendly way (why have a blog, right?).
So in the end, good job… but when do we move beyond the sound and fury stage? When do we start measuring acceptance and standards? When does it not become a conquest that a project is written using Rails, but instead becomes commonplace? How much further do we have to go?