Well -- never let it be said I wouldn't say it directly to you, and I hope after reading this you will at least understand why I feel the way I do.
I said what I said above, because I find your writing deeply incurious, and what is probably worse, directed towards others who are similar incurious, in much the same way say Fox News or MSNBC is in my country.
When I read your writing, I never have the sense you've ever thought critically about your opinions at all. There also seems to be only good things and bad things in your cosmology.
I hope you know this isn't to denigrate you as an engineer, or you as a person. You may be a wonderful person, and you have certainly built artifacts which are useful to your users. You do also seem to be very principled and sincere in your beliefs. And it's certainly not to say I always live up to my/these aspirations!
On the other hand, I think, when a software engineer expounds more broadly on software (which seems to be your only beat), they owe their readers a duty to be self-critical. For instance, as you, yourself, note: You're known for your Rust hot takes[0]. If you (or the comment readers) want me to get more particular see "Does Rust belong in the Linux kernel?"[1]. There you skip talking about memory safety to spend more than a few graphs on the "Trendiness" of Rust. An argument AFAIK that was never made by those seeking to integrate Rust into the Linux kernel.
And this is where I usually get off the Devault train, because it is another shallow strawman based on vibes. Not once do you ask, as someone who is intellectually curious might: "Maybe Rust is trendy because it provides lots of interesting and useful features. Perhaps I/Drew should try this new language, then I'd have some basis for the many graphs I wrote about 'Trendiness'."
Unfortunately for the reader, that never happens. Each blog post is one string of unschooled, untested assumptions tied inexorably to another string of assumptions, on and on, ad infinitum. I'll admit I've compared you to Tucker Carlson more than once because that is exactly what reading a Drew Devault blog post feels like, because yours is actually a deeply conservative breed of tech demagoguery, saying to your readers, again and again: "We already know what's right. Someone just needs to say it now and then..."
Similarly, re: your latest article[0], yes, you do, in a footnote, express that you thought Ted T'so's behavior was bad. But your solutions have nothing to do with remedying the bad behavior. Your solution is -- I was right all along, it was never going to work out, this couple needs a divorce. At every turn I keep expecting you to say: "Was I right? I think so because..." but, as a regular reader, I should know better. We are on the Epistemic Closure Express. Drew's writing only knows one destination.
TBC this beef doesn't just extend to your writing on Rust. Your writing on Linux packaging was what first bothered me[2]. Never once do you ask yourself questions like: Is there something wrong with the Linux model of 12 different package managers? What if a dev wants users to actually use his or her software, what should they do instead of wait? Do I really imagine distro maintainers are scouring the land looking for new software to land in their distros? Is there a software solution, perhaps a declarative language/system, which would make this easier? Your answer here is like your answer to bad behavior within Linux -- your problem isn't a problem. Because I can't tell my reader Linux has any problems? Because that would be too grey for my black/white world?
No matter the situation, no good can come from hatred. The RfL situation has already come from anger and bad, derailed arguments.
Instead of having beef with a stranger online and comparing him to an alt-right figure (which is very much not okay) I think having a good faith reply to a good faith personal opinion will at worst do nothing and maybe result in something at best.
Focus your hatred to the injustice of the world instead.
For what it's worth to me as a bystander you sound much more like Tucker Carlson or some Fox News host than anything that Drew has ever written (not that I pay particularly strong attention or that Inecessarily always agree with him). Instead of any arguments you essentially just attack the person with insults and strawmen.
I hope you don't just dismiss my post and it might trigger you to review your own style, considering that you seem to feel quite strongly about what/how people write.
This is the wildest single thing I've ever seen on HN. You decided it would be a good use of your time to try to explain - straight to someone's face - why you hate them. As though you were filing a Jira ticket about a human being. And you thought that was a good use of your time on this Earth.
> Not once do you ask, as someone who is intellectually curious might: "Maybe Rust is trendy because it provides lots of interesting and useful features. Perhaps I/Drew should try this new language, then I'd have some basis for the many graphs I wrote about 'Trendiness'."
From the article that you clearly barely bothered to read, and whose author you're accusing of a lack of curiosity:
>> I might even jump in and build out a driver or two for fun myself, that sounds like a good opportunity for me to learn Rust properly with a fun project with a well-defined scope.
mustache_kimono|1 year ago
> Why would you even say something like that?
Well -- never let it be said I wouldn't say it directly to you, and I hope after reading this you will at least understand why I feel the way I do.
I said what I said above, because I find your writing deeply incurious, and what is probably worse, directed towards others who are similar incurious, in much the same way say Fox News or MSNBC is in my country.
When I read your writing, I never have the sense you've ever thought critically about your opinions at all. There also seems to be only good things and bad things in your cosmology.
I hope you know this isn't to denigrate you as an engineer, or you as a person. You may be a wonderful person, and you have certainly built artifacts which are useful to your users. You do also seem to be very principled and sincere in your beliefs. And it's certainly not to say I always live up to my/these aspirations!
On the other hand, I think, when a software engineer expounds more broadly on software (which seems to be your only beat), they owe their readers a duty to be self-critical. For instance, as you, yourself, note: You're known for your Rust hot takes[0]. If you (or the comment readers) want me to get more particular see "Does Rust belong in the Linux kernel?"[1]. There you skip talking about memory safety to spend more than a few graphs on the "Trendiness" of Rust. An argument AFAIK that was never made by those seeking to integrate Rust into the Linux kernel.
And this is where I usually get off the Devault train, because it is another shallow strawman based on vibes. Not once do you ask, as someone who is intellectually curious might: "Maybe Rust is trendy because it provides lots of interesting and useful features. Perhaps I/Drew should try this new language, then I'd have some basis for the many graphs I wrote about 'Trendiness'."
Unfortunately for the reader, that never happens. Each blog post is one string of unschooled, untested assumptions tied inexorably to another string of assumptions, on and on, ad infinitum. I'll admit I've compared you to Tucker Carlson more than once because that is exactly what reading a Drew Devault blog post feels like, because yours is actually a deeply conservative breed of tech demagoguery, saying to your readers, again and again: "We already know what's right. Someone just needs to say it now and then..."
Similarly, re: your latest article[0], yes, you do, in a footnote, express that you thought Ted T'so's behavior was bad. But your solutions have nothing to do with remedying the bad behavior. Your solution is -- I was right all along, it was never going to work out, this couple needs a divorce. At every turn I keep expecting you to say: "Was I right? I think so because..." but, as a regular reader, I should know better. We are on the Epistemic Closure Express. Drew's writing only knows one destination.
TBC this beef doesn't just extend to your writing on Rust. Your writing on Linux packaging was what first bothered me[2]. Never once do you ask yourself questions like: Is there something wrong with the Linux model of 12 different package managers? What if a dev wants users to actually use his or her software, what should they do instead of wait? Do I really imagine distro maintainers are scouring the land looking for new software to land in their distros? Is there a software solution, perhaps a declarative language/system, which would make this easier? Your answer here is like your answer to bad behavior within Linux -- your problem isn't a problem. Because I can't tell my reader Linux has any problems? Because that would be too grey for my black/white world?
[0]: https://drewdevault.com/2024/08/30/2024-08-30-Rust-in-Linux-... [1]: https://drewdevault.com/2022/10/03/Does-Rust-belong-in-Linux... [2]: https://drewdevault.com/2021/09/27/Let-distros-do-their-job....
jmercan|1 year ago
Instead of having beef with a stranger online and comparing him to an alt-right figure (which is very much not okay) I think having a good faith reply to a good faith personal opinion will at worst do nothing and maybe result in something at best.
Focus your hatred to the injustice of the world instead.
edit: pronoun fix
cycomanic|1 year ago
I hope you don't just dismiss my post and it might trigger you to review your own style, considering that you seem to feel quite strongly about what/how people write.
lelanthran|1 year ago
More like an activist than ... well ... a normal well-adjusted person.
unknown|1 year ago
[deleted]
troad|1 year ago
> Not once do you ask, as someone who is intellectually curious might: "Maybe Rust is trendy because it provides lots of interesting and useful features. Perhaps I/Drew should try this new language, then I'd have some basis for the many graphs I wrote about 'Trendiness'."
From the article that you clearly barely bothered to read, and whose author you're accusing of a lack of curiosity:
>> I might even jump in and build out a driver or two for fun myself, that sounds like a good opportunity for me to learn Rust properly with a fun project with a well-defined scope.
iknowstuff|1 year ago