4 ms·

I think it has more to do with the fact that the article starts taking a topic that's completely orthogonal to everything before it. There's some good technical

I think it has more to do with the fact that the article starts taking a topic that's completely orthogonal to everything before it. There's some good technical advice beforehand about getting into compiler hacking, but as soon as you break into the "On Free Time" section, the article for some bizarre reason delves into how most compiler hackers are privileged. Sure, like anything in tech most people doing it are likely male and probably white, but I think the entire section is for a different article entirely. Reading it, it appears that the author cares more about making a point about how compiler hackers are mostly "privileged" and how you need to find a code of conduct so you can avoid the assholes (the author admits it won't be a silver bullet, but that's not the point here). In any case, the whole section doesn't really give much advice to people who _already_ want to be compiler wizards, but sounds more like trying to sell becoming one to somebody who is nervous about getting into tech in general. As I mentioned before, it comes off as orthogonal to what the article introduces itself as.

breck 10y ago
I also really liked this article but found that bit orthogonal. Thought that comes to mind is like clean code an essay should ideally do one thing and do it well...but if it has to do more than one thing, it should do what it says. I'd suggest splitting the article into 2 (["So You Want to Be a (Compiler) Wizard", "Contributing to Open Source Compiler Projects"]) or if not that then update the title "So You Want to Be a (Compiler) Wizard; Plus Thoughts on Contributing to Open Source Compiler Projects".
sanderjd 10y ago
I read it as an article aimed at people who want to get into open source for the first time, specifically targeted at compilers, because that's what the author knows. Like it or not, the social aspects of open source communities is very relevant to that target audience.
- brighteyes 10y ago
  Social aspects matter, however, what the article does is talk about them from one very specific political position. It will look familiar and clear to people sharing that position, but it excludes others with a different political worldview.
  - sanderjd 10y ago
    It's the author's article so it's their prerogative to choose the content. They made other editorial choices in all the other sections, which I'm sure different people both do and don't disagree with. That's the nature of writing from a personal perspective, and of course there are pros and cons as compared with other styles of writing.

breck 10y ago

I also really liked this article but found that bit orthogonal. Thought that comes to mind is like clean code an essay should ideally do one thing and do it well...but if it has to do more than one thing, it should do what it says. I'd suggest splitting the article into 2 (["So You Want to Be a (Compiler) Wizard", "Contributing to Open Source Compiler Projects"]) or if not that then update the title "So You Want to Be a (Compiler) Wizard; Plus Thoughts on Contributing to Open Source Compiler Projects".

sanderjd 10y ago

I read it as an article aimed at people who want to get into open source for the first time, specifically targeted at compilers, because that's what the author knows. Like it or not, the social aspects of open source communities is very relevant to that target audience.

brighteyes 10y ago
Social aspects matter, however, what the article does is talk about them from one very specific political position. It will look familiar and clear to people sharing that position, but it excludes others with a different political worldview.
- sanderjd 10y ago
  It's the author's article so it's their prerogative to choose the content. They made other editorial choices in all the other sections, which I'm sure different people both do and don't disagree with. That's the nature of writing from a personal perspective, and of course there are pros and cons as compared with other styles of writing.