I 100% agree with you. I've both telecommuted and worked in-person, and there is nothing that beats face to face interaction. Period. The 'oh I need alone time

I 100% agree with you. I've both telecommuted and worked in-person, and there is nothing that beats face to face interaction. Period. The 'oh I need alone time to solve problems' excuse is as awful and trite a cliché as 'programmers drink Mt. Dew and live in the basement'. Being an in-person employee does not mean you're working in an mega-corporate shackled environment damaging to your fragile hacker self -- it means you are simply able to directly and immediately converse with your coworkers. Excited hackers stammering out 'HOLY CRAP GUYS I FIGURED OUT THE CACHING PROBLEM What do you think about XYZ?' and the ensuing flurry of discussion is not something duplicated via IRC/email.