I thought about this some more and I think the distinction comes down to whether I am made to pair against my will. I'm not. So to me that doesn't feel forced.

I thought about this some more and I think the distinction comes down to whether I am made to pair against my will. I'm not. So to me that doesn't feel forced. But if I worked for Company X and then one day Thou Shalt Pair Or Else, then yeah, it would feel shitty. Labs developers pair with client developers on engagements and sometimes it feels like they've been dropped from a very great height. Most of the time it works out fine: people are people and we work in the same industry and share many of the same experiences and passions. Sometimes it just doesn't work for everyone, which is also fine. But insofar as anyone from Pivotal is explicitly or implicitly saying "or else!", I think they are making a mistake and hope they get feedback about it.