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Really, it depends on what kind of company you're working for. If you're a BYOD place then sure, let people use their own tools, you have bigger fish to fry.

Really, it depends on what kind of company you're working for. If you're a BYOD place then sure, let people use their own tools, you have bigger fish to fry. If you're the place where your auditors require you to deliver proof that all your developers have antivirus installed then it's a different story. The minute you need to take away local administration rights from developers, the value of a standard development environment is immense. No more complaints about not having local administration rights. Plus, the value of hey, my laptop just broke, I ran down to IT, they swapped me out, go back to my desk, log in, and bam, my environment is right like how I left it is huge. Ultimately - professionals never blame their tools. The hammer handle might not have an ivory handle and tungsten head, but so what? This isn't what bottlenecks you in organizations. And if you really seethe at the thought of emacs being taken away from you, well, switch jobs. The vast majority of the engineering labor force doesn't even know what emacs is.

saagarjha 5y ago
Putting me in an environment I don’t want to use is easily going to make me several times less productive. I’m not going to blame those tools for reducing my effort, because I’ll put in the same amount, but I can absolutely blame them for not letting me work more productively.
- bottled_poe 5y ago
  This isn’t meant to be directed at you personally. Don’t be a vigilante. Either lead, follow or get out of the way. Most people just prefer to complain than create positive change though, because it’s less effort.
  - saagarjha 5y ago
    I'm not entirely sure what you mean?
    - dagw 5y ago
      When developers end up "in an environment (they) don’t want to use" they often have one of 4 different responses: 1) Say "I'm really sorry, but I cannot do my best work in this environment", and hand in their resignation. 2) Learn to work within the constraints given and find ways to be productive anyway. 3) Take on the responsibility of trying to work within the system and improve things. 4) Bitch and moan, get all passive aggressive, start working slower (to prove their point) and generally piss off their surroundings, spread negativity and tank morale. The point is that you should always pick some combination of 1-3, rather than 4. However 4 is by far the easiest and makes most people feel better about themselves so that is the one they tend to go for. It is also by far the most unprofessional, and reflects rather badly on you. Full disclosure: I may have done nr. 4 at some point in my career.
      - tut-urut-utut 5y ago
        What's wrong with 4? Option 1 is not always possible. Not everyone can just switch to another job at a whim, especially if that job fits in other categories quite well, e.g. good salary, very short commute, nice people. Option 2 can be tried for a while, but if one knows he can't be as productive as he could have been given the choice of tools, motivation goes down quickly. I mean, why bother putting 10-50% more effort for the same output? Option 3 is often unrealistic. Usually, the type of companies that doesn't give you a choice of choosing your tools is a company where trying to change something is almost impossible. And we are left with Option 4. Except pissing of the surrounding, all other stuff is just what the company deserves. Also, no need to start working slower, that's what already happens because of the prescribed tools, and doing so intentionally is very bad, but as I said, also no need to put extra effort to compensate lost productivity.
        dagw 5y ago
        Option 4 doesn't really primarily affect the company, it affects your colleagues and co-workers, none of whom are responsible for the situation you find yourself in. So if you're not going to do anything to improve your own situation, don't compensate for that by making the situation worse for everyone else around you with your negative attitude and constant complaining.

saagarjha 5y ago

Putting me in an environment I don’t want to use is easily going to make me several times less productive. I’m not going to blame those tools for reducing my effort, because I’ll put in the same amount, but I can absolutely blame them for not letting me work more productively.

bottled_poe 5y ago
This isn’t meant to be directed at you personally. Don’t be a vigilante. Either lead, follow or get out of the way. Most people just prefer to complain than create positive change though, because it’s less effort.
- saagarjha 5y ago
  I'm not entirely sure what you mean?
  - dagw 5y ago
    When developers end up "in an environment (they) don’t want to use" they often have one of 4 different responses: 1) Say "I'm really sorry, but I cannot do my best work in this environment", and hand in their resignation. 2) Learn to work within the constraints given and find ways to be productive anyway. 3) Take on the responsibility of trying to work within the system and improve things. 4) Bitch and moan, get all passive aggressive, start working slower (to prove their point) and generally piss off their surroundings, spread negativity and tank morale. The point is that you should always pick some combination of 1-3, rather than 4. However 4 is by far the easiest and makes most people feel better about themselves so that is the one they tend to go for. It is also by far the most unprofessional, and reflects rather badly on you. Full disclosure: I may have done nr. 4 at some point in my career.
    - tut-urut-utut 5y ago
      What's wrong with 4? Option 1 is not always possible. Not everyone can just switch to another job at a whim, especially if that job fits in other categories quite well, e.g. good salary, very short commute, nice people. Option 2 can be tried for a while, but if one knows he can't be as productive as he could have been given the choice of tools, motivation goes down quickly. I mean, why bother putting 10-50% more effort for the same output? Option 3 is often unrealistic. Usually, the type of companies that doesn't give you a choice of choosing your tools is a company where trying to change something is almost impossible. And we are left with Option 4. Except pissing of the surrounding, all other stuff is just what the company deserves. Also, no need to start working slower, that's what already happens because of the prescribed tools, and doing so intentionally is very bad, but as I said, also no need to put extra effort to compensate lost productivity.
      - dagw 5y ago
        Option 4 doesn't really primarily affect the company, it affects your colleagues and co-workers, none of whom are responsible for the situation you find yourself in. So if you're not going to do anything to improve your own situation, don't compensate for that by making the situation worse for everyone else around you with your negative attitude and constant complaining.