4 ms·

It's harmless. It's funny. Some of you just need to relax and bring back some joy to programming.

by coryrc 4y ago

colinmhayes 4y ago
I'm a bit torn. Yea, it's harmless, but making your OS flip people off isn't really funny. I just feel like it would be hard to trust this programmers judgement if they thought this was an appropriate joke to make.
- Verdex 4y ago
  It's not great, but I think the real question is twofold. Is the programmer far enough in their career to have been expected to already learn this lesson and did the programmer in fact learn the lesson. If they're young and they never do it again, then I think it would be fine to keep the hire. If they keep on doing it, then it's time to go. If they're 25 years into their career, then they should almost definitely have known better.
  - gnulinux 4y ago
    Isn't this a bit backwards? I expect a new hire to understand that they can't put all their initiatives into the product, certainly not a joke, unless they're explicitly told otherwise. I'd expect a new hire to understand there is a natural pace for everything to grow -- as in all relationships -- so they can't go all out on day 1. On the other hand, I'd want a senior engineer to use their initiative a lot more often. They would also understand that their job is to contribute confidently to the best of their ability.
    - pvg 4y ago
      You won't end up with many senior engineers using their initiative if you beat it out of them before they get to being senior engineers.
- grp000 4y ago
  Yeah, it's not funny, it's hilarious.
- throwaway675309 4y ago
  Given that one of the original mouse cursors for Microsoft windows was an actual index finger that's pointing, I find it actually pretty amusing. Oh noes the middle finger, there goes the neighborhood...
- hnfong 4y ago
  Agree, but people have made worse mistakes at that age. Some of them learn and grow. (but, granted, not everyone!)
Closi 4y ago
Depends what we mean when we say harmless - It’s not harmless to brand image, consumer trust and ultimately sales if those drop. Intentionally hiding offensive things in the code does show poor judgement to me. If it was a sad face, fair enough, and if it triggers based on an intentional set of actions by the user as an Easter egg that’s another thing, but using a swear symbol in an error check and committing that to the codebase? Pretty poor judgement imo

It's harmless. It's funny. Some of you just need to relax and bring back some joy to programming.

by coryrc 4y ago

It's harmless. It's funny. Some of you just need to relax and bring back some joy to programming.

I'm a bit torn. Yea, it's harmless, but making your OS flip people off isn't really funny. I just feel like it would be hard to trust this programmers judgement if they thought this was an appropriate joke to make.

Verdex 4y ago
It's not great, but I think the real question is twofold. Is the programmer far enough in their career to have been expected to already learn this lesson and did the programmer in fact learn the lesson. If they're young and they never do it again, then I think it would be fine to keep the hire. If they keep on doing it, then it's time to go. If they're 25 years into their career, then they should almost definitely have known better.
- gnulinux 4y ago
  Isn't this a bit backwards? I expect a new hire to understand that they can't put all their initiatives into the product, certainly not a joke, unless they're explicitly told otherwise. I'd expect a new hire to understand there is a natural pace for everything to grow -- as in all relationships -- so they can't go all out on day 1. On the other hand, I'd want a senior engineer to use their initiative a lot more often. They would also understand that their job is to contribute confidently to the best of their ability.
  - pvg 4y ago
    You won't end up with many senior engineers using their initiative if you beat it out of them before they get to being senior engineers.
grp000 4y ago
Yeah, it's not funny, it's hilarious.
throwaway675309 4y ago
Given that one of the original mouse cursors for Microsoft windows was an actual index finger that's pointing, I find it actually pretty amusing. Oh noes the middle finger, there goes the neighborhood...
hnfong 4y ago
Agree, but people have made worse mistakes at that age. Some of them learn and grow. (but, granted, not everyone!)

Closi 4y ago

Depends what we mean when we say harmless - It’s not harmless to brand image, consumer trust and ultimately sales if those drop. Intentionally hiding offensive things in the code does show poor judgement to me. If it was a sad face, fair enough, and if it triggers based on an intentional set of actions by the user as an Easter egg that’s another thing, but using a swear symbol in an error check and committing that to the codebase? Pretty poor judgement imo