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Your blog post: > Got another programming job. Got fired for "performance." I think the reason wasn’t good, but I also have a hard time building a theory of mi

Your blog post: > Got another programming job. Got fired for "performance." I think the reason wasn’t good, but I also have a hard time building a theory of mind, which means I can’t read code written by others. If you can't read code written by others, that's going to be a big concern for companies that require you to read and modify other people's code. Perhaps you need to be a contractor, not an employee.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
Even then, your job as a developer is reading and comprehending other people's code and your manager's intents; writing your own code should be a detail.
zimpenfish 3y ago
> Perhaps you need to be a contractor, not an employee. Unfortunately, I'd say a key skill for a contractor is probably reading code written by others because - at least in my experience - you're 90% of the time coming in to clean up or maintain an old mess someone else has made.
pcthrowaway 3y ago
Yikes! https://gavinhoward.com/2023/04/rust-is-dead-to-me/ https://gavinhoward.com/2023/04/rust-is-dead-to-me/ > Rust the language is dead to me. > why? > Because, quite literally, the Rust Foundation wants to make people like me unwelcome in any Rust event, not just official ones. > Don’t believe me? > Look at the draft Rust Trademark Policy that the Rust Foundation is asking for comments on and go to page 12: > > We will consider requests to use the Marks on a case by case basis, but at a minimum, would expect events and conferences using the Marks to…prohibit the carrying of firearms… > I have a concealed carry permit. I have firearms and other weapons. I know how to use them, and I will use them in defense of my wife and myself. > And you can bet I carry them into places I consider dangerous if it is legal to.
- WJW 3y ago
  America is such a wild place lol. How dangerous can a Rust conference really be?
  - hef19898 3y ago
    To someone writing only C?
    - WJW 3y ago
      I doubt that even a C-only programmer at a Rust conference would be in such danger that it would require firearms to mitigate. But that is my European perspective anyway, perhaps Rust programmers in the USA are significantly more vicious.
  - glimshe 3y ago
    Not much. Having lived many years abroad, my theory is that America appears to be such a wild and crazy place because we value everyone having a voice. People in America like to let others know of their opinion as freedom of speech is so celebrated here. You don't see shirts and stickers exposing lifestyles and opinions as often abroad, like "I'm the proud parent of an accelerated learner" or "I love God and Guns". I bet there are people out there outside the US who think that you should protect your safety in a boring computer conference, but you won't ever hear about it. This notion is too fringe and people won't dare say it.
    - WJW 3y ago
      > I bet there are people out there outside the US who think that you should protect your safety in a boring computer conference, I think you missed my previous point. Angry men with guns being allowed into a boring computer conference (or anywhere else for that matter) is the reason people think they need to protect their own safety in the first place.
  - maximus-decimus 3y ago
    Especially bringing up defending his wife. Do people bring their wives to Rust conferences? Or maybe the reason people don't is because it's too dangerous.
- TazeTSchnitzel 3y ago
  Fascinating how they place more importance on how “unwelcome” they would feel if not allowed to carry a gun, versus how physically unsafe others might feel if they were.
- czechdeveloper 3y ago
  I have to say that that part in Rust Trademark Policy also gave me a stop. It's just so weird to single it out.
  - themoonisachees 3y ago
    It's good PR CYA. They ensure that there will be a much lower chance of an article headlined "mass shooting at rust conference" being written. I am personal'y of the opinion that brands play it too safe in general and people aren't stupid and know that just because a brand happened to be near something bad doesn't mean the brand is responsible and therefore bad, but apparently brands don't agree and they're the ones calling the shots on where they're displayed.
    - tristor 3y ago
      > They ensure that there will be a much lower chance of an article headlined "mass shooting at rust conference" being written. I don't think this follows. Historically speaking, most mass shootings have occurred at locations that specifically disallow firearms, making them "soft targets" where the cowardly attacker will not have anyone fight back. It doesn't seem logically consistent to assume that this policy item has the effect you are stating.
      - asynchronous 3y ago
        They’re downvoting you because they don’t like hearing logic or the truth.
      - kupiakos 3y ago
        > most mass shootings have occurred at locations that specifically disallow firearms, making them "soft targets" where the cowardly attacke Most places with large crowds disallow firearms, and most mass shootings occur at places with crowds. You're confusing correlation with causation.
        tristor 3y ago
- sjducb 3y ago
  Probably a good idea to take the blog offline and see if the job search situation improves.
- BeetleB 3y ago
  Eh. Nothing that you quoted would concern me about this person. I am anti-gun and vote that way, but I am mature enough to see the other side's perspective. If a person says he refuses to use Rust because because they prohibit firearms, then as a person I would find it quite understandable, and as an interviewer I would bring it up in the interview to point out that he'll have to work with whatever tech stack we use, and should we switch to Rust, would it be a problem? Frankly, I think if people won't hire because of a post like this, then the interviewers are the one contributing to the problem.
  - ativzzz 3y ago
    > Frankly, I think if people won't hire because of a post like this, then the interviewers are the one contributing to the problem. Totally disagree. For the vast majority of software dev jobs (like 98% of them), you just want someone who shows up and does the work without making much of a fuss. People who openly demonstrate that they are difficult to work with are freely signaling "do not hire me, I will make your life much harder" Why would you hire someone like that? You'd much rather have someone who is 50% as skilled but gets along with everyone and doesn't make other's lives harder because of their personality
    - BeetleB 3y ago
      > For the vast majority of software dev jobs (like 98% of them), you just want someone who shows up and does the work without making much of a fuss. For the vast majority of people who post stuff like that on their blog, they show up and do the work without making much of a fuss. I know because I've worked with several of them.
      - freedomben 3y ago
        Same. Finding out the politics and personal views of some of the people I've worked with would curl most people's toes! But they show and and work without making much of a fuss. In fact they have been some of my favorite people to work with.
  - 3y ago
- asynchronous 3y ago
  [flagged]
- version_five 3y ago
  I've never had anything to do with guns and I admit I find it weird to want to bring one to a rust conference, ridiculous actually. I do see the point though that whoever came up with these rules is intentionally provoking people. Why would a software project have firearms policy other than as a sort of discrimination or put differently a way of showing the kind of people who are welcome and those who are not. Laws are what they are, and if someone is complying with the law completely unrelated to the software, I don't think my software should have an opinion about that. It's a loud dog whistle and a provocation, not a useful policy.
WJW 3y ago
> Perhaps you need to be a contractor, not an employee. If you can't read code by written by others, being a (software) contractor is probably the worst job you could have. Now you need to read new code at every new client you start at.
- zimpenfish 3y ago
  > Now you need to read new code And most times it's code that you really don't enjoy reading because it was dragged up from the slurry pits in Beelzebub's own septic tank and mangled over the years into a horrific totem, a paean to insanity, screeching out its perverted agonies the only way it knows how - through JIRA and Kanban boards containing decade-old bugs that you are asked, nay expected, to fix in your first week.
- okeuro49 3y ago
  I worked with a contractor who implements an abstraction layer for a communication protocol: goes into a company, provides an integration for the protocol, then leaves. Similarly I've worked for someone who sets up a continuos integration systems. There are contracting jobs that don't require you to read the code of others.
gavinhoward 3y ago
Oh I know why I can't get a job. I was just refuting the article.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago

Even then, your job as a developer is reading and comprehending other people's code and your manager's intents; writing your own code should be a detail.

zimpenfish 3y ago

> Perhaps you need to be a contractor, not an employee. Unfortunately, I'd say a key skill for a contractor is probably reading code written by others because - at least in my experience - you're 90% of the time coming in to clean up or maintain an old mess someone else has made.

pcthrowaway 3y ago

Yikes! https://gavinhoward.com/2023/04/rust-is-dead-to-me/ https://gavinhoward.com/2023/04/rust-is-dead-to-me/ > Rust the language is dead to me. > why? > Because, quite literally, the Rust Foundation wants to make people like me unwelcome in any Rust event, not just official ones. > Don’t believe me? > Look at the draft Rust Trademark Policy that the Rust Foundation is asking for comments on and go to page 12: > > We will consider requests to use the Marks on a case by case basis, but at a minimum, would expect events and conferences using the Marks to…prohibit the carrying of firearms… > I have a concealed carry permit. I have firearms and other weapons. I know how to use them, and I will use them in defense of my wife and myself. > And you can bet I carry them into places I consider dangerous if it is legal to.

WJW 3y ago
America is such a wild place lol. How dangerous can a Rust conference really be?
- hef19898 3y ago
  To someone writing only C?
  - WJW 3y ago
    I doubt that even a C-only programmer at a Rust conference would be in such danger that it would require firearms to mitigate. But that is my European perspective anyway, perhaps Rust programmers in the USA are significantly more vicious.
- glimshe 3y ago
  Not much. Having lived many years abroad, my theory is that America appears to be such a wild and crazy place because we value everyone having a voice. People in America like to let others know of their opinion as freedom of speech is so celebrated here. You don't see shirts and stickers exposing lifestyles and opinions as often abroad, like "I'm the proud parent of an accelerated learner" or "I love God and Guns". I bet there are people out there outside the US who think that you should protect your safety in a boring computer conference, but you won't ever hear about it. This notion is too fringe and people won't dare say it.
  - WJW 3y ago
    > I bet there are people out there outside the US who think that you should protect your safety in a boring computer conference, I think you missed my previous point. Angry men with guns being allowed into a boring computer conference (or anywhere else for that matter) is the reason people think they need to protect their own safety in the first place.
- maximus-decimus 3y ago
  Especially bringing up defending his wife. Do people bring their wives to Rust conferences? Or maybe the reason people don't is because it's too dangerous.
TazeTSchnitzel 3y ago
Fascinating how they place more importance on how “unwelcome” they would feel if not allowed to carry a gun, versus how physically unsafe others might feel if they were.
czechdeveloper 3y ago
I have to say that that part in Rust Trademark Policy also gave me a stop. It's just so weird to single it out.
- themoonisachees 3y ago
  It's good PR CYA. They ensure that there will be a much lower chance of an article headlined "mass shooting at rust conference" being written. I am personal'y of the opinion that brands play it too safe in general and people aren't stupid and know that just because a brand happened to be near something bad doesn't mean the brand is responsible and therefore bad, but apparently brands don't agree and they're the ones calling the shots on where they're displayed.
  - tristor 3y ago
    > They ensure that there will be a much lower chance of an article headlined "mass shooting at rust conference" being written. I don't think this follows. Historically speaking, most mass shootings have occurred at locations that specifically disallow firearms, making them "soft targets" where the cowardly attacker will not have anyone fight back. It doesn't seem logically consistent to assume that this policy item has the effect you are stating.
    - asynchronous 3y ago
      They’re downvoting you because they don’t like hearing logic or the truth.
    - kupiakos 3y ago
      > most mass shootings have occurred at locations that specifically disallow firearms, making them "soft targets" where the cowardly attacke Most places with large crowds disallow firearms, and most mass shootings occur at places with crowds. You're confusing correlation with causation.
      - tristor 3y ago
sjducb 3y ago
Probably a good idea to take the blog offline and see if the job search situation improves.
BeetleB 3y ago
Eh. Nothing that you quoted would concern me about this person. I am anti-gun and vote that way, but I am mature enough to see the other side's perspective. If a person says he refuses to use Rust because because they prohibit firearms, then as a person I would find it quite understandable, and as an interviewer I would bring it up in the interview to point out that he'll have to work with whatever tech stack we use, and should we switch to Rust, would it be a problem? Frankly, I think if people won't hire because of a post like this, then the interviewers are the one contributing to the problem.
- ativzzz 3y ago
  > Frankly, I think if people won't hire because of a post like this, then the interviewers are the one contributing to the problem. Totally disagree. For the vast majority of software dev jobs (like 98% of them), you just want someone who shows up and does the work without making much of a fuss. People who openly demonstrate that they are difficult to work with are freely signaling "do not hire me, I will make your life much harder" Why would you hire someone like that? You'd much rather have someone who is 50% as skilled but gets along with everyone and doesn't make other's lives harder because of their personality
  - BeetleB 3y ago
    > For the vast majority of software dev jobs (like 98% of them), you just want someone who shows up and does the work without making much of a fuss. For the vast majority of people who post stuff like that on their blog, they show up and do the work without making much of a fuss. I know because I've worked with several of them.
    - freedomben 3y ago
      Same. Finding out the politics and personal views of some of the people I've worked with would curl most people's toes! But they show and and work without making much of a fuss. In fact they have been some of my favorite people to work with.
- 3y ago
asynchronous 3y ago
[flagged]
version_five 3y ago
I've never had anything to do with guns and I admit I find it weird to want to bring one to a rust conference, ridiculous actually. I do see the point though that whoever came up with these rules is intentionally provoking people. Why would a software project have firearms policy other than as a sort of discrimination or put differently a way of showing the kind of people who are welcome and those who are not. Laws are what they are, and if someone is complying with the law completely unrelated to the software, I don't think my software should have an opinion about that. It's a loud dog whistle and a provocation, not a useful policy.

WJW 3y ago

> Perhaps you need to be a contractor, not an employee. If you can't read code by written by others, being a (software) contractor is probably the worst job you could have. Now you need to read new code at every new client you start at.

zimpenfish 3y ago
> Now you need to read new code And most times it's code that you really don't enjoy reading because it was dragged up from the slurry pits in Beelzebub's own septic tank and mangled over the years into a horrific totem, a paean to insanity, screeching out its perverted agonies the only way it knows how - through JIRA and Kanban boards containing decade-old bugs that you are asked, nay expected, to fix in your first week.
okeuro49 3y ago
I worked with a contractor who implements an abstraction layer for a communication protocol: goes into a company, provides an integration for the protocol, then leaves. Similarly I've worked for someone who sets up a continuos integration systems. There are contracting jobs that don't require you to read the code of others.

gavinhoward 3y ago

Oh I know why I can't get a job. I was just refuting the article.