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This is actually a really great discussion on community support for software development versus "corporate" support, using a really interesting metaphor of a ja

This is actually a really great discussion on community support for software development versus "corporate" support, using a really interesting metaphor of a japanese shrine. I enjoyed the video and am voting it up, but I think you should change the title, because I was expecting some cheesy dating video... ..I know, what does that say about me, that THINKING that, I still clicked through... Perhaps add to the end of it - The Longevity of FOSS.

noelchurchill 18y ago
I agree, this video was a lot better than I was expecting.
tremendo 18y ago
+1. By title alone I would have never cared. Only because it's here in HN did I click through to these comments and based on yours I decided to actually watch the video. It's a 9 min talk by Clay Shirky basically praising the hacker spirit.
- diN0bot 18y ago
  The sense of community and collaboration has been on the ris for years now. I think it's evident in the open source spirit and the increasing usability and documentation of open source tools. The django and python Q&A communities I'm part of also have this "collaboration" tilt. Still, when I think "hacker" I think solitary, ego-driven programmer, doing immature things to prove himself. I think of the anger and non-compromise that comes out of some of the old beards. If "hacker" has been reappropriated that's great. I don't mean to quibble over words--regardless of what we call things, I am very optimistic by the growing team-work and social awareness of internet communities.
  - tremendo 18y ago
    Yes, we're asuming different meanings for "hacker", and I was hoping for the one I take is the more accepted one for this site (Hacker News), those who are "trying to write interesting software, and for whom computers are just a medium of expression" (http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html) In any case, point taken as I probably got a bit carried away on my comment above, the talk referenced is more about the collaborative benefits new technologies bring to us.
- nihilocrat 18y ago
  It also has some takeaway about how to build your product. Make a product which the users are going to be excited about and want to preserve, so they will help other people trying to use it. There seem to be enough people around who don't get that, that it's a non-obvious insight. It's probably because they are just like the "C++ people" in the story, though; they've already made up their minds before you started talking to them.
dood 18y ago
It isn't really about community vs corporate support. He is making a much broader point that the internet (and other modern tech) is enabling like-minded people to work together to produce stable and effective systems purely for the love of it, on a previously unimaginable scale.
dmoney 18y ago
Perhaps add to the end of it - The Longevity of FOSS. Good idea. Alas, it seems to be beyond the edit time limit.
stcredzero 18y ago
This is a key notion with regards to the success of programming languages. Programming languages are only partly a technological artifact. The sociological and cultural aspects are just as important, if not more so.

noelchurchill 18y ago

I agree, this video was a lot better than I was expecting.

tremendo 18y ago

+1. By title alone I would have never cared. Only because it's here in HN did I click through to these comments and based on yours I decided to actually watch the video. It's a 9 min talk by Clay Shirky basically praising the hacker spirit.

diN0bot 18y ago
The sense of community and collaboration has been on the ris for years now. I think it's evident in the open source spirit and the increasing usability and documentation of open source tools. The django and python Q&A communities I'm part of also have this "collaboration" tilt. Still, when I think "hacker" I think solitary, ego-driven programmer, doing immature things to prove himself. I think of the anger and non-compromise that comes out of some of the old beards. If "hacker" has been reappropriated that's great. I don't mean to quibble over words--regardless of what we call things, I am very optimistic by the growing team-work and social awareness of internet communities.
- tremendo 18y ago
  Yes, we're asuming different meanings for "hacker", and I was hoping for the one I take is the more accepted one for this site (Hacker News), those who are "trying to write interesting software, and for whom computers are just a medium of expression" (http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html) In any case, point taken as I probably got a bit carried away on my comment above, the talk referenced is more about the collaborative benefits new technologies bring to us.
nihilocrat 18y ago
It also has some takeaway about how to build your product. Make a product which the users are going to be excited about and want to preserve, so they will help other people trying to use it. There seem to be enough people around who don't get that, that it's a non-obvious insight. It's probably because they are just like the "C++ people" in the story, though; they've already made up their minds before you started talking to them.

dood 18y ago

It isn't really about community vs corporate support. He is making a much broader point that the internet (and other modern tech) is enabling like-minded people to work together to produce stable and effective systems purely for the love of it, on a previously unimaginable scale.

dmoney 18y ago

Perhaps add to the end of it - The Longevity of FOSS. Good idea. Alas, it seems to be beyond the edit time limit.

stcredzero 18y ago

This is a key notion with regards to the success of programming languages. Programming languages are only partly a technological artifact. The sociological and cultural aspects are just as important, if not more so.