I've read a lot of these types of posts and (sorry, rant) feel they're written only to make "good developers" feel better about themselves. I see no other value

I've read a lot of these types of posts and (sorry, rant) feel they're written only to make "good developers" feel better about themselves. I see no other value in such posts because "bad developers" won't learn these things by reading about them ...or they'd be good developers. That said, the list is subjective. I, for example, fall nicely through the cracks of this particular categorization: "Bad developer only sticks to what he knows ... reaction to any technical change is negative" A the moment I'm most definitely avoiding change because I have 64k LOC that I can either a) finish, or b) migrate to .NET 4.5. "Good developer ... finishes several technical books a year." I haven't read a technical book in at least 4 years. But after 21 years' programming I own more tech books than many I work with have read, and I've read each and every one I own. So I'm actually quite comfortable with that. "Good developer ... also very much concerned with the process quality" Definitely not me. I had my process fix in the mid 90's and could no longer care less. Where I'm the architect I get on with it. Where I'm a program manager I tell the team what I need, and couldn't care less who does it, how or where it's done, or by how many. I care only about if, when, and quality. "Bad developer completes tasks." So should good developers. If all you ever do is to develop features which create value for customers, you're never going to get a product out the door. "Bad developer always needs to allocate extra time to document and simplify." This one is definitely me. My design may evolve. The next feature may highlight a bad design decision in the last, but the temptation is always there to work on the next-next feature, rather than refactoring something you know needs it. It's just time management. Also, this is at odds with "Good developer will ... always continue to clean and fix." There are no absolutes. You just do what you're able. If you're bad and smart enough to recognize that fact you'll become good. Q.E.D.