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> The reason people use terms like Rust activist is because some of the user community is quite frankly unhinged. Every community has them. Every single one. F

> The reason people use terms like Rust activist is because some of the user community is quite frankly unhinged. Every community has them. Every single one. Find me a group of a super niche hobby, say 20 people in total. I can bet my neck I'll still find at least one of them in there who is a zealot. Not sure why people focus on the 0.01% of the Rust users who are fanatics. No they are not on important positions at all, they are some frustrated people who scream on Reddit and sometimes on HN, that's it. > This is a real problem because any zealot of this level serves only to discredit the product by association. No it does not. How did you even do this logical leap? Let me give you an example of what you did just say: At some point somebody somewhere used their laptop to physically assault someone and caused them a head trauma. So surely, laptops are now discredited and you should never use one, correct? Now replace "laptop" with literally anything else you have ever used. > I am interested in technical discussion on it in case it overlaps a problem domain I am interested in, which is why I am on this thread :) 99.9% of the discussions where Rust is involved are technical. You should consider how you are picking your discussion threads if that percentage is much lower for you. I have not stumbled upon a Rust zealot on HN in at least 6 months. Last one I saw on Reddit was 3-4 months ago (though admittedly I gave up on Reddit's technical forums because they seem full of very emotional people).

ruthmarx 2y ago
> Every community has them. Every single one. Find me a group of a super niche hobby, say 20 people in total. I can bet my neck I'll still find at least one of them in there who is a zealot. Out of all the tech communities I've observed or been a part of, I think Linux in general might be the worst for having zealots.
- pdimitar 2y ago
  Even if that is factually correct -- a generous assumption but let's have it for a minute -- so what?
  - ruthmarx 2y ago
    > Even if that is factually correct -- a generous assumption I don't think it's a generous so much as reasonable assumption given the size and impact of the Linux project, and that there were much more anti-ms people in the late 90s and 2000s. > so what? I gave my perspective in a context where it seemed relevant. Why so adversarial?
    - pdimitar 2y ago
      My apologies if I came across adversarial. I just realized that I shortened "what's the relevance to the argument at hand?" to "so what?" as I was in a rush. Sorry again.
      - ruthmarx 2y ago
        No worries, and thanks! The relevance to the argument at hand, I think, I was just stating an anecdote to show a scale of sorts. I think talking about the level of zealotry is relevant and kind of interesting.
        pdimitar 2y ago
        I don't disagree, it's an interesting topic to try and understand what makes people so radical and why are they so adamant in being such. At the same time, it's very disheartening for me how so many people wouldn't use something just because there are zealots who can't shut up about it. :(
        mionhe 2y ago
        The problem with loud zealotry in a group is that anybody who brushes against it that might be interested sees the zealotry and realizes they'll have to associate with the zealots.
        pdimitar 2y ago
        Do you really have to associate with the zealots though? I for one have been an Elixir and Rust advocate for a while but always made it 100% clear, in every discussion, that there are right tools for the job and that sometimes you just need to whip out a quick Python script and be done with the task at hand, for example. This has mostly worked well for me, and paradoxically only HN is the place where even trying to defend Rust on its actual technical (as in: objective) merits still gets you labeled as a "Rust loonie" or "a zealot" or "Rust evangelist strike force". Even Reddit, that I view as an absolute cesspool, and had accounts banned for asking a question clearly adhering to the template given in the subreddit, has more nuanced discussions on Rust. I find that quite fascinating, and even though my HN account is fairly non-recent, I still don't associate with the apparently very bone-headed people who jump like hit by a power line when Rust is mentioned.

ruthmarx 2y ago

> Every community has them. Every single one. Find me a group of a super niche hobby, say 20 people in total. I can bet my neck I'll still find at least one of them in there who is a zealot. Out of all the tech communities I've observed or been a part of, I think Linux in general might be the worst for having zealots.

pdimitar 2y ago
Even if that is factually correct -- a generous assumption but let's have it for a minute -- so what?
- ruthmarx 2y ago
  > Even if that is factually correct -- a generous assumption I don't think it's a generous so much as reasonable assumption given the size and impact of the Linux project, and that there were much more anti-ms people in the late 90s and 2000s. > so what? I gave my perspective in a context where it seemed relevant. Why so adversarial?
  - pdimitar 2y ago
    My apologies if I came across adversarial. I just realized that I shortened "what's the relevance to the argument at hand?" to "so what?" as I was in a rush. Sorry again.
    - ruthmarx 2y ago
      No worries, and thanks! The relevance to the argument at hand, I think, I was just stating an anecdote to show a scale of sorts. I think talking about the level of zealotry is relevant and kind of interesting.
      - pdimitar 2y ago
        I don't disagree, it's an interesting topic to try and understand what makes people so radical and why are they so adamant in being such. At the same time, it's very disheartening for me how so many people wouldn't use something just because there are zealots who can't shut up about it. :(
        mionhe 2y ago
        The problem with loud zealotry in a group is that anybody who brushes against it that might be interested sees the zealotry and realizes they'll have to associate with the zealots.
        pdimitar 2y ago
        Do you really have to associate with the zealots though? I for one have been an Elixir and Rust advocate for a while but always made it 100% clear, in every discussion, that there are right tools for the job and that sometimes you just need to whip out a quick Python script and be done with the task at hand, for example. This has mostly worked well for me, and paradoxically only HN is the place where even trying to defend Rust on its actual technical (as in: objective) merits still gets you labeled as a "Rust loonie" or "a zealot" or "Rust evangelist strike force". Even Reddit, that I view as an absolute cesspool, and had accounts banned for asking a question clearly adhering to the template given in the subreddit, has more nuanced discussions on Rust. I find that quite fascinating, and even though my HN account is fairly non-recent, I still don't associate with the apparently very bone-headed people who jump like hit by a power line when Rust is mentioned.