Well, imagine this rant where "RoR" would be replaced by "java", wouldn't you imagine being the author of the pamphlet ?

I'm frightened by such an uniform behavior in the YC community. By dismissing any dissenting point of view you kill diversity. I remind you that the next fad you (and I) will be trying to catch will be created by a guy bothered by the current state of things. Bothered enough to act (and reunite the "Tipping point" conditions).

This guy attack RoR, he's attacked personally as trying to sound smart. Have you ever criticized anything ?

(my karma will follow the Dow Jones today I think ....)

Uhm... I actually wrote my programming language, Hecl, in Java. While there is a lot I don't like about Java, I still don't like the tone of these kinds of articles. I think after a while you can sniff them out - when they're really trying to point out some deficiencies, and when they're just going for a boost by putting stuff down.

At least that's my take on it. Slinging numbers like 100 and 0 is generally a sign of hyperbole.

I agree instead of bitching about Rails, the guy should be writing about why Weblocks is so great - with more detail than: "because they actually stopped and thought about the whole thing for a moment, and try things that will address the problem as a whole"

You make a good point.

My problem is that I'm tired of all these articles proclaiming "Skub considered harmful"[1], "Why Skub sucks", "Skub on rails sucks!" or "Skub ruining CS degrees".

But it just goes round and round and round.

Someone says something bad about Skub then another 6 blog posts pop up defending it and how the author is a douche. Then it just burns through the blog-sphere like a wildfire before burning out. Ready to start again!

[1]: http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF020-Skub.gif

Yeah, I've a very good solution : stop upvoting those stories. But, if you specifically didn't vote for it, it is on the frontpage, so the majority of the group here think this kind of story is worth the energy.

I don't think you could simply replace RoR with java (J2EE) in this particular post. But even if you could: you'd be right to cap on java.

Java makes programming difficult. Some people like that. Many don't.

Ruby makes programming easier. RoR makes doing webapps easier. This guy's premise, that there is no overarching philosophy to RoR, is incorrect, and shows unnecessary ignorance and anger. You have to wonder if he's just projecting.

There was a study done some time ago that showed that people who negatively review something appear to be more intelligent than those who positively review the same thing.

This is probably the case here even though I don't know who Maciej is or what Rails app he's actually written. I think you should use a tool you're reviewing for a project before making up your mind about it.

The study is discussed in a blog post here, http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/08/brilliant_but..., the original reference is Teresa Amabile, "Brilliant but Cruel: Perception of Negative Evaluators," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19 (1983), 146-156.

Its the same with the news, comedy, movies, etc. Negativeness is edgier and seems more relevant. I think we are addicted to stress: http://the-programmers-stone.com/about/the-dreaded-jungian-b...

When debating with people online, I have to be caustic and biting (although not too much) to be taken seriously.

And I would add Politics

Hating on the latest and greatest thing is a good way to get hits and links if you can't get them any other way. Many comedians have made careers of this by adding humor.

People like it when you appear to have no sacred cows and call out things which might otherwise be thought hip or something.