Why is that? It can easily be proven. I'm not trying to suggest that everyone who uses Ruby is an arrogant child as I even have friends who certainly don't fit that bill, but when you have an especially abrasive attitude like that within a community, it only takes a minority to sour the majority.
And while it certainly isn't a fault of the language, it definitely influences it usage for some people.
Re:Ask HN: Why Python over Ruby?
by peskytruth on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:13AM
(#682562)
Umm....and have you ever spent anytime time in #python? Some are helpful, but there are a choice few who I would describe as arrogant children.
In any community of size, you get good seeds and bad seeds. Python is not immune to this.
Actually, for a while I was spending quite a bit of time in #python. I didn't come across "arrogant children".
Looking at some of the drama and prima donna action in the Rails community (from a distance) just made me sad and grateful that my corner of Python (scientific computing) doesn't have those sorts of issues.
... it only takes a minority to sour the majority.
That's a decision you make for yourself, not an absolute truth.
I thought I was rather clear on the fact that I wasn't speaking in absolute truths. My answers reflect my personal opinion of why I (and others like me, in some cases) choose Python over Ruby.
Well.. Zed Shaw is raving about Python these days.
And yes, a lot of us pythonistas view him with suspicion.
Check out the Ruby blog scene. It's a wonder they actually write any code in between the bragging about how awesome they are and slagging each other off.
Re:Ask HN: Why Python over Ruby?
by knowtheory on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @05:55AM
(#682359)
So you're going to judge the entire Ruby community by like... 5% of their bloggers? :P
To be fair, "Pythonista's" were renowned for slagging-off most other languages, and in the same breath, claiming how very like LISP their Python is. Hopefully this attitude has died off...
Ruby developers (Rubyons?) were renowned for typical Japanese self-effacement when it was becoming popular, which I think was some of the appeal... I guess what goes around comes around...
Re:Ask HN: Why Python over Ruby?
by jamesbritt on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @03:17PM
(#683201)
Hey, now we can judge the entire Python community by tdavis's comments.
:)
It's difficult to accept your rational argument when you include stuff like this.