[asdffdsa321]

But can he solve a whiteboard coding question in 30 minutes?

[jonsen]

He will get away with small talk.

[stingraycharles]

Ok normally I don’t approve of these types of comments on HN, but this was witty.

For those who do not get the reference, Alan Kay is the inventor of SmallTalk: http://worrydream.com/EarlyHistoryOfSmalltalk/

[aantix]

I love how you revealed that you dislike joke comments on HN and unintentionally killed it at the same time.

[exolymph]

I don't think the explanation killed the joke. As someone who wouldn't have gotten it otherwise, it made me able to appreciate the pun.

[josephcooney]

Disagree. It killed it.

[therealchiko]

Agreed, it definitely did.

[0xEFF]

Dead as a doornail.

[stingraycharles]

Didn’t intent on killing the joke, I was hoping it would allow more people to appreciate it. But apparently I failed at that. :)

[aantix]

No worries. :)

"Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process." -- Elwyn Brooks White

[fouc]

Isn't a joke "alive" until the explanation? So those that 'got' the joke would've enjoyed the joke, before moving onto read the next line. So reading the explanation of the joke wouldn't interfere with their enjoyment of the joke since they already enjoyed it prior to reading the explanation.

[TheSpiceIsLife]

I am not a programmer, but read enough HN to have gotten the reference.

To the people saying the explanation ruined the joke, I’d ask you to take a minute to consider whether you viewed it as a joke or a shibboleth.

If only those who know ‘got it’ and explaining it ‘killed it’, then isn’t it by definition a shibboleth?

In-group language is exclusionary by definition. Is this a good thing?

[loco5niner]

I would not have gotten it otherwise

[booleandilemma]

Gotta provide some context for the project management professionals who are reading this thread, I guess.