[BoneZone]

I disagree.

For me this outlines the caveats and pitfalls of software development and management.

There is real truth to some of the authors points showing real paths that emerge naturally.

If you're going to gaslight him by inferring anyone who is critical is an asshole, maybe you should ask yourself why you're taking the article so personally...

[d--b]

Am I saying that anyone who is critical is an asshole? Where? Seriously?

I find that the article hides a deep aggressivity towards overall mediocrity behind a thin veil of office-space-like humour. And I think that aggressivity is contagious and so not a good thing to spread.

[DangitBobby]

You didn't say it outright, but it was exactly what I inferred from your comment as well. You said "toxic negativity" which comes across as a moral judgement, and anything that follows comes across as the result of that judgement.

[d--b]

It was a judgement. I do think the author is being a jerk here. But people can be critical without sounding like jerks.

[DangitBobby]

I don't think it's reqlly fair to read a person's frustration piece and assert they probably have a character flaw. I don't even see your issue with the article, really. I don't think it's targeting anyone specifically and it seems to be about doing things in excess. Maybe just the idea of people who are consistently negative contributors rubs you the wrong way.

[psychoslave]

Maybe avoiding to use pejorative wording would make a more convincing argument to promote a view still accepting meaningful advises through criticism, while judging unethical any form of essentialism view which reduces some people to despicable traits, rather than presenting a situation where some people are entangled in abject behaviors.

[mmcnl]

I agree. Be professional. Assume good intent and keep your opinions for yourself when nobody is asking for it.

[throwawayforall]

>I find that the article hides a deep aggressivity towards overall mediocrity behind a thin veil of office-space-like humour. And I think that aggressivity is contagious and so not a good thing to spread

The post came off to me as frustrated not aggressive. I think you are overreaching here, and this can create very toxic environments as well. Disagreements, frustrations, and stress are just part of being a human. They're part of getting work done. Being toxically negative or positive is not a good thing both in the workplace and out of it, and this post was not aggressive, just being frustrated. Frustration can be good! It signals things that we need to talk about, so we can focus more on them. Hiding them only makes the problem worse.

[ouid]

You're going to have to be more specific at this point.

[camjohnson26]

I agree with most of the author’s points, but the post is overly negative in my opinion. It’s blaming other people for the problems instead of digging into why these problems come up in the first place. Why do managers waste time with busywork? They need insight into the process. If you look to criticize without understanding you’ll always find plenty of material to blog about, but you’ll just create new problems and never fix anything.

The author probably thinks these issues are caused by bad people instead of bad processes, which is why he doesn’t suggest realistic fixes.

[surprisetalk]

> The author probably thinks these issues are caused by bad people instead of bad processes

Author here.

This is an excellent way to phrase a subtle point that I couldn't figure out how to fit in the piece.

I think that -10x engineering is not someone you are, but something you do. And even more commonly, it's something that organizations do for periods of time.

[RheingoldRiver]

I think this is something that would've been great to include as an intro, and would've completely removed the negative atmosphere that some people (including myself) got from the article.

[6510]

how to become..

[Jolter]

The title makes a lot of sense because of the meme “10x engineer”. That is also wrong - being 10x more productive is also something you do, not something you are — but I see the point in following that template.

[burnished]

Gaslighting is a pretty serious accusation, its weird to see you use it so casually.

[nonethewiser]

Very overused in online discussion. It requires intent which there is virtually never evidence of. Without that it might as well just be a difference in opinion. Its prevalence speaks to how intolerant people have become.

[m3kw9]

That’s not what he said about anyone critical is an ass, he’s say rather than -10x, worse for a company are assholes and they do exist

[postalrat]

I can deal with assholes who get stuff done. Developers who are consistently making negative progress are harder to deal with.

-10x developers can get the just by promising things people depend on but never deliver.

[m3kw9]

Usually is easier to deal with -10x devs than assholes because they are likely devious is not easy to handle. A crapy dev can be dealt with when you present their git commit to the manager/lead

[lifeisstillgood]

Well put.