[hinkley]

Rewrites are much like any act of self improvement. People think grand gestures and magical dates (like January 1 or hitting rock bottom) are the solution to turn your life around. But it’s little habits compounding that make or break you. And it’s new habits that kill old ones, not abstinence.

I worked with another contractor for a batshit team that was waiting for a rewrite. We bonded over how silly they were being. Yeah that’s great that you have a plan but we have to put up with your bullshit now. The one eyed man who was leading them kept pushing back on any attempts to improve the existing code, even widely accepted idioms to replace their jank. At some point I just had to ask him how he expected all of his coworkers to show up one day and start writing good code if he won’t let them do it now? He didn’t have an answer to that, and I’m not even sure the question landed. Pity.

The person who promised him the rewrite got promoted shortly before my contract was up. This promotion involved moving to a different office. I would bet good money that his replacement did not give that team their rewrite. They’re probably either still supporting that garbage or the team disappeared and someone else wrote a replacement.

That whole experience just reinforced my belief that the Ship of Theseus scenario is the only solution you can count on working. Good code takes discipline, and discipline means cleaning up after yourself. If you won’t do that, then the rewrite will fall apart too. Or flame out.