[kolme]

I did that when I was young and naive. I'll tell you why I did it.

I thought I was very smart. Like, really really smart, maybe the smartest programmer in the team.

And as such my opinion was very important. Maybe the most important opinion in the team. Everyone had to listen to it!

That is all. Also, I was wrong.

[_ea1k]

I feel like a _lot_ of us have been through this cycle. It is so easy to think we've discovered the one true way to do something.

Time and experience often tell us that it was just one of many, and maybe not even the best one of many.

[robertlagrant]

> Also, I was wrong.

This is probably the only useful takeaway, but can you explain why you were wrong?

[kolme]

Yes, I was wrong on several levels.

First and foremost I was wrong thinking that I was smarter than others — that's not even how intelligence works.

Second I was wrong being so stubbornly pro-tabs / anti-spaces (for example). It doesn't make that much of a difference, so there's no point in being so passionate about it.

And third I was wasting everyone's time (and my persuasion powers) by not choosing my battles more wisely.

My suggestion would be nowadays: let's choose a popular style guide, set up a linter and be done with it.