Which side are you on?
Posted on May 9, 2007, under Web Dev/Tech.
In my career involved with web development, I’ve gone from more Microsoft-oriented development (ASP, Commerce Server, etc) to Open Source/Java (Apache, PHP, MySQL, JSPs, WebSphere, etc), to getting more involved with Microsoft again (SharePoint, .NET/C#, SQL, IIS). The latter transition is still an ongoing occurrence – my time is split between Microsoft and LAMP, but over the last year and a half I’ve come to reflect on some things and the way I viewed the “opposing” camp (whichever it may have been at the time).
At this juncture in my career I find that I resonate very much with the summary of this post by Jeff Atwood:
As a software developer, you’re doing yourself a disservice by pledging allegiance to anything other than yourself and your craft– whether it’s Microsoft or the principle of free software. Stop with the us vs. them mentality.
Competition is good and is what drives innovation; I am a firm believer in this principle. I even understand strongly disliking a product. There are major products I don’t like and don’t want to support/use. I also have my share of distrust for the “good will/do no evil” of many of the major players.
But if you are someone who has an emotional disdain for anything written in a certain language just because it is Microsoft/Open Source/”not Microsoft”, I don’t really want to have you on my team. That attitude tells me you’re more about protecting your personal “religion” than matching business value with a job well done. Instead of looking at business value and working as a team to apply technology towards the solution, you’re about protecting your technology dogma.
No thank you. You’re not a fun person to work with.
Matt on May 10, 2007
welcome to the gray side!