You're not a true software engineer unless...
You write opinions in a blog
I started my career not as a software engineer but as a System Administrator (sysadmin). My job mostly involved configuring Linux boxes, setting up monitoring, and applying security patches. It was my entry into the world of tech, an opportunity to maintain the systems for large Silicon Valley companies while living in the very home of Fiji Water.
In those early days, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Slashdot, and various bulletin boards played home to my would-be mentors. The quiet of the graveyard shift was filled with random conversations and dubious beliefs.
I found myself parroting some of these dubious beliefs, using them as a badge of credibility. These included:
“You’re not a sysadmin if you use Windows.”
“You’re not a sysadmin if you use a GUI.”
“You’re not a sysadmin if you have to use a mouse.”
Any challenge to these statements was met not with reasoned argument but with moving goalposts. If you did use Windows or dared to utilize a Graphical User Interface (GUI), the definition of a “sysadmin” was conveniently reshaped. Maybe you are a sysadmin. But you’re not a true sysadmin.
No True Scotsman
They call this the No True Scotsman fallacy, an attempt to defend a generalization to a particular case by excluding counterexamples and reshaping the definition of the generalization. It typically takes the following form:
Person A makes a claim X about all members of group Y.
Person B provides a counterexample to claim X, which is a member of group Y.
Person A dismisses the counterexample by arguing that no true member of group Y would exhibit the counterexample's characteristics.
Lets use the above formula with another example I’ve encountered:
Person A: No web developer uses PHP
Person B: I’m a web developer and I use PHP
Person A: No true web developer uses PHP
You’ll notice the definition of a web developer has shifted. We now distinguish between a mere web developer and a true web developer. This could take other forms, such as:
No web developer ships real projects in PHP
No web developer ships scalable projects in PHP
Here are other examples I’ve come across in my career:
“No true frontend engineer uses jQuery”
“Writing HTML and CSS isn’t real programming”
“No real project is running on WordPress”
“Python is not built for serious projects”
“No true Simpsons fan likes Season 11”
It’s just a joke.
This may come across as simple jokes and not something to be taken seriously. But jokes aren't always seen as jokes by those they're directed at.
Here’s where it can go wrong:
Gatekeeping and exclusion.
The tech community can sometimes unwittingly create barriers. Jokes that undermine someone's choice of tools, platforms, or even their title can alienate. It can make people feel undervalued and like they don't belong.
In a previously organized meetup, I can vividly remember one occasion where an engineer told me he didn’t feel comfortable asking questions because he was only a WordPress developer.
I was once a WordPress developer.
Promotes Dogmatism
When humor is used to reinforce unchallenged beliefs within a group, it can cement a culture of dogmatism. This kind of environment discourages discourse in favor of an assumed absolute truth, even if that truth originated from a misinterpreted joke.
Ultimately, this feeds the echo chamber and discourages growth. Tech moves fast, and your beliefs should be as agile as your organization purports to be.
Fragmentation
The fallout from divisive humor can lead to a splintering of communities into smaller, more homogenous groups. These groups largely keep to their own, creating isolated silos of knowledge and expertise.
More fragmentation can also make it more difficult for newcomers searching for their community. A tech choice isn’t simply a tech choice any more. It’s your identity.
And what of outside tech?
I wasn’t a true addict. Alcohol didn’t ruin my life in the way it did some others, but having used it as self-medication for depression, I can say it did make things considerably worse. Searching for a community online, I found the majority of conversations sometimes involved questioning who was a true alcoholic.
By its very definition, I wasn’t an alcoholic because I was able to voluntarily stop. But by the internet’s definition, I wasn’t an alcoholic because I still had a liver that worked and a good job.
There are moments where I feel myself making these very jokes. I try to consider the audience in which I make them. The last thing I want is for a young software engineer to think they aren’t a true software engineer.
Even if they use WordPress.