in reply to Re: (OT) The Honest Cherry Bomb
in thread (OT) The Honest Cherry Bomb
I think you're overanalyzing the problem on the wrong level. There is no debate necessary (or so I hope) over the contraproductivity of belittlement. We can all agree it's a bad thing and I guess we can also reach a consensus on why. The problem at hand is that people do make mistakes, and the issue is how to break that news to them.
I believe there is a problem when there is a widespread demand to be kind and friendly and courteous to each other all the time. To me, it is an indicator of a disturbing tendency for people to take themselves too seriously. You have to be able to accept criticism and the fact that you will invariably make mistakes if you ever want to grow as a person. You will make them over and over and over. They're your mistakes; you must be prepared to stand in for them. This sense of responsibility is what I seriously miss in society at large, much more so than a sense of caring.
It should go without saying that truth should be delivered with respect; it may make someone a lesser programmer than you (for the moment) if they make a blatant mistake, but there is nothing ever that makes anyone a lesser person than anyone else.
When a bug is found, the issue at hand is the bug - it is neither one programmer's superior skills, nor the inferiority of the offending programmer, nor the relationship between the two.
Just stick to the point, please.
Makeshifts last the longest.