devRant - A fun community for developers to connect over code, tech & life as a programmer

#RANT...
I can't believe I'm about to say this but I'm losing shit over Memes [insert facepalm] , but I can't be the only person they bug and if I am I need to know so here it goes...

I am specifically refering to the memes that enforce the stereotypes "I am a programmer, I have no life", and "I am a programmer hence I'm single". The fact many of us activley promote these sterotypes is beggining to bother me. Now I am internally conflicted becuase...

1. If you program a sense of humour is mandatory if you wish to remain sane.
2. I love memes.

I also recognise that everytime someone puts one of these stereotypes on a meme it is actually a diverstion so that we can have a laugh a ourselfs (enter the sense of humour unique to those experienced at debugging code). For that we all get a ++, but... I don't think we should be activley enforcing or supporting them - even if we do relate to them by spreading them they do more harm than good. Here are the reasons for my argument...

1. THEY ARE BS! - Im sure in the 80's when i guess they originated they had a more substantial backing but now they are completely irrelevant. Even If I discount the fact that I have never had a problem with woman, I'm not socially awkward and when I sit at my computer on a Saturday night I made a choice and blew someone off. Look around! It's the dawn of geek and we not only run most of the modern world, we are revered, respected, well paid and in high demand. Those stereotypes belong with the legacy code we refactured last year.

2. If they do apply to you and you are socially awkward, seemingly eternally single and find more solice in your computer than thought of interacting with strangers there is nothing wrong with you, so it's not a good joke. Unlike people and public enviroments we have complete control over our computers and unlike life we can logically explain what happened when we lose control of them, atleast thats why I live on mine. Aside from that we need all types of people in our society and the ones society classifies as weird funnily enough tend to be the most in demand and crucial because you guys are rare. I can't imagine life if I had to file papers every day for a living, if I had an in/out tray I'd kill myself or be too depressed to try but there is someone in my office who is happy to do it and I rely on that person to file my shit for me. We all have a place and regardless of job title were are all equally needed to keep this shit storm we inherited functioning.

3. It's fine to be anti-social. First off most off us spend the majority of out time either honing our skills or learning new ones, this is pretty much mandatory if you want to know what the hells going on in 6 months at the pace we're rolling out new tech. If were not doing that it's a safe bet that you are either fixing a service many of the "normal people (who are socializing)" rely on daily and don't even realise it (Again - A good thing - all the greatest inventions feel so logical and natural you cant believe they weren't there before. It's the ultimate trait of a good design) or your writing something that they are going to rely on in the future alternativley the experience your gaining will enable you to create such a thing in the future. Otherwise like me your unwinding playing a game possibly having bullshited a reason to stay home because you like your computer more than 98% of the people you meet. Fuck it - no ones perfect.

The thing with stereotypes is that even though statistically they will usually be correct, most people have no idea what a statistic is or how its calculated and for some fucked up reason when labeled alot of people tend to take them to heart treating it far more seriously it's statistical value would justify. Others will embrace it completely so they once again completely conform to society - even if its a different part of it. There are people following our posts who are either confused family members or kids trying absorbing our memes like a religion while dreaming of the day they get the joke because then will really be part of the community.

The majority of the people trying to learn to code have issues and arn't in a university. They are either in school and already feel outcast or they are in a job they hate and hoping to change it. 95% of them will never make it past hello world but for the 5% who do the last piece of information I would want to give them is one that knocks thier accomplishment.

Learning to code is the best thing that ever happened to me. If people did not to freely share thier knowledge I would still be fucked. No industry comes close to the way we share info and advice for everyones benefit or that can have 5 random people looking for a mistake in thier work online.

Personally I am proud to be a programmer, we all should be. Nothing can be gained by spreading a meme that devalues our acheivements and may offend the stranger who saved my ass on stackoverflow.