slightly OT: BUT NEEDs to be said

Dave Brueck dave at pythonapocrypha.com
Mon Apr 5 11:46:11 EDT 2004


Nomen wrote:
> I think it would be great for Python.org/people behind Python to adopt this
> as an official mascot and DROP the god awful references to Monty Pythons's
> Flying Circus. It is the later which is causing a slow take up and reluctance
> of many individuals using Python.
[snip]
> Let me put it this way Python as a languge and product is *damaged* by the
> references littered everywhere to MPFC.

Well, I'll probably get in big trouble for revealing this, but the references
to Monty Python are the result of a very conscious decision on the part of
Python's authors, and they make up but a small part of an elaborate set of user
filters that ensure that only a certain subset of programmers will ever use the
language.

For example, the real reason flame wars on c.l.py are quite tame by Usenet
standards isn't because programming in Python makes you a happier, and in turn
a nicer person, but it's because the group / mailing list regulars are more or
less ALL THE SAME TYPE OF PEOPLE - they are all people who were not removed by
the user filters, and therefore make up a more or less homogeneous bunch. To
hide this fact occasionally someone will get a private email instructing them
to bring up American politics or some other topic sure to incite controversy.
Sure, they obey and bring it up in a thread, but it dies off so quickly because
it's hard to put one's heart into it.

I remember that one time the user filters were suspected by some outsiders, and
Guido privately threatened to introduce mandatory curly braces around code
blocks if we as a group didn't convince people "on the outside" that the
filters didn't exist - hence the big conditional operator debate of '03. We
actually got assigned sides in that debate - didn't even get to pick them
ourselves.

Anyway, the Monty Python references filter out people that are too uptight
humor-wise, but there are many others. For example, if you ask about
significant whitespace you'll get a hand-waving answer about some mysterious
usability study in the ABC language, but nobody's actually ever seen it. In
reality, it's just the filter that gets rid of people who fall apart upon
learning that tedious work they diligently performed in the past was
detrimental to their health (this filter does not work 100% of the time, thus
the more reliable no-variable-type-declarations filter).

The whole "Guido is Dutch" thing is another one - this time used to eliminate
those who fear the unknown. He was born and raised in Quebec, and the accent is
actually French, but so few of us Americans know the difference that it never
gets him in trouble.

There are more filters in place, all of them organized and perpetuated by the
Python Secret Underground - a dark, time-machine wielding organization about
which little is known. Occasionally some details of its work slip through to
the public
(http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=9jah18%24fqu%
241%40newshost.accu.uu.nl), but often I can't tell if such snafus are honest
mistakes, bait to throw us off-track, or encrypted recruitment messages.

Somebody's at my door - better send this off quick. Before I do though, I do
want to shed light on the all-time greatest user filter put in place by the
PSU - the autocoding project by Ti.*%^ NO CARRIER





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