The negativity bias really irks me. I went through a phase in my career where I tried to communicate everything in a positive way without talking about blame or judgement. And I found that people don't respond to that as well - they are more likely to ignore you or forget what you said. But instead, if you talk about how X library sucks and Y developer did such and such wrong, people perk up their ears and listen to you, and they are more likely to start to regard you as the local expert. Seems like the effect is worse when talking to the non-technical folks.
There's definitely way too much crankiness in the software world, and I don't think it's because the people are naturally negative people. It's because we're pragmatic people and we unconsciously gravitate towards the styles of communication that get the most results.
There's definitely way too much crankiness in the software world, and I don't think it's because the people are naturally negative people. It's because we're pragmatic people and we unconsciously gravitate towards the styles of communication that get the most results.