

Ask HN: What Node.js fanboys? - IsaacSchlueter

I've seen a few posts and comments lately on Hacker News that make reference to "fanboys", including one that said that I was a "fanboy" of node.js.<p>What's the definition of a "fanboy"?<p>Here's the thing:<p>I talk with Node.js users all the time.  I bump into them on the train. I work with Ryan Dahl, at the
company that pays for Node.js development and is actively working to make it more popular.  I run a software project that is only noteworthy because of node's popularity.  We all really like node.<p>If <i>anyone</i> was going to be all "Use Node for everything!", it would be me, or my coworkers, or my friends and acquaintances.<p>And yet, I look around, and don't actually see anyone saying that.<p>I mean, I can easily find Node.js <i>detractors</i>.  And while there are a few very sane people in the bunch who point to node's lack of maturity, or the inadequacy of JavaScript for certain types of tasks, a lot of those detractors seem to be shouting at strawmen.<p>Is this just a case of a fish not seeing the water?  Could someone point me to some links to what you mean when you say "node fanboy", or examples of what makes a person a "node fanboy"?<p>Thanks.
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brehaut
Simple: a fanboy is someone you disagree with and would rather attack ad
hominem than engage with in rational discourse.

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bascule
At your request I'm answering this question...

I never used the word "fanboy" in my post. That said, there were two people
who really thought the nextTick solution was a legitimately good idea.
Contrary to the idea that they were just countertrolling, the Node-fib guy
legitimately thought he had done a good implementation of a Fibonacci server
in Node because ApacheBench told him so, never mind what he was actually
benchmarking was _TERRIBLE_

Read the "Coming from Hacker News?" section of the Node-fib README and tell me
if you think this guy is a troll or if he truly believes Node can be good at
these sorts of problems:

<https://github.com/glenjamin/node-fib>

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IsaacSchlueter
He's not a troll. This is simply a clash of cultures.

In the node community, it is considered impolite to discuss performance
without reproducible benchmarks and specific numbers. Mr. Dziuba, a newcomer
to our shores, did exactly this. While many of us were offended, Glen decided
to give him the benefit of the doubt, and provide the example program that Ted
had neglected to share.

The results are facts, not opinions. I'm not sure how you could think they're
trollish.

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burns
If anything, I would say the 'noders' that flocked from rails fit the
description. Seriously though, it's the bloggers. I understand you have to
"sell" it, but marketing isn't the answer. node could go for a fully tested
full version release before these revolutionary articles multiply. I'm a
'noder', but mostly for fun, and it really is extremely and abnormally fun.
But it will be some time before I consider it for anything else, especially
because if I do, I would be fraternizing professionally with all the rails
people I have desperately tried to avoid.

~~~
IsaacSchlueter
Which bloggers are saying that you should use node for applications that
aren't IO-bound?

I ask because I would like to correct them explicitly.

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wmf
<http://www.google.com/?q=node.js%20revolutionary> is a start. I get the
impression that a lot of people are giving Node credit for things that it
didn't invent. Maybe it's not correct to call these people "fanboys", but they
are annoying.

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IsaacSchlueter
I gave a talk where I pointed out that node didn't invent much of anything,
but rather assembled a lot of already-proven technologies:
[http://video.nextconf.eu/video/1914374/nodejs-digs-dirt-
abou...](http://video.nextconf.eu/video/1914374/nodejs-digs-dirt-about)

Unnecessary invention is the mother of necessity.

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ericflo
[http://chetansurpur.com/blog/2010/10/why-node-js-is-
totally-...](http://chetansurpur.com/blog/2010/10/why-node-js-is-totally-
awesome.html)

~~~
IsaacSchlueter
Ok, that post _is_ pretty hilariously pro-node. But still, it never mentions
using node for anything other than a web server. I'm not seeing the "One True
Tool" claim that node fanboys allegedly make.

