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For a week+ I've been listening to a senior dev ("Bob") continually make fun of another not-quite-a-senior dev ("Tom") over a performance bug in his code. "If he did it right the first time...", "Tom refuses to write tests...that's his problem", "I would have wrote the code correctly ..." all kinds of passive-aggressive put downs. Bob then brags how without him helping Tom, the application would have been a failure (really building himself up).
Bob is out of town and Tom asked me a question about logging performance data in his code. I look and see Bob has done nothing..nothing at all to help Tom. Tom wrote his own JSON and XML parser (data is coming from two different sources) and all kinds of IO stream plumbing code.
I use Visual Studio's feature create classes from JSON/XML, used the XML Serialzier and Newtonsoft.Json to handling the conversion plumbing.
With several hundred of lines gone (down to one line each for the XML/JSON-> object), I wrote unit tests around the business transaction, integration test for the service and database access. Maybe couple of hours worth of work.
I'm 100% sure Bob knew Tom was going in a bad direction (maybe even pushing him that direction), just to swoop in and "save the day" in front of Tom's manager at some future point in time.

This morning's standup ..
Boss: "You're helping Tom since Bob is on vacation? What are you helping with?"
Me: "I refactored the JSON and XML data access, wrote initial unit and integration tests. Tom will have to verify, but I believe any performance problem will now be isolated to the database integration. The problem Bob was talking about on Monday is gone. I thought spending time helping Tom was better than making fun of him."
<couple seconds of silence>
Boss:"Yea...want to let you know, I really, really appreciate that."

Bob, put people first, everyone wins.

Comments
  • 15
    More like: "Bob, go fuck yourself."
  • 7
    @codePolitics Bob is maybe extremely insecure and does that to handle that. Maybe Bob needs some encouragemt that there is no reason for his angst.

    Btt: good for you for helping Tom.
  • 2
    @plusgut Ok, he does sound like a proper asshole... some people needs to be schooled the hardcore way... There are a few Bobs here at the office, I drop the hammer on them, no mercy... Luckily all techs, you know, printer resetting department, but you still stumble upon them every now and again... shitbags...
  • 6
    Holy crap, you're an angel...
    *removes hat and bows in respect*
  • 1
    @codePolitics and when somebody insults you, you change for the better? I doubt it.
  • 1
    @plusgut I'm not a fucking asshole. I respect people, I give them space, help as much as I can and always make sure I'm not stepping on someone's toes...
    Don't get insulted that often but generally when it happens its people I send to go fuck themselves in the first place for acting like they could use a brain.
  • 3
    @codePolitics and if @PaperTrail would have called him an asshole, bob would probably would have thought that he can go fuck himself.
  • 1
    @plusgut Look... This is whats happening:

    public void Bob() {
    var typicalBob = 1 / 0;
    }

    this is what I propose:

    //public void Bob() {
    // var typicalBob = 1 / 0;
    //}

    this is what you propose:

    try {
    Bob();
    }
    catch (Exception x) {
    // Ok that didnt work, lets carry on.
    }
  • 0
    @codePolitics exactly. OP has to carry on and deal with bob somehow. Why would he switch job because of sn incident of two other colleges?
    Seems unrealistic.
  • 0
    @plusgut comment him the fuck out!!!!!!!! I'm rage quitting this thread now, btw.
  • 0
    Good job man!!
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