Must We Put Code In Our Blog Titles and Subtitles?

Perhaps it’s a rather innocuous practice, but after seeing one too many I am compelled to rant a bit, if only to be a total jerk. What do I speak of? I was going through the blogs in my blog reader the other day and I started noticing the predilection for geek blogs to have “cute” titles and/or subtitles with code snippets. I know we’re geeks, but must we be THAT geeky? It’s become so trendy that I must start the backlash now.

Since I know he can take some good natured ribbing, let’s start with my friend, Jon Galloway.

Title: JonGalloway.ToString()
Is the ToString() really necessary? Seriously. Isn’t the title of your blog already a string? Hopefully the compiler optimizes this redundancy away.

Title: {public virtual blog}
Next we have Ryan Farley’s virtual blog. Does a virtual blog imply that you’re not the one writing it, or that you feel your thoughts aren’t concrete? Perhaps the text we see really isn’t there, but are mere wisps of our imagination?

I’m sorry, but the title of your blog just doesn’t compile. Where is the implementation, the member name, and the getter? Perhaps you meant:

public abstract Blog MyBlog {get;}

Even so, you left yourself open for someone else to override your blog.

Title: protected virtual void jaysonBlog {A conduit to the voices in my head.}
Another virtual blog, but at least this one is protected. Unfortunately, it doesn’t compiled (yes, I tried). And here I thought you were spreading better practices for C# coding.

Title: `(joe (@ (version "2.0")) ,(mk-blog))
Subtitle: (define (mk-blog) (lambda () (begin (call/cc brain) (mk-blog)))) Joe Duffy couldn’t simply use a language we can all recognize. Nooooooo, he had to take it to the next level and go all the way to LISP. Does your mom read your blog? And does she worry that you spend too much time with the computer after seeing that title?

Title: Bob Yexley Net
Subtitle: -- SELECT * FROM [bobs].[brain] WHERE category IN (SELECT title FROM [blog_Categories])
And lest we leave out you DBAs, here is some SQL code from the subtitle of Bob’s blog. Good going Bob!

So as it is now apparent by now, my lashing out is merely a response to my own feeling of geek inadequacy when faced with true geekdom. In order to join the geek big leagues, I hereby re-title my blog…

.method public hidebysig static string YouHaveBeen() cil managed

{

.maxstack 1

.locals init (

string title)

L_0000: ldstr “Haacked”

L_0005: stloc.0

L_0006: br.s L_0008

L_0008: ldloc.0

L_0009: ret

}

I hope I am worthy.

Comments

9 responses

Jeff Atwood • September 23rd, 2005

Yeah, seriously, you guys are a bunch of GEEKS!*

* this always gets laughs at work.

jayson knight • September 25th, 2005
how about:

class myClass

{

protected virtual void jaysonBlog (params string[] title)

{

foreach (string s in title)

{

Console.Write(s);

Console.ReadLine();

}

}

}

class writeBlogTitle

{

myClass m = new myClass()

m.jaysonBlog(new string[] {string.Format("{0} {1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8}", "A", "conduit", "to", "the", "voices", "in", "my", "head", ".")});

}

ok that's a terrible example, but the best I can come up w/ at 3am :-).

Good post.

Ryan Farley • September 26th, 2005
Hehe.

>>Perhaps the text we see really isn’t there, but are mere wisps of our imagination?

I wish I had thought of that.

But since it is virtual I've left it open for me to override when I change my mind (or someone else convinces me to change).

You know, at one point I was going to change it, to something boring like "Ryan Farley" or "Welcome to my blog" (that one would be just awesome). I just don't have a name that lends itself to a witty title ;-)

-Ryan

{ public virtual blog; } • September 26th, 2005
I started this blog a couple years ago, in August 2003. Back then, as I still do now, I live and breathe C#. So I picked a C#-ish title to reflect a bit of my passion for all things C.

bob@yexley.net (Bob Yexley) • September 27th, 2005
Very nice. :)

For my own part, I think there was at least a little bit of insecurity involved in the selection of my blog subtitle. In my embarassment over being unable to come up with anything even remotely clever as a subtitle at all due to my lack of a creative mind, I think my subconscious pushed me in the direction of trying to overcome that inadequacy by putting something there that would give me at least a small sense of superiority over those who would read my blog and have absolutely no idea what that subtitle meant.

How's that for an excuse? heh

I will also admit though, that I was significantly flattered by the implication that you're subscribed to my blog. :)

bob@yexley.net (Bob Yexley) • September 27th, 2005
Oh, and also...as far as I'm concerned, I'd say that's a very worthy new blog title you propose. What language is that? PHIL? ;)

Haacked • September 27th, 2005
It's Microsoft Intermediate Language or MSIL. The language that C# and all other .NET languages compile to.

Yex • September 27th, 2005
Yeah, I was wondering if I should have been more explicit with my sarcasm in that statement. I know it was MSIL. My little PHIL comment was meant to be a joke.

string languageName = "MSIL";

languageName.Replace("MS", "PH");

console.WriteLine( "Language name: " + languageName );

OUTPUT: Language name: PHIL

(Phillip Haack Intermediate Language)

;)

Haacked • September 28th, 2005
oh! I get it. That's why we're software developers and not comedians. ;)