Hate: Programming for other people

Before we get off on the wrong foot (if we haven't already), the amount of hating really depends on who the "other people" are.

I got into programming because it was interesting to make things work, to be able to tell the computer what to do instead of the other way around. Programming is two things to me: a hobby and a tool. It is a hobby to make things cool, like 3D graphics or interesting things like AI. It is a tool to help me do things more easily, like play board games online with my friends or spread information and ideas. These are things where I don't really have to care too much about what other people do, or whether or not it is done up to other people's specifications. I don't have people nagging at me to "change this" or "take this out" unless it is me in which case it is not nagging, it is improving (or so I tell myself).

When it comes to programming for other people, it is another story. It is usually something where I have to create an application or website that I really don't care about, it isn't really anything I'm interested in, and it involves a lot of other people changing their minds on what they want.

From my perspective, when it comes to software development there are three groups of people that are involved: the programmer(s), the user(s), and the businessmen. Unfortunately for us programmers, when it comes to the industry we are considered last of the three. The businessmen make the decisions, the users have the money. The only time we will be given anything we enjoy (like garbage collection) is if it boosts our productivity without dropping sales too much - provided that the businessmen have been correctly informed of this feature.

This is why I hate programming for other people. Maybe someday I will decide to say screw it to the software industry and join the ranks of retarded users. Maybe.