> Is "don't be an asshole when it's actually not helping the other person like you told yourself if you look closely" actually controversial enough on that site to be considered a troll?
In Russia, yes. Like the OP comment author, I'm familiar with both IT cultures, and there's a dramatic differences in the amount of politeness.
I have actually seen people get into a physical fight because of work-related dispute, more than once.
That's interesting; the article did seem like something more common in Russian and other East European cultures. Maybe it's a side effect of intellectualism being more highly valued (a good thing) but then leads to these superiority contests where "good enough" is derided if it is not done in some intellectually interesting way. Which can be a disadvantage in software engineering.
In Russia, yes. Like the OP comment author, I'm familiar with both IT cultures, and there's a dramatic differences in the amount of politeness.
I have actually seen people get into a physical fight because of work-related dispute, more than once.