> (Yes, it's a rhetorical question, but if there's a reason why this has suddenly become timely I'd actually like to know.)
That I can answer. In a recent episode of the Stack Overflow podcast, Joel Spolsky mentioned that old Excel Basic story as an example of dealing with self-declared software architects. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact episode number and the transcription wiki doesn't have it yet. But he basically didn't say anything that he hasn't already said in his "Two Stories" article (link below).
(I don't know if this new discussion is particularly interesting or relevant, but that's why it suddenly erupted.)
That I can answer. In a recent episode of the Stack Overflow podcast, Joel Spolsky mentioned that old Excel Basic story as an example of dealing with self-declared software architects. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact episode number and the transcription wiki doesn't have it yet. But he basically didn't say anything that he hasn't already said in his "Two Stories" article (link below).
(I don't know if this new discussion is particularly interesting or relevant, but that's why it suddenly erupted.)
Links:
Stack Overflow blog/podcast: http://blog.stackoverflow.com/
Transcription wiki: https://stackoverflow.fogbugz.com/?W4
Old Joel article: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/TwoStories.html