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Collecting Every Developer Personality Badge
Languages Post #2568, on Jan 10, 2021 in TG

Collecting Every Developer Personality Badge

Why is this Languages meme funny?

Level 1: The Three Annoying Catchphrases

It is funny because the meme shows someone collecting three ways to be the most annoying computer person in the room. One book says to use Python, one says they use Arch, and one says they use Vim. Each one is like bragging about a favorite toy so much that everyone else wants the conversation to end.

Level 2: Tools Become Signals

For a junior developer, the meme is about three things people may hear a lot in programming spaces:

  • Python is a popular programming language known for readable syntax and a huge library ecosystem.
  • Arch Linux is a customizable Linux distribution often associated with advanced or highly involved users.
  • Vim is a text editor controlled mostly through keyboard commands and modes instead of mouse-heavy menus.

None of these tools is inherently a joke. Python is genuinely useful. Arch can teach a lot about Linux. Vim can be extremely productive. The joke is about the social behavior around them: someone recommends Python even when nobody asked, someone finds a way to mention Arch, and someone insists Vim is the correct editor choice.

That is why the lower caption Finally, I have them all matters. It treats these habits like collectible achievements. A developer who says all three can annoy multiple groups at once: people tired of language evangelism, people tired of Linux distribution debates, and people tired of editor wars.

This is also a gentle warning about early-career tech identity. It is normal to get excited about tools. The trap is confusing “this tool helped me” with “this tool is the right answer for everyone.” Good engineers eventually learn that tool choice depends on the project, team, constraints, maintainability, and the poor person who has to debug it later.

Level 3: Full Stack Tribalism

The meme shows three mysterious books labeled SHOULD USE PYTHON BRUH, I USE ARCH BTW, and AND VIM TOO, followed by the character saying, Finally, I have them all. The post message, Annoy them all!, is not subtle. It frames these as the three sacred artifacts of developer social irritation: recommending Python, announcing Arch Linux, and turning Vim into a personality trait.

The joke works because each label points to a real community pattern. Python has a reputation as the answer people offer to nearly every beginner, scripting, automation, data, web, or glue-code problem. That reputation is partly earned: Python is readable, has a huge ecosystem, and is often the shortest path from “idea” to “working thing.” But the meme targets the evangelism version, where “use Python” becomes less of an engineering recommendation and more of a reflex.

I USE ARCH BTW is the classic Linux-distribution badge. Arch Linux attracts people who like control, minimalism, rolling releases, and understanding their system piece by piece. The community joke is that some users announce it without being asked, because the distro signals technical competence and taste. It is not enough to run Linux; one must somehow mention that the Linux is artisanal.

AND VIM TOO brings in the editor wars. Vim is powerful, keyboard-driven, modal, and famously weird to newcomers. Developers who love it often really love it, because once the commands become muscle memory, editing text feels fast and precise. Developers who do not love it mostly remember being trapped in it and searching how to exit. Putting Vim next to Python and Arch completes the stereotype set: language evangelist, operating-system purist, and editor absolutist.

The “collect them all” structure is the important visual engine. The books imply ancient knowledge or magical artifacts, but the labels are social catchphrases. That contrast satirizes how developer communities can convert practical tools into identity markers. Tools matter, but when they become badges, every technical discussion starts carrying an invisible second question: “Are you solving the problem, or recruiting for your tribe?”

Description

A two-panel cartoon meme shows three mysterious books on a table in the top panel, each overlaid with bold white text: "SHOULD USE PYTHON BRUH," "I USE ARCH BTW," and "AND VIM TOO." Small caption text below the books says "After all these years." The lower panel shows a serious cartoon man staring at them with the caption "Finally, I have them all," with an "imgflip.com" watermark in the corner. The joke is about collecting the classic developer identity signals: recommending Python, announcing Arch Linux usage, and making Vim part of one's personality.

Comments

24
Anonymous ★ Top Pick The fourth journal just says `alias vim=nvim`, and that is when the flame war gets write access.
  1. Anonymous ★ Top Pick

    The fourth journal just says `alias vim=nvim`, and that is when the flame war gets write access.

  2. @e18e02930b94d725daa9 5y

    python is not elitist, wdym?

    1. @RiedleroD 5y

      there's a lot of young people that pressure people to switch to python because it's so much easier

      1. @RiedleroD 5y

        "why would you write a program in C++ if you could do the same thing with 10% the amount of code in python" that kinda thing

      2. @e18e02930b94d725daa9 5y

        how come these are the same people that use arch and vim?

        1. @UQuark 5y

          They aren't

        2. @RiedleroD 5y

          usually they aren't, but I guess some people put annoying people in one pot.

  3. @UQuark 5y

    I use arch btw

    1. @RiedleroD 5y

      I do too, doesn't make me a better person.

      1. @UQuark 5y

        It does

  4. @UQuark 5y

    Python shit

    1. @RiedleroD 5y

      python really nice, but not suitable for everything >:(

      1. Deleted Account 5y

        bruh use lua

        1. @RiedleroD 5y

          lua starts counting at 1. any language that starts counting at 1 is objectively stupid.

          1. Deleted Account 5y

            lua actually starts wherever you want

            1. Deleted Account 5y

              len is kinda wonky but still

      2. @Roman_Millen 5y

        …unlike JavaScript.

        1. @RiedleroD 5y

          javascript is suitable for nothing. (that is a joke, don't get mad at me)

  5. @e18e02930b94d725daa9 5y

    ah i get it

  6. @e18e02930b94d725daa9 5y

    i use gentoo btw

  7. @e18e02930b94d725daa9 5y

    it does make me a better person

    1. @UQuark 5y

      Indeed

  8. @chekoopa 5y

    Should use Rust bruh I use NixOS BTW

    1. @ImJmik 5y

      Oh

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