Interesting discontinuity of perspectives

I read the article cited here on Slashdot, and found Doug Reilly's perspective thoughtful and mature. Then I read some of the replies on Slashdot.

I think age probably differentiates the responses. Younger equates to "who cares what my employer/client thinks?", and older equates to "these are people whom I have been connected to, and they deserve fair treatment". Of course, not everyone you know deserves such "fair" treatment, but considering the author's relationship with his clients, I understand perfectly why he would take these things seriously.

I also understand his desire to obtain meaning for his life and himself. This, IMHO, is clearly a mark of someone who has begun to stare their own mortality in the face. I'm not (particularly) young anymore, and I can tell you without hesitation at all that I've thought about my life and my eventual death. How do I want to be remembered? Did I stand for anything, or was I only about me and myself?

Certainly I would want to have some time with my family and friends. My father wanted that, and we went to great lengths to provide him with it, as well. The experience was not easy, not even a little, but there are things in life more important than documenting your source code.

But we are defined in large part by our work. We spend an a lot of time doing it (and for us software developers, sometimes an obscene amount of time), so how can it be that when we're finally closing up shop for the last time, that it no longer has any importance? It's just relative, that's all.

Doug Reilly's comments resonated with me, and I think that's all he wanted to achieve. I wish him the best of luck.