Are you looking for a ninja coder?

I'm tired of these stupid nicknames that I see sometimes in some job posts : Php ninjas, Rails rock stars, Perl trolls, and such. Seriously, are those recruiters looking for someone who is a good programmer or some kind of superhero?

 

In the past, I've worked with people with huge egos. Managers often refer to these people as if they are saviors or messiahs and, most of the time, gives them a special status in the company (Ninjas are above the law anyway). As a consequence, their head grow even more...until it no longer pass through the door!

 

After a while, the ninja leaves the company, leaving behind him a beautiful mess (Kill Bill style).  This is because during the two or three years he spent in the company, he has spent more time trying to add new TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms) on his resume than playing with the team.  Too bad for those left behind - the non-ninja!

 

Personally, I do prefer to work with Ruby Pandas or C++ philosophers.  It's more fun and easier on my nerves.