alt Hacker NewsIt's a product of the times. You have some folks who are really passionate about the craft of software, some folks to whom it's just a job, and an entire culture that promotes and incentivizes engagement through raw emotional connection (outrage, passion, pick an emotion).
What you don't see from most perspectives are the silent masses who simply don't engage, don't care about the discussion, and/or are too busy doing what they enjoy.
I think too many people (very much including me) who are "passionate about the craft of software" allowed themselves to become too focused on the code itself as if that were the first order concern of the craft. But the craft has always been about the quality of the software, including how its quality changes as a function of time and adaptation. Code quality is only in support of that concern, it is not itself the primary concern.
It has been a fairly painful experience for me to shift my thinking on this, but it's a much better mindset. I still care about many of the same code quality concerns I always have, but I'm thinking a lot more about why I care than I once did.