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Comment by fancy_pantser | Hacker News Reader

At Recurse Center, it's the #1 social rule. Some folks have a hard time adjusting, but the environment is materially improved when everyone respects the rule.

  1. No well-actually’s
  2. No feigned surprise
  3. No backseat driving
  4. No subtle -isms

https://www.recurse.com/social-rules

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While I disagree with the concept of pushing one's beliefs on onto other team members, I think it's good that you guys are upfront about your philosophy. This way people can use this information to decide if they want to be involved with your organization or not. I recently joined a seemingly normal team only to discover a culture packed with unwritten rules and arbitrary taboo, a situation I would have completely avoided if only I had known the reality of the situation.

At a previous job my first week included 4 people telling me they were sorry I had to work with the person I was working with and several more explaining the political undercurrent / power holds.

And that’s really hard to shrug off.

I think the issue with social rules like the above, is that they seem kind of childish and would make me feel like I am in elementary school.

In the real world, some people are annoying and you should learn how to cope with it instead of having artificial rules to defend against it.

None of the issues in this list are really that offensive or disruptive of the regular work day. If I worked at a place that had these rules, I would quit.

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