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Comment by ROARosen | Hacker News Reader

>MDN is a reference as much as it is a learning resource..

>Their employers, big or small, should be the ones paying for it.

Your argument is counter intuitive, if it is truly a reference, then surely the developers themselves should pay for it.

A company hires a developer with the expectation that they know their field (including the standards etc.). It is the developers' own concern if they (understandably) need a reference to help them execute what they were hired for.

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You describe the role of a contractor here, not an employee. The tools that I need, like a computer, an IDE, an Internet Connection, Software Licenses, and reference documents, should all be provided by the employer.

If the developer is being hired as a contractor, perhaps so; this could be negotiable as part of the contract.

If the developer is hired as an employee, then in general I'd say no. It's the employer's responsibility to provide the tools and resources the developer needs to perform the job effectively -- whether that's hardware, software, documentation, or working environment.

Many employers pay for reference materials like this. Universities and hospitals pay insane amounts of money to Elsevier, Springer Nature & Co for scientific journals, others to orgs like ANSI, ISO or DIN. All this stuff is so expensive that no one can be expected to pay it out of his own pocket.

Also bring your own chair and desk while we're at it. Oh and you definitely want to buy some toilet paper. Felix always keeps a stock on those but he never shares.

Don't forget to bring a bucket of water from the well every morning - yea we've got working plumbing but that costs money and your developer salaries are unreasonable!

If that is the case , Stackoverflow should not be where it is now. In every field there is lot to learn. you learn everyday.you cannot find one who knows everything. If someone says it, don't hire him

SO is the opposite of MDN. If you do not approach any piece of StackOverflow content with the presumption that it could be dangerously not-even-wrong, God bless you.

If the developers are independent contractors, sure. If they are employees, no, the employer should pay

Just like lawyers and LexisNexis and similar tools.

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