> Facebook, led by a (former) dev, has gone all-in on open plan offices
As another comment[1] pointed out it may have been founded by a developer, but it was one who never worked anywhere other than the company he founded and grew. Things that work well for a company of ten or twenty don't necessarily work best when it grows into the hundreds or thousands of employees.
My point was to refute the assertion that it's "because developers don't run companies in general." If we're going to add lots of caveats to what 'developer' means, then we're essentially making a 'No true scotsman argument' -- (i.e. Zuck hasn't worked anywhere else, and is ostensibly a manager now).
Oh sorry, I certainly didn't mean to suggest he isn't a "true" developer - I'm sure he could code circles around me. I meant only that you were pointing to Facebook as a "direct counterpoint" to the suggestion that "developers don't run companies in general" - and it's not a great counterpoint because he's not going into the office every day and writing code, and hasn't since Facebook was a small/early-stage startup (where open layouts make the most sense).
i.e. he isn't making the decision as a developer, he's making it as a manager and the comment you were originally replying to was suggesting "for management cost and control would be more important considerations." [Though I'm not sure I entirely agree with that, as pointed out in my own reply to that comment]
As another comment[1] pointed out it may have been founded by a developer, but it was one who never worked anywhere other than the company he founded and grew. Things that work well for a company of ten or twenty don't necessarily work best when it grows into the hundreds or thousands of employees.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9968367