Very good points made here, and I do see some elitism in online development communities (which I spend very little time in), though not too much in the actual workplace, in my own experience. This is good news for me, because it’s pretty easy to remove myself from a toxic environment, by just closing a browser tab. I feel for those who get this at work or who rely on such communities regularly.

Both elitism and anti-elitist-elitism appear in many (if not all) online groups, and I see it just as much in the topic of bicycling as I do in software engineering. Sometimes I can see why certain elitist views exist, and sometimes I can agree, but yes, the lack of humility/modesty/kindness can be very draining for the hopes of young or aspiring programmers. You’re spot-on in your “educate and elevate” section!

I want to believe that a lot of us thrive to help others practise what is objectively “the better way”, but the problem is that what we think is objective is actually subjective. Experience can also tell if someone knows what is objectively “bad”, but newcomers might not understand the horrors and trauma caused by common (but far from ideal) practices. One developer’s normal is another’s nightmare.