I completely agree, for me they are the ultimate embodiment of the hipster/brogrammer/ninja/guru culture that has become something of a running joke in the industry (at least in my little corner of it).
37signals is the most smug and obnoxious company ever. I'm so sick of them. On their desks, where's the empty wine glass that they use to smell their own farts? Thaaaanks!
I always get the feeling that they are really trying to prove to themselves, through proving it to others, that they didn't need to get acquired and that ruby webapps are way more interesting than working on self-driving cars or new crazy startups to change the world. Let's face it, their products look like they are very high quality (although I haven't used them) but none of them are going to change the world in a meaningful or lasting sense.
That seems slightly unfair. Their direct products, maybe, but the introduction of Ruby on Rails and the philosophy of it did cause a radical advancement in expectations regarding web frameworks and applications for everyone, in the same way that non-iPhone users have benefited from Apple coming into mobile and mixing things up.
Yeah, I couldn't believe it when I read the part where they say "Check out our sweet desks. Jealous??"
I re-read the post and can't find anything qualifying as arrogant or exaggerating. I'm not a 37Signals expert, and I'm sure there are examples elsewhere, but certainly with regards to this post you're off base.
Find them totally arrogant as well. Everything corporate strategy they employ is the "right" way of doing things and necessitates a self-fellating post on Hacker News.
Clearly it's not just you. But I still find their way of doing things to be inspiring and thought-provoking. They're making their own rules, and I respect them from that. I found the post refreshing.
