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I am perplexed by the admired/desired labels: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/technology/#admired-and...

I don't see how they're deriving these judgments from the question that was asked:

> Which programming, scripting, and markup languages have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the language and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)

Desired is clear enough. If somebody said they wanted to work with XYZ next year, then it's desired. But how are they deriving "admired" from the fact that somebody had to work with XYZ this year?



The meaning is comically vague instead of just "used" "want to use", and also frustrating is they never allow sorting by admired for some reason.

Edit: What do these words even mean in this context? It is so unnecessarily confusing.

Admire - to feel respect and approval for

Desire - an inclination to want things

Why pick these 2 similar words... that don't match up with the survey question:

"Which programming, scripting, and markup languages have you done extensive development work in over the past year" - so popularity? (what if you don't admire it?)

"Which do you want to use" - desire

The mouse-over seems to be sorted by the blue "Desire". But the list looks similar to a popularity list, except Go and Rust are above C#, C++, and Java.

What is going on?

Edit 2: The question does not directly map. A request to Stack Overflow, just label them:

"Used and want to keep using"

"Haven't used but want to"

As a programmer reading charts, precision and clarity is better than ambiguity.


I'm guessing, but I'm pretty sure that "admired" is derived from folks who used a language and who want to keep using it.


Then what does desired mean? Is that haven't used it but want to? The cleverness of the alliteration is not even close to worth the confusion this causes every year.




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