January 2, 2026
Ruby love, C confession
Matz 2/2: The trajectory of Ruby's growth, Open-Source Software today etc.
Matz admits he reaches for C; fans debate Ruby’s future and a voice swap
TLDR: Matz’s year-end chat revealed he often prefers the C language, sparking jokes and soul-searching. Comments split between anxiety over missing new Ruby users and a dust-up about the English dub, turning warm nostalgia into a sharp debate on Ruby’s future.
New Year’s interview with Ruby’s creator Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto was supposed to be a cozy tour of Ruby’s rise—from Rails fame to global community love. Instead, one line detonated the comments: Matz says he often reaches for C, the older, no-frills language. One user crowed “that’s the lede,” and the thread turned into meme city: “Ruby’s dad sneaks off with C on weekends.” Nostalgia poured in for the GitHub-startup era, but so did the worry: is Ruby still recruiting fresh faces?
Cue subplot number two: a mini-audio kerfuffle. Fans noticed the English podcast version used a dubbing voice, not Matz’s own, prompting links to the original Japanese interview and side-eye for the “not-the-real-voice” vibe. Then came the heavyweight take: “WHERE ARE THE NEW RUBY USERS!” One camp blames Python’s surge; another insists Ruby’s friendliness (MINASWAN—“Matz is nice and so we are nice”) will keep the flame alive. Meanwhile, old-schoolers wax poetic about open-source (OSS means open-source software) values and Matz’s relationships with legends like Martin Fowler and Linus Torvalds. The mood? Sweet community warmth meets cold growth metrics—like a New Year toast spiked with reality. Listen for yourself on Apple/Spotify and decide how Ruby’s next chapter should read.
Key Points
- •The episode features Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto discussing Ruby’s history, community, and open-source perspectives.
- •It recounts the first Ruby conference in the United States and outlines Ruby’s growth trajectory.
- •Ruby on Rails, created by David Heinemeier Hansson in 2004, is highlighted as a major catalyst for Ruby’s global adoption.
- •Startup adoption, notably by GitHub, is cited as a driver of Ruby’s rapid expansion.
- •Matz’s roles (Ruby Association chairman, advisor to ZOZO and Linkers) and recognitions in Japan are documented.