Slashdot | Developers As Pawns and One-Night Stands Is anyone surprised about this? If so, you have been reading Microsoft's developer propaganda rather than using your brain. Microsoft would be nowhere today without its huge developer community, and this testimony makes clear exactly how the company views that community. Remember your mother's warning about taking candy from strange men in fancy cars? Apparently, a lot of guys figured someone as rich and well known as Bill Gates couldn't be strange... or bad.