Wrapping Up

The majority of this book focuses on solving technical problems, but some of the most difficult remote-pairing issues are people problems. If you follow the advice of the programmers in this chapter you’ll be well on your way to solving or even avoiding them entirely. But sometimes technology can solve people problems, too. Your software stack can improve cooperation and make the remote-pairing experience smooth and comfortable. If you’re happy with your tools, you’ll probably be more productive.

Whatever tools you choose, remember that a human being sits at the other end of the connection. The same rules of etiquette that apply to colocated pair programming apply to remote pair programming. In fact, communication, sharing, and listening to your partner might be more important when pairing remotely.

Go pair with someone right now. Pick a project you know nothing about—try the Linux kernel.^[98] Then grab a friend or post a tweet on Twitter with the #pairwithme hash tag. You can say something as simple as, “I want to learn about the Linux kernel. Anyone want to #pairwithme?” It’s almost guaranteed that in the following thirty minutes you’ll learn something new that improves your daily programming routine.