The last week or so I’ve been playing with rspec, a Behavior-Driven Development framework useful for capturing user stories from which code is derived. BDD seeks to improve upon test-driven development by moving up a level, representing actual user requirements as the starting point for development, rather than starting with a specific implicit design in mind.
For my own amusement, I turned the tips for writing in the Valleywag style into an rspec plain text story:
Story: author writes a Valleywag story
As an author
I want to write a story
So that it meets the Gawker criteria
Scenario: writer expresses the rage of the creative underclass
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then reader should feel the expressed rage of the creative underclass
Scenario: writer mixes a plus and a minus
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post include a plus
And post should include a minus
Scenario: writer slams people not companies or products
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post should slam people
And post should not slam companies
And post should not slam products
Scenario: writer insults but is surprising
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post should insult
And reader should be surprised
Scenario: writer doesn't let his anger get to him
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post shouldn't reflect writer's anger
Scenario: writer avoids beat-downs
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post should not contain a beat-down
Scenario: writer doesn't fisk
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post should not fisk
Scenario: writer says only things writer would say in conversation
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post says only things that writer would say in conversation
Scenario: writer avoids journalist math and uses specifics
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post uses good math
And post uses specifics
Scenario: writer writes only one joke per post
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post contains one and only one joke
Scenario: writer bails early
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post is not overly long
Scenario: writer uses satire and parody to illustrate subject's foibles
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post contains satire illustrating subject's foibles
And post contains parody illustrating subject's foibles
Scenario: writer never uses the word douchebag
Given a Valleywag writer
When writer writes a post
Then post does not contain word douchebag
