Forgive me for saying so, but you seem overly caught up in the "rules".
On the contrary, I'd say. I'm mostly a "personal" programmer, given the fact that programming is only a (pleasant) side effect of my real work (telecommunication consulting). So, I really stick to the rules that make sense to me, and it's indeed a somewhat natural process :). (Moreover, I find that you are very polite).

On the other side, I can understand software houses, or companies in general, deciding to adopt coding standards. What I was trying to point out (but I evidently failed miserably) is that if the company sets some rules the solution is not in adopting strategies that allow you to break them without being caught. You can probably object them, discuss them with the management, or whatever - but the fact remains that these are rules that you should follow.

To make an example, consider the traffic lights in Italy and in Poles. In Italy, when it's red you cannot pass; in Poles, in most cases you are allowed to pass if you have to turn right and you are careful to grant the due precedences. These are two different "driving standards", and you can say that the Polish one is probably more intelligent, but the fact remains: if you pass with red in Italy, even if nobody is passing and you're only turning on the right, you're breaking driving rules. If you're caught, you're likely to get a fine to pay and you actually have nothing in your hands to avoid this (apart some good friend in the local police, but that's another thread).

The bottom line is: if the company chooses some coding standards, you should adhere to them as much as possible. If you disagree with them, discuss them and try to have them changed, but don't advocate the right to bend them at your will: others may count on the fact that you're following them.

Flavio
perl -ple'$_=reverse' <<<ti.xittelop@oivalf

Don't fool yourself.

In reply to Re^8: On being 'critical' by polettix
in thread On being 'critical' by herby1620

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