ALT.NET: what does it mean?

A lot of people think ALT.NET is about using NHibernate, Castle Windsor, StructureMap, Resharper, Rhino Mocks, MonoRail, or whatever tool or library you can think of. It's really not about that.

From altdotnet.org:

We are a self-organizing, ad-hoc community of developers bound by a desire to improve ourselves, challenge assumptions, and help each other pursue excellence in the practice of software development.

And that is really the essence of what ALT.NET is about. It is about continuous improvement, and sharing knowledge. Nothing more, nothing less. Whatever concept or tool that allows us to improve either ourselves or the way we work, should be used. No matter where the concept came from, or who created the tool.

We are often thought of as being anti-Microsoft. And although some of us probably are, that's not what it's about. We want quality. We want to work with as little friction as possible. I am pretty sceptical (to say the least) whenever Microsoft promises us the latest and greatest in whatever new product they're working on, because i've felt the pain of their latest and greatest far too often to blindly believe whatever claims they make. But if they release something that allows me to do what i want to do without restricting my development habits (and i think ASP.NET MVC is looking pretty good on that front) then i will use it. Gladly even. Because i really don't care where a tool or a library comes from, as long as it's good. I definitely have my preferred set of libraries/tools but i'll drop them in a heartbeat when something better comes along.

So when is a developer 'ALT.NET'? According to altnetpedia.com, you are ALT.NET if you are:

• The type of developer who uses what works while keeping an eye out for a better way.
• You reach outside the mainstream to adopt the best of any community: Open Source, Agile, Java, Ruby, etc.
• You’re not content with the status quo. Things can always be better expressed, more elegant and simple, more mutable, higher quality, etc.
• You know tools are great, but they only take you so far. It’s the principles and knowledge that really matter. The best tools are those that embed the knowledge and encourage the principles

Now tell me: How on earth did it ever get this far in our industry for this mindset to be considered alternative?