Even in 2024, I say that Ruby is one of the best common languages available. While there are some weird syntax choices, and a lot of rope to hang yourself with when it comes to subjects like metaprogramming, it is a better Python than Python, in that it has a clean way to approach problems, and a simple structure to make coding clean and easy. The best part of Ruby is that its tooling is great at pushing best practices, like concise methods, good naming conventions, tests with single/aligned assertions, etc. I've taken many lessons from Ruby into other languages I use.

Rails, on the other hand, is totally different. Today, Zed Shaw's essay on Rails is as accurate as ever, in that many Rails shops have just ignored years of best practices on the web, and opt to do things their way because it's "better".