This entire argument frustrates me. Let me just go on record as saying this is childish. Hype or fad is never a reason to use or abandon any programming language or framework. Rails is useful, period. It has an extremely broad community of libraries and plugings, and it makes developing applications CHEAP and FAST and, yes, even GOOD. That's why people use it - so they can start startups lightning fast, or compete with the bigger companies who are using heftier languages and frameworks.