My opinion is certainly skewed by my personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt.
That said, engineers are a highly opinionated bunch and a group of 5 will have 5 different personal preferences. But they are smart and will quickly recognize an objective opinion that is not hard-driven by personal preferences. Folks with good technical judgement who are willing to accept a different approach quickly become a highly respected member of the community. They frequently end up with more tables offering them seats, in a technical expert role, than they care to occupy.
This is one of those places where strong opinions, loosely held should be applied. And I can imagine those people getting more invites simply on the basis of possibly being more agreeable to interact with.
Programming is an abstraction (a perspective on what the computer is really doing) that is very much shaped by the tools we choose to use. Meta-religion is probably a fair way to describe it, and can be every bit as divisive in some circles.
That said, engineers are a highly opinionated bunch and a group of 5 will have 5 different personal preferences. But they are smart and will quickly recognize an objective opinion that is not hard-driven by personal preferences. Folks with good technical judgement who are willing to accept a different approach quickly become a highly respected member of the community. They frequently end up with more tables offering them seats, in a technical expert role, than they care to occupy.