I'm part of a small software development team. It happens that one of my greatest hobbies is actually, software development. In my free time, I enjoy contributing to several open source projects.
When I'm at work, we always go out for a break the same five people: me, three of my colleagues, and our boss. While we're having coffee, a usual conversation subject is about our hobbies, what did we do during the weekend, that kind of things. And when I'm asked "what about you?", I usually answer something like "Well, I went out for beer with my friends, you know." I always avoid talking about my open source stuff, because I'm afraid my colleagues might think that I'm an arse-licker desperately trying to get a promotion if I say that I spent that rainy sunday afternoon coding just for fun.
Do you think it's a good idea? Do you think I should keep it secret or not?