I think I heard this analogy as "a station wagon full of backup tapes" :)

I agree that all-nighters are almost never productive, but this question was about staying late, not about working all-nighters.

I'd like to believe that all work could get done within business hours and on my team it usually does. But there will always be times that the team needs to stay late, because things always come up.

I manage developers and they can count on me to be here if they're here (and when they're not). But I'm also *not* a useless lackey. I'm a developer myself and I'm here because I add something to the process. In addition to going to get the food (which I always do), I can actually participate in the process of making decisions and solving problems.

In my opinion, if you can't do that, you shouldn't be in the position. And you certainly shouldn't be looking over anybody's shoulder if you're not needed. Give them the space. Surely you have some of your own work you can do while you wait.

But yes, be there -- unless you can't be there without getting in the way, in which case you should leave.

I would certainly hope they have good WiFi

Gotta get people using it somehow :)