We're gradually removing our ORM usage to avoid active objects. They look too much like VSTs, but subtly make foreign network calls when you least expect it, which makes it very hard to write effective, isolated tests or replace the database layer by something else, like a service call or a cache lookup.
I’m sorry if it sounds harsh, but that is the mistake of the developers than. I think you would not allow anyone to write production code without knowing the language; it should be the same way with most libraries, especially ones having a big reach, like ORMs.
Nonetheless, I have seen it countless of times in the team I worked in — so it is unfortunately really frequent.
