The Online Tech Community in 2023
In the last few months I’ve switched over to many online tech/developers communities of various kind. From Reddit to YouTube, Discord, HackerNews, etc, I’m now following a bunch of new channels since I’m changing my career.
What I’ve found is that usually people are quite open and welcoming. If you demonstrate a good attitude as a learner, veterans will gladly help you (probably as in any other field?). Most of all, a lot of these folks are VERY passionate about their jobs and about computer science in general, which is really reassuring for a newcomer like me.
And that’s the good side.
What I wasn’t expecting (but maybe just because I’m too naive, really) it’s the following:
Same tools, opposite views
A shit show of alt-right YouTubers doing Linux content videos. So odd how we’re using the same software for the “same” reasons of privacy and freedom but with such opposite political and ethical views. I guess it stands as a sign of the “open” nature of open and free software after all…
Nietzsche is my prophet
A bunch of thirty-something (but even younger) developers with an horrendous nihilistic view of life: greedy for money and status, obsessed with crypto and the last new shiny thing, giving out the worst kind of advice. So much so in fact that it feels to me like they’re kind of trying to sabotage other people to their own advantage. My best guess overall is that they’re just insecure. Rich, entitled hipsters scared to shit and trying their best not to lose their status, aka future boomers, really.
God is dead, AI is the new God
A lot of them are discouraging others from learning programming because the AI already has made jobs irrelevant: “I used ChatGPT at my last corporate job, it was basically copy and paste all day, man! If you wanna stay relevant now you just have to make your own YT channel, build your thing with crypto…yadda yadda”.
The Hustler way-of-life
An overall absolute lack of ethics and values in these individuals that is quite concerning. The world is a jungle if you think it is, really. There’s no reason to drag all humanity into your black hole of survival instincts. Is “hustlers” the word maybe? You do you, and I’ll do me, I guess.
OK, I think I’ll get back into my cave learning programming and studying CS because I just enjoy it.
Bye.