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0 pointslhnz3y ago0 comments

I think the decade old comment related to a different part of the code regarding the number of followers you have in relation to the number of accounts you follow. (Everybody on the call wants to remove this: I wonder why they haven't yet.)

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delecti3y ago

Chesterton's Fence. In a sufficiently large system, you should be hesitant to remove things unless you're sure you know why it was added, and all the things that have come to depend on it since.

I've definitely been hesitant to remove things I was pretty confident weren't used anymore, just because I didn't want to deal with the repercussions if I was wrong.

nonethewiser3y ago

I didn’t know there was a name for this. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve definitely been bitten by this. You always have to weigh the chance you break something against the upside. If you’re actually fixing a bug, fine. But just refactoring to make something cleaner? Or deleting because it seems like it’s not doing anything, even after doing some research? Think again.

djtango3y ago

True for many things - doctors are now a lot more hesitant to remove the appendix for example. (it serves as a buffer for your gut flora iirc)

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