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0 pointsLeCompteSftware5d ago0 comments

I refuse to use LLMs and don't have a job, so I'm just some guy.

What I find strange about this is that in 2020 nobody would be this openly cynical and selfish about, say, good Python idioms, a useful emacs configuration, git shortcuts, etc. This attitude of "your job is to deliver value for the customer, anything else is a distraction, and if you share your hard-earned value-delivery techniques with others then you are a sucker" - this is new, and very disconcerting.

I understand there's not much we can do to stop the cyberpunk dystopia, but do we have to leap in head-first?

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TallGuyShort5d ago

> What I find strange about this is that in 2020 nobody would be this openly cynical and selfish about, say, good Python idioms, a useful emacs configuration, git shortcuts, etc.

I definitely saw people have concerns about vimrc files and their personal library of shell scripts well before 2020, and I've seen people early in their career get burned by sharing it too. They had a tool that made them productive, it got out of their hands, and suddenly they're getting negative feedback from someone who tried using it and it didn't meet their expectations, or it got checked into the repository and now the script they used at their last job too has their current job's copyright notice and license on it, and they're perceived as being petty for trying to claw back their own intellectual property because they didn't go to the trouble of slapping legalese all over their personal tools.

thfuran4d ago

Is it actually their IP? Every dev job I’ve seen has wording in the employment contract that grants the employer ownership of anything developed on company time or company hardware. So unless they made those helpful scripts off the clock on a personal computer, they probably always belonged to the employer.

tardedmeme3d ago

This only matters if your employer cares enough to choose to create negative consequences for you. I guarantee almost no employer cares about your vim configuration technically being their IP. Even the lawyer work to figure out if it's their IP or not costs more than any possible gain they could have from claiming it.

If your employer is extremely spiteful, they might burn a pile of cash to hurt you. But that's not normal.

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tardedmeme3d ago

In 2020 we were in an extreme ZIRP phase, a time of plenty (of money). It was easier to get hired. People shared because it made them look better. It was cooperation mode. Now jobs are scarcer so it's competition mode.

Izkata4d ago

Those are completely different from a tool you wrote yourself: Where do they get support when something goes wrong?

This mindset has always existed in the area we're talking about, and not because it's sharing something to speed up with. It's because we don't want to get stuck doing a second job supporting the tool.

I've built all sorts of random tools for myself over the years and haven't shared a single thing, but share the tips and tricks like your examples all the time.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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TallGuyShort5d ago

> What I find strange about this is that in 2020 nobody would be this openly cynical and selfish about, say, good Python idioms, a useful emacs configuration, git shortcuts, etc.

thfuran4d ago

tardedmeme3d ago

If your employer is extremely spiteful, they might burn a pile of cash to hurt you. But that's not normal.

1 more reply

tardedmeme3d ago

Izkata4d ago

Those are completely different from a tool you wrote yourself: Where do they get support when something goes wrong?

I've built all sorts of random tools for myself over the years and haven't shared a single thing, but share the tips and tricks like your examples all the time.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse