Before(2000-2012 say) when hanging out on programmer forums most discussions were about nerdy stuff like FreeBSD vs Linux or hating on big companies like Microsoft or IBM or language A vs language B. There could be 800 comments on slashdot or HN how bad the memory collection was in Java 5 or why some new OS feature from Microsoft sucks and is anti privacy Or just some super nerdy culture stuff about warhammer or star wars. Now it seem many programmers just accept those big companies because they pay high salaries. And people are more interested in gym or making "impact" whatever that means. Or some $latest_tech_gadget instead of those more flamewar style(but entertaining :D) discussions. Anyone miss those days? Where did all the cool nerds go? #nerds #culture #linux #programming #hn #slashdot
They’re still around, but you have to find them. 4chan’s /g/ is a decent place to start for open-source talk, and you can try Louis Rossmann and Mental Outlaw on YouTube if you’re looking for more technical discussions about privacy and open source software. Windows as a service is privacy-invasive and bloated beyond measure as a whole, and Windows 11 is even worse. You may be able to find more niche forums that discuss these topics in detail, but with the state of the industry and how competitive getting into FAANG is, people want to know how they can get in and how much they can expect to make. TC: 105K
The demographics have changed since 2000. Many SWEs moved to the US and)or studied computer science to make money and could care less about innovation. There are still a few around who are passionate about tech, but they are harder to find.
I can sort of get the not interested in CS parts, but I also noticed the nerdy subcultures are not so much in the "younger" people, like below 30. Like metalheads or walking around with some Tux tshirt and smart EDC gear. They either just wear some company branded clothes or just some normal plaid shirt. When I started working at a web hotel in early 2000s it was like a competition almost who could wear the most nerdy weird tshirts
My husband was one of those weird geeks too. I get it.
Those days are gone I think. Ultimately comes down to mercenary style of working and not taking pride in what they do. The current generation sees this only as a money making opportunity and can’t wait to retire. I mean why should they care when the CEOs keep getting richer while the rest stay the same.
yes I totally get this worker focused/antiwork mentality of not working for free and looking out for yourself^ But that's more on the daily job level, we still have a lot of free time where we can discuss and be nerdy instead of just talking about "scaling" or "promotion cycles" all the time. 90% of all companies doesn't need any scaling they just need more users
Thanks for writing on this OP , did you live in SV during the early days of Tech ?
No I live in Europe(currently in Netherlands) but many hacker events and discussions were always focused on american things like patent trolls, SCO linux drama or microsoft anti open source stances(they gotten way better now actually, wsd is really nice!) and watching american guys getting their Intel or AMD cpus before us and how they overclocked them
Maybe everyone grew up and had kids/got promoted. Also, was tabs v spaces ever decided? Did perl 6 ever take off?
of course people grow up. but the question is more, why didn't the nerdy teenagers replace them? and what about emacs vs vim?
Tech got rich and powerful and now attracts people that want those things. After 2008, it surpassed I-Banking and management consulting and began attracting those sorts of people. There is now an MBA to Big Tech Pipeline. Below the striver level, there are also countless folks that just want a “stable job of the future.” They chose CS and minored in something they were interested in or majored in music, hated being broke as a working musician, and then went to a coding bootcamp. Also to some degree, nerd subculture has been co-opted and corporatized. That said. I still see all that stuff you mention online, and there are all sorts of pockets of domains where that culture thrives. I.e. difficult niches where the ROI doesn’t seem good enough for the Blinders and the grind seems too intense for the 9-5ers.
That's really sad to hear but I guess you are right. I have also noticed a trend that people below 30 or so isn't so much into actual tools and how computer works. like using nc, telnet or having their own custom bash scripts Some doesn't even know about packet managers and how to quickly install a new tool in a docker instance you are debugging... when I grew up me and my friends all had linux servers running in our student rooms :D
Hi
hi, do you like Theo de Raadt?
Uhhh ?? ... I think you answered your own question, they are on HN and SD .. and reddit and 4chan to a lesser degree
no what I meant is also those places are talking about other things those days and a lot of politics
It's because the industry has overindexed on career ladders and promos, instead of innovation. At any large tech company, management spends most of their time in perf reviews. Which means reports spend most of their time on perf reviews. This is the only thing going on there. Soul sucking game of ratings. Nobody fucking cares what's really happening with the company, services, products, innovation, technology. All they care about is the next 6 months because that's how these companies have set themselves up.
really sad to hear. i remember in the 90s, you could actually know who worked on what and in fact send mail to the guy doing a specific task if you had a question at say the java development team
These days, you can't trust any other employee or management. It's all about self preservation and self visibility. They set those rules, made the workplace depressing, and yet can't produce better outcomes than companies that focus on culture+innovation
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