I share this because I hope it makes it clear that I have a vested interest in Zulip's future. And I'm happy about this news; I'm confident Zulip will continue to improve for many years.

Also, for those who don't know: Zulip was initially a for-profit startup, which was acquired by Dropbox in 2014. Tim then went to great lengths to get Dropbox to later open source it, and allow him to found a new company (the one that was today donated to the new nonprofit foundation) to continue work on Zulip. I can't think of any other cases where a founder has gone to such great lengths to do right by their users.

I've been a happy Zulip user (and realm admin) for 13 years: it's one of my favorite pieces of software, and I use it daily. My understanding is these changes will be very good for Zulip's long-term stability and success.

(I'm a volunteer member of the new foundation's advisory board.)

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47934174

Points: 2

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Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47921851

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Thanks for the feedback!

At least so far, the impact of LLMs has been overall positive for RC. We have a big-tent community, which includes everyone from those who avoid LLMs at all costs to those who are all-in on them, and everyone in between. We have folks who come to our retreats with the explicit goal of not programming with LLMs[1] (usually because they've been using them extensively at their previous jobs) and others who use RC as an opportunity to learn how to program effectively with AI. There's also a lot of discussion here about how (and to what extent) to use LLMs effectively in the context of learning.

We wrote up our position on AI last July, and while a lot has changed since then, I think all our conclusions still hold up well[2]: "...whether you choose to embrace or avoid AI in your work at RC, you will need to build your own mental structures to grow as a programmer. When using AI, use it to amplify your ambitions, not to abdicate your agency. And regardless of what you do, be curious about and kind to the people around you."

Like everyone else, I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm confident we'll find a way to navigate it. I'm sure I have some motivated reasoning here, but I really do believe that humans will still want to understand and build things no matter how good the models get.

[1] https://miguelconner.substack.com/p/im-coding-by-hand

[2] https://www.recurse.com/blog/191-developing-our-position-on-...

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47892660

Points: 76

# Comments: 10

Most folks do RC between jobs, either because they quit their job specifically to do RC or because they lost their job and then decide to apply. Other common ways are as part of a formal sabbatical (returning either to an industry job or to academia), as part of garden leave, or while on summer break (for college and grad students). We also get a fair number of freelancers/independent contractors (who stop doing their normal work during their batches), as well as some retirees.

Some folks use RC as a way to enter the industry (both new grads and folks switching careers), though the majority of people who attend have already worked professionally as programmers.

We've had people aged 12 to early 70s attend, though most Recursers are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

When he first described it to me, I didn't really "get" it (is it a game? a simulation? some other sort of environment?), and it wasn't until seeing an actual demo and hearing Peter explain his thinking more deeply that it clicked.

It's basically a giant simulation environment that is 1) visually stunning (and all visual aspects are meaningful / carry semantic information and aren't just glitter), 2) technically quite impressive, and 3) built for rapid exploration and experimentation. If that sounds at all interesting, you should watch the video to hear Peter's talk!

(Writing this as someone who generally doesn't like to watch videos online; this is one of the rare cases where I think it's worth it, and a video is a better format than text in explaining the thing.)

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46541299

Points: 3

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Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46395840

Points: 5

# Comments: 1

Their export feature has been broken for over a year. Support hasn't helped, and our data is still trapped.

A sad end for a once promising product.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45191566

Points: 4

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Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45029079

Points: 1

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Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44866335

Points: 2

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