Hacker News: sltr

New comment by sltr in "I Stopped “Creating Content”"

sltr — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:38:02 +0000

Since 2002 Richard Stallman has spoken again using term "content" this way.

> using the word as a noun to describe works and communications through which people have expressed themselves adopts an attitude you might rather avoid: it treats them as a commodity whose purpose is to fill a box and make money. In effect, it disparages all the works by subordinating them to the box that is full.

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Content

Who You Gonna Call

sltr — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:49:29 +0000

Article URL: https://www.slater.dev/2026/07/who-you-gonna-call/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48983191

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by sltr in "Moonshot AI suspends new subscriptions due to Kimi K3 demand"

sltr — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 19:07:40 +0000

This is the right thing to do

Another reason to get attached to Surebeans

sltr — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 21:41:17 +0000

Article URL: https://surebeans.net/blog/2026/06/getting-attached-to-surebeans/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48679573

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by sltr in "The Optimal Amount of Slop Is Non-Zero"

sltr — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:22:17 +0000

That's an interesting argument. In construction, the larger a project, the more justifiable it is to invest in quality. Is it different than software? I think a better argument against licensure is that it makes small projects too expensive, but I disagree. It shifts not the overall cost, but when cost is paid: "The upfront cost will increase, but a long tail of costs stemming from quality issues will decrease."

I worked for 10 years in medical devices. QMS was business as usual. I think large software projects with millions budgeted should have them. But the difference between a QMS and licensure is a person's signature and their personal commitment to a statement of ethics as well as their accountability and ability to appeal to a professional organization.

New comment by sltr in "The Optimal Amount of Slop Is Non-Zero"

sltr — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:07:00 +0000

I'm glad you mentioned downward market pressure on quality. I agree that is an issue. That's why I advocate for licensure of software engineering professionals, which exerts a counteracting force back up.

https://www.slater.dev/2025/09/its-time-to-license-software-...

The Optimal Amount of Slop Is Non-Zero

sltr — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:54:43 +0000

Article URL: https://www.slater.dev/2026/06/the-optimal-amount-of-slop-is-non-zero/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48632724

Points: 15

# Comments: 4

New comment by sltr in "When I reject AI code even if it works"

sltr — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:41:21 +0000

It's kind of like the saying "the right note played at the wrong time is wrong." An implementation that works today but could break in the future is wrong. I'm not willing to treat an LLM as an oracle that knows the difference. It certainly hasn't earned that trust.

New comment by sltr in "AI demands more engineering discipline. Not less"

sltr — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:18:27 +0000

from the post:

> It was reasonable to be skeptical the first time

It's still reasonable to be skeptical. A few weeks ago a post was discussed here on HN [1] that asked:

> What would have to be true for us to ‘check English into the repository’ instead of code?

to which I replied:

> Code is already the cheapest path to working, correct software. LLMs do not change the calculus because figuring out what to make is the expensive part, not coding it up. Skipping code makes the specification of what to make even more expensive and throws away the tools that keep precision affordable. Programming in English would be more expensive than just using a programming language. [2]

[1] https://annievella.com/posts/finding-comfort-in-the-uncertai...

[2] https://www.slater.dev/2026/05/why-english-will-never-be-a-p...

New comment by sltr in "Midjourney Medical"

sltr — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:58:00 +0000

"when you're looking for things, you find them" - my physician explaining excessive reliance on diagnostic imaging

New comment by sltr in "Cleaning up after AI rockstar developers"

sltr — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:59:06 +0000

The job when picking up a codebase made by human or machine always involves reverse-engineering the design intent from code. That's especially hard for LLM-generated code because the path to runtime was so rushed.

> It's more expensive to fix code at runtime than at compile time and at compile time than at design time. Unfortunately, AI rushes people to runtime as fast as possible.

https://www.slater.dev/2025/09/about-that-gig-fixing-vibe-co...

New comment by sltr in "Show HN: Command Center, the AI coding env for people who care about quality"

sltr — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:33:38 +0000

Sorry about the infelicitious timbre. Nope, I'm just a happy customer.

New comment by sltr in "Show HN: Command Center, the AI coding env for people who care about quality"

sltr — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:52 +0000

I'm Doug, quoted above. I took Jimmy's excellent course, and when I learned about Command Center, I subbed immediately. I wasn't disappointed. It's a bit like turning your LLM into a graduate of that course.

New comment by sltr in "Gleam v1.17.0"

sltr — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:58:30 +0000

every time I use Gleam I feel happy

New comment by sltr in "Italy moves to Airbus A330 tankers"

sltr — Sat, 23 May 2026 17:34:21 +0000

> The tanker deal is not just a competition won; it is a decision that shifts the balanc

I didn't just stop reading at this line, I slammed the back button like releasing an emergency exit door.

New comment by sltr in "Why English will never be a programming language"

sltr — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:19:57 +0000

If the question is not worth asking, why did Thoughtworks ask it?

New comment by sltr in "Why English will never be a programming language"

sltr — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:33:06 +0000

Thanks for reading. The question the article addresses is, "What would have to be true to check in English to the repo' and the answer is grounded in how business works: it seeks to minimize costs. Maintenance of code rather than very detailed English happens to be cheaper.

Why English will never be a programming language

sltr — Wed, 20 May 2026 17:02:56 +0000

Article URL: https://www.slater.dev/2026/05/why-english-will-never-be-a-programming-language/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48210753

Points: 3

# Comments: 4

New comment by sltr in "Learnings from 100K lines of Rust with AI (2025)"

sltr — Wed, 20 May 2026 13:08:14 +0000

Contrarian view: Why English will never be a programming language. https://www.slater.dev/2026/05/why-english-will-never-be-a-p...

New comment by sltr in "Everything in C is undefined behavior"

sltr — Wed, 20 May 2026 12:57:16 +0000

For a deep dive on UB with printf, see https://srs.fyi/see-conversions/

> When programming in C, to avoid unexpected pitfalls, one must be acutely aware of a whole slew of implicit behaviors (some of which are implementation-defined or even undefined).