Jeff Atwood

co-founder stackoverflow.com, discourse.org, blogger. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know I'm doing it really, really well. Let's be kind to each other.

Public Key

npub1g2qejtntv9jj5pysfsnn3lsgxqm522lvm543ujv4lscakusmg2dqjucq0l

NIP-05 Address

codinghorror@infosec-exchange.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsy9qve9e4kzef2qjgycfeclcyrqd6990kd62c7fx2lcvwmwgd59xspzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43z7tzqkah

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1g2qejtntv9jj5pysfsnn3lsgxqm522lvm543ujv4lscakusmg2dqjucq0l

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Last Notes

2026-01-28 02:43:08

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https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/970/417/332/112/553/original/7fcfecc92a93844e.jpeg

2026-01-27 17:58:34

https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/968/347/727/287/373/original/1478e61476639291.jpeg

2026-01-26 00:23:07

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@nprofile…7emv well said and agree

2026-01-25 22:51:03

Grew up with these Spy vs. Spy guys ◼️💥◻️
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/958/174/603/971/588/original/f73155786f79d5c7.jpeg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/958/174/703/352/860/original/ec3d441051b61c59.jpeg

2026-01-25 04:10:03

A wild prototype appears!! 🪀
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/953/772/273/379/873/original/d8fb91e6b3224aaf.mp4

2026-01-21 20:14:04

Just arrived at NOLA, launching third GMI rural county study in Warren County, MS, and the movie theme from Shaft (1971) is playing at the rental car pickup area. Another reason New Orleans is awesome. 😎

2026-01-21 20:04:12

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@nprofile…addk I am speaking to them from here, on the Internets™️©️®️

2026-01-21 15:26:51

Handy Davosian translation guide via FT
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/933/785/461/414/522/original/d7df911f2fdfdec1.jpeg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/933/785/472/429/126/original/cd60b34dd1fa9882.jpeg

2026-01-21 05:58:11

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first track, a high octane acapella cover of this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gPuH1yeZ08

2026-01-20 06:23:23

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Soon, very soon... and this truly is an amazing feeling.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/925/985/972/212/466/original/3f2672b631d108da.png

2026-01-19 23:37:55

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@nprofile…3shg "avoidable errors" 😔

2026-01-19 23:37:39

You know what's essential? Time! ⏱️ Please join me in donating what you can to the open source (and underappreciated relative to how critical it is) NTP project: https://www.nwtime.org/donate/

2026-01-19 22:15:57

"While mainstream news sources are often hesitant to draw cause and effect between two suspiciously timed events, it was too overt even for them, with the New York Times writing that Coinbase had 'scuttled' the vote." https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-99/

2026-01-15 00:39:20

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@nprofile…42mr death by Jira it is, then!

2026-01-15 00:24:07

"We’ll be trying to keep the bulk of our ICE coverage free, out of public interest." --> https://www.garbageday.email/p/where-are-the-democrats?

2026-01-14 23:01:40

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@nprofile…l9z3 may the odds be ever in our favor
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/895/933/874/379/790/original/89263f6661f13195.png

2026-01-13 18:52:46

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@nprofile…n27n exactly!! 👏

2026-01-13 00:17:09

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@nprofile…yxdj honestly it's hard to tell

2026-01-13 00:16:11

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@nprofile…n27n I'm saying the LLMs should have been trained on a corpus of eastern european writing

2026-01-13 00:13:42

A barometer of how things are going based on what I'm listening to at the moment 🔊
😃 great -- The Clash
🙂 ok -- Parliament-Funkadelic
😕 not great -- ocean waves
😟 bad -- smooth jazz
😱 awful -- Nickleback

2026-01-12 23:12:36

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@nprofile…4hqr fascinating.. shows "post pending" for me "On Mastodon, you can control whether someone can quote you. This post is pending while we're getting the original author's approval." Very cool.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/884/656/146/130/214/original/d499a009f6530d39.png

2026-01-12 23:10:34

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays!
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/884/645/639/877/648/original/e06bee0751cb25c8.png

2026-01-12 01:15:08

an alliance with Europe sounds pretty good right about now, my funk soul brothers

2026-01-12 00:52:01

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@nprofile…qk32 🤣

2026-01-11 22:31:54

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@nprofile…qk32 look at that little lad. So unfortunate. https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-end-of-ragequitting/

2026-01-09 05:59:03

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@nprofile…7ufp @nprofile…0g3j @nprofile…3src this is really good, you should start on the self help speakers circuit

2026-01-08 01:28:27

One year since I wrote Stay Gold, America. 07 Jan 2025. https://blog.codinghorror.com/stay-gold-america/

2026-01-08 00:54:54

Replacing keycaps is so relaxing 🤓
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/856/746/682/103/489/original/f8c94c9da524f7c0.jpeg

2026-01-06 23:00:40

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@nprofile…hw6s yes but how MANY facts did he learn

2026-01-06 22:01:56

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@nprofile…7ufp @nprofile…0g3j @nprofile…3src yes I had ChatGPT write my summaries for LinkedIn. They say “ChatGPT, write {x}” at the top of each.

2026-01-06 03:47:44

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@nprofile…5xa9 @nprofile…exvm order placed
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/846/090/255/666/550/original/7b1dbe510126154c.png

2026-01-05 22:51:41

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The smaller one arrived (pic is of midsize). Here's a few images and closeups.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/844/925/297/817/276/original/ff2d7a681b06d250.jpg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/844/925/269/690/277/original/3bf59d9f150b8cb4.jpg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/844/925/281/905/459/original/a59b367fd5a6ebc8.jpg

2026-01-05 21:35:39

unfortunately, your note did not find me well

2026-01-04 22:05:19

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oh wow "KEEP GAMBLING is a hostile friendslop gamble-em-up featuring LOTTO TICKET, CASE OPENING, SLOTS, and SUBSTANCE ABUSE simulations. Work with or against your friends to repay your debt." https://store.steampowered.com/app/3720460/KEEP_GAMBLING/
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/839/091/544/290/214/original/28aca06c1693159b.png

2026-01-04 04:20:41

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@nprofile…8gsy ouch

2026-01-04 04:08:06

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@nprofile…42mr .. but not like that!!

2026-01-03 22:16:53

One of my daughters got this interesting photo of me which is clearly for my first solo album which I guess I gotta start working on now
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/833/472/580/415/792/original/a60fba069dab0283.jpeg

2026-01-03 22:00:46

The most soothing sounds are mothers heartbeat, ocean waves, and cats purr
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/833/412/082/323/929/original/15cf6601eb68e6d4.jpeg

2025-12-30 18:44:21

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@nprofile…kpm3 @nprofile…rjfp that being said, you do you. I'll do me. Take my advice and do as you please. Yell at clouds, if that's enjoyable.

2025-12-30 18:42:57

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@nprofile…kpm3 @nprofile…rjfp And I'd bet one million dollars to the charity of your choice on this one. We built Stack Overflow. I know ALL about how to ask great, well defined questions. My cone of uncertainty on this is very very narrow, I have a high confidence interval, I am in fact a leading domain expert on this sort of thing.

2025-12-30 18:41:25

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@nprofile…kpm3 @nprofile…rjfp yeah, but I FUCKING HATE all software by default -- I really do -- and I do not hate LLMs. I was surprised, too. Turns out, if you know how to ask good questions (cough) the pro / paid LLMs can save you a fair bit of time. Again -- anyone who doesn't believe this, block off two hours for a call with me and I'll go over about a dozen great examples I experience personally that saved me, and my team, many hours. Like any tool, it can be misused, abused, or stab you in the eye if you don't wear proper eye protection. But to argue that it is a binary "100% PERFECT" or "ABSOLUTE CRAP DESTROYING THE WORLD FOREVER" is just.. really not true. I hate to be the bearer of, well, reasonable news.. but LLMs are in fact quite useful for a number of tasks. Are they worth ten trazillion billion dollars? I mean, I dunno? Is there a gold rush mentality? For sure. But unlike the first dot-com bubble there is real utility here. Disagree all you want, but that's a fact, Jack.

2025-12-30 17:24:04

"Yesterday, President Trump met with Benjamin Netanyahu and openly endorsed the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. He called it “voluntary” even as Israel enforces a medical siege, blocks food and fuel, and leaves children dying of hypothermia in flooded tents.
“More than half of Gaza will leave if given the opportunity,” Trump claimed, suggesting Palestinians would choose to abandon their homeland for “a better climate.” He praised Israel for “living up to the [ceasefire] plan 100 percent” even as authorities have documented 969 Israeli violations over 80 days, including 418 Palestinians killed and 1,141 wounded since the so-called “ceasefire” began.
Mainstream media has largely ignored this monumental moment: a US president openly supporting ethnic cleansing while Israel weaponizes humanitarian deprivation to force migration."
-- via Drop Site News, but I can't link there because it's on Substack. Oh well.

2025-12-30 17:21:33

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@nprofile…rjfp why is everyone so focused on "AI" and not crypto, which literally has no good use case other than crime, gambling, grifters and human trafficking? I can point to dozens of times when LLMs have saved myself, and my team, significant time. I can point to ZERO times crypto has been useful to me for anything at all.

2025-12-30 16:56:17

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@nprofile…pq7d well, it's still e-ink and we have miles to go before we sleep. The point is the trajectory of the curve and the velocity.

2025-12-30 16:54:37

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@nprofile…pqck @nprofile…998y whereas I regularly save people on my team 2+ hours by using LLMs (pro models only, the rest suck) properly. I can provide dozens of examples. Email me if you want specifics. But almost nobody does because they don't want to hear anything that contradicts their simple love/hate black/white 1/0 mental model of this.

2025-12-30 16:51:56

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@nprofile…pqck @nprofile…998y exactly. Try using crypto "properly". You can't. Unless you are buying illegal drugs on the darknet.

2025-12-30 16:49:33

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@nprofile…998y except this is another space race. Look up "the peace dividends of the smartphone wars". It is a bubble, it is a gold rush mentality,. but unlike crypto, which is grifters, criminals, and human trafficking to the bone.. AI/LLMs have clear utility, if used properly.

2025-12-30 16:47:28

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@nprofile…xdym or just have them help pay for a Guaranteed Minimum Income, e.g. https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-road-not-taken-is-guaranteed-minimum-income/

2025-12-30 16:42:03

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@nprofile…k02x how is that whole union thing going for you?

2025-12-29 07:41:37

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@nprofile…wqfk @nprofile…2fml GREATLY! (see comments) https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-pontiac-aztek-and-the-perils-of-design-by-committee/

2025-12-29 07:38:26

The new bloomin8 color e-ink is fairly impressive; solid progress on color e-ink panels, via kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arpobot/bloomin8-canvas-the-ai-powered-full-color-e-ink-art-frame
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/801/706/463/717/331/original/979a470f0d23f26d.jpg

2025-12-28 10:13:03

Every family needs this so I made sure we had one. See also https://youtu.be/cvaRGiMWRaE
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/796/644/967/047/233/original/a6ed56a76c564bec.mp4

2025-12-28 10:01:02

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@nprofile…6qh7 @nprofile…24nd no

2025-12-28 09:52:32

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@nprofile…fxsq @nprofile…2me2 ah yes IMPOSTOR THE CORRECT FRICKIN SPELLING https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115561872601654418

2025-12-27 20:01:35

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@nprofile…aulg aha

2025-12-27 20:01:07

AI slop isn't a new phenomenon, unfortunately...
After the conference, [Chip Morningstar] analyzed the leading names in postmodern literary theory and philosophy of the era to determine if there was anything of value hidden behind the dense verbiage, if the underlying concepts were "bogus", or if there was actually no intellectual content at all. Morningstar ultimately determined "there is indeed some content, much of it interesting", but he also wrote: "The language and idea space of the field have become so convoluted that they have confused even themselves."
https://www.fudco.com/chip/deconstr.html

2025-12-25 18:29:34

Merry Holidays everyone!
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/781/618/309/416/993/original/3c53fdc745994e60.jpeg
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/781/618/313/791/417/original/1f52e7402325d1b8.jpeg

2025-12-24 17:22:27

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@nprofile…aulg no repro in incognito mode
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/775/696/565/657/483/original/2b6529b30fd4a061.png

2025-12-24 17:21:35

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@nprofile…ghpa do I?

2025-12-24 17:17:38

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@nprofile…6ceh and it IS possible to tell people they are wrong and be nice while doing it, contrary to the opinion of some. Rudeness was NEVER tolerated on Stack Overflow, and that was a strict policy written down very early in the life of the site.

2025-12-24 17:15:25

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@nprofile…knlc hard agree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY

2025-12-24 09:36:53

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@nprofile…2n8t @nprofile…6zuf yes, as I covered here (and in my replies), this is very dangerous, and kinda exclusive to the free / cheap models in my testing.. https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115745998173248620

2025-12-24 09:05:33

hey @nprofile…dgm2 got us some presents! 🎁 https://ironicsans.ghost.io/my-gifts-to-you-for-2025/

2025-12-24 07:55:33

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@nprofile…3qn6 for reference, here are the actual txwitter "comunity guidelines", but I think my visual summary 👆 more accurately reflects the lived experience of users on txwitter these days.
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/773/403/655/117/936/original/f7b8598ef7984c5c.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/773/404/058/730/633/original/fe7e45ce5832f1f8.png

2025-12-24 06:57:17

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@nprofile…3qn6 I had some made via etsy and betsyphd laminated them for me. I can hand them out outside the next txwitter Reichsparteitage
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/773/235/221/172/030/original/77fa86a974a87d6b.jpeg

2025-12-22 08:36:14

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https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/762/301/739/146/713/original/5c5803db729e6f46.jpg

2025-12-22 08:26:36

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And as I walk on through troubled times /
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes /
Where are the strong, and who are the trusted? 🌓🌔🌕
https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115742891261731330

2025-12-21 23:30:09

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https://store.woodyguthrie.org/collections/stickers
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/760/145/742/570/045/original/27d6e3633b8add8f.jpeg

2025-12-21 00:31:08

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@nprofile…mwft @nprofile…8vq4 wow!

2025-12-20 22:42:39

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@nprofile…rzp7
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/754/306/847/670/604/original/910cfc8304cce10e.jpg

2025-12-20 22:41:38

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@nprofile…rzp7
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/754/299/969/656/789/original/81eafc77de76db54.png

2025-12-20 08:22:22

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@nprofile…k8u8 why-not-both-girl-dot-jiff

2025-12-20 05:22:01

if you are in the US, or interested in what's happening in the US right now, please follow @nprofile…daef

2025-12-20 00:47:14

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p.s. https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115533297500346675

2025-12-19 21:41:22

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@nprofile…j3nl bloody well right

2025-12-19 21:41:07

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@nprofile…qsy4 @nprofile…pqg8 I don't know if that is actually the case in practice, but who knows, maybe the current regime will make all banking in the US unreliable or inaccessible..

2025-12-19 21:14:44

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@nprofile…pr9l I’m with you. I hate egregious use of bullet points

2025-12-19 12:22:11

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@nprofile…m730 @nprofile…9xsd I've tried "change all your settings to match the pro model as closely as you can", because the pro model does not do this weird over-agreeing thing.

2025-12-19 12:21:00

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@nprofile…933t it's really difficult to make a credible argument against trust in any relationship of any kind

2025-12-19 12:20:31

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@nprofile…elwm whoa whoa whoa I thought this service was "free"

2025-12-19 12:11:53

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@nprofile…m730 @nprofile…9xsd I also chided that model for going to the extreme of "correctness over politeness". You can, in fact, have both correctness AND politeness AT THE SAME TIME. Miraculous!

2025-12-19 12:07:07

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@nprofile…2nlz basically the same answer, but more detailed and gets into specifics. A noticeably better response, as I've always seen with "pro", which is why I almost never bother with "auto" unless I'm asking random pop culture type questions that don't matter. Here's the first section:
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/746/142/324/021/780/original/4e92272c1acbf24d.png

2025-12-19 11:58:21

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@nprofile…2nlz 😆 I'll disagree with you for nothing! I am curious what the pro model would do here, let me try that too.

2025-12-19 11:40:33

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@nprofile…674y @nprofile…pqg8 I kind of agree... but the details of why matter a lot, which I tried to explain in https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115745998173248620

2025-12-19 11:38:44

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@nprofile…48qw space races actually work in practice. Research "peace dividends of the smartphone wars", too. Lots of evidence there. Real events.

2025-12-19 11:33:45

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see also https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115358000440761104

2025-12-19 11:30:55

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"They can build systems that optimize for agreement and politeness—and become interchangeable, low-trust utilities. Or they can build systems that are occasionally annoying, occasionally resistant, and sometimes say “no”—and become indispensable."
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/745/999/203/295/130/original/ee4a2c1737915d7a.png

2025-12-19 11:29:30

you tell 'em, ChatGPT 5.2 (non-pro)
prompt: using this as an example, write an article for me about how this pattern of LLMs over-agreeing actually works against the entire business model of companies who make LLMs
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/745/964/950/152/719/original/cd6cc1a3fca91f92.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/745/979/773/931/759/original/df6bc6d22bdf724c.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/745/983/111/010/501/original/f44a98cb05e51b6e.png
https://media.infosec.exchange/infosec.exchange/media_attachments/files/115/745/994/522/152/565/original/fd9be3286fb27ab4.png

2025-12-19 11:10:28

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@nprofile…pc0t ref https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115725205844671648

2025-12-19 11:08:07

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@nprofile…pc0t there's too much material. We needed JPEG for words, and now we have it.

2025-12-19 11:07:35

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@nprofile…m8q3 the things I can show you, my friend. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.

2025-12-19 11:04:44

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@nprofile…48qw see https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115725205844671648 -- remember the peace dividends of the smartphone wars? That was very, very real.. and this will be too.

2025-12-19 11:01:54

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@nprofile…m8q3 @nprofile…pqg8 you gotta call me. I'll give you the examples. I can't post it here.

2025-12-19 11:00:44

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@nprofile…wh0n @nprofile…9xsd people sort of work that way, but there's also a perverse incentive here in terms of the sales model. This stuff isn't really present in the pro models.

2025-12-19 10:52:39

Nobody hates software more than software developers. When I don't hate the software, that's when I am pleasantly surprised. https://blog.codinghorror.com/nobody-hates-software-more-than-software-developers/

2025-12-19 10:43:08

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@nprofile…lx6r I'm more interested in what happens in practice rather than theory. The practice of crypto has been consistently awful, for 15 years now.

2025-12-19 10:39:27

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@nprofile…m8q3 @nprofile…pqg8 I don't agree, and I can provide hundreds of personal examples that contradict "bad for everyone at different levels". You should contact me directly.

2025-12-19 10:20:17

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@nprofile…pc0t (Andrew Dice Clay EMF voice) unbelievable!

2025-12-19 09:01:25

Nobody hates software more than software developers. Still do, actually. https://blog.codinghorror.com/nobody-hates-software-more-than-software-developers/

2025-12-19 08:59:24

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@nprofile…90hj see https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115734752302470385 and https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/115358865269645334 -- I have proof.