@jneen@unstable.systems

jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Jul 07, 2026

Replying to @FritzAdalis@infosec.exchange

@FritzAdalis@infosec.exchange @belehaa@wandering.shop @david_chisnall@infosec.exchange what a strange thing to announce

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 12, 2026

hey who decided it was in any way appropriate to have an AI "interviewer" handle applicants before they spoke with a human being

this should be illegal

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

read ducks by kate beaton

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @bussphomet@app.wafrn.net

@bussphomet i see!

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @bussphomet@app.wafrn.net

@bussphomet dare i ask what happened in nepal...?

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

@crowbriarhexe The tragedy of Agile in particular is that it came about as a response to the toxic Taylorism and micro-management of waterfall, only to become the very face of Taylorism and micro-management in our current climate.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

@crowbriarhexe but maybe "programmers" and "programming" are too narrow of a word here, since i see ops, programming, design, accessibility, &c broadly on the same side here.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @crowbriarhexe@tech.lgbt

@crowbriarhexe as a former ops person myself, i could be wrong but my perception of those "land grabs" is as something pushed almost exclusively by management, who was sick of hiring more than one kind of worker who couldn't be replaced with another. pretty easy to pull off in an industry where people were hopping to new roles every 2-3 years.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @xan@xantronix.social

@xan ha... ha ha ha... sob

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @crowbriarhexe@tech.lgbt

@crowbriarhexe that perception has indeed been very convenient to management. there's been times when i've seen people figure it out in the small, but i think it's very much starting to catch up to us as a bit of a wider phenomenon.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @xan@xantronix.social

@xan there's part of me that feels like they wouldn't have to do this if "reduce bus factor" wasn't actively being used as "make yourself replaceable" by management, and there was some source of job security that came from, i don't know, a union

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

programmers are workers. you may be confusing us for elon musk or sam altman.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

just saw someone real fullthroatedly argue on here that programmers still have too much leverage because we are "used in decision-making to undermine other orgs" used by whom used by whom, my friend

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

This was a lot less of a problem in the 2010s, because we had a certain amount of economic leverage. But it's becoming painfully obvious something else is needed now.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

This is why programming needs to be a Trade. Regardless of economic position, there needs to be some way for programmers to have leverage over decision-making, even if that is only to prevent employers from shooting their own eyes out.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Because employers decided that programmers had too much leverage, laid off half of us, and they are left disproportionately with those who didn't speak out for whatever reason. It wasn't caught because catching this sort of thing is not valued by managers.

https://bsky.app/profile/majormcdoom.bsky.social/post/3mkwqjjmyvs2u

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @baldur@toot.cafe

@baldur@toot.cafe If there's any organizing in this space that you're aware of I'd love to be part of it. Unclear how much leverage I'd have at the moment but in case more voices are needed for the class solidarity argument, I'm game.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.org

@mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.org @baldur@toot.cafe i remember being given the "we're deprecating in favour of AI, what do you envision your role in the company being" and i made a big enough stink about it that i was first up on their next round of "layoffs"

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @rl_dane@polymaths.social

@rl_dane@polymaths.social @mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.org @baldur@toot.cafe basically that yeah. a lot of PIPs also come with orders to not tell anyone about it, which serves to isolate people. sometimes i suspect we may be entering the age of "everyone is on a PIP all the time" - we would never really know

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

@baldur@toot.cafe maybe my early career was blessed, I'm not sure. But when employers are so willing to wield PIPs and other isolation tactics, folks who have families to think about aren't likely going to speak out publicly.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 03, 2026

Replying to @baldur@toot.cafe

@baldur@toot.cafe maybe it's just me, but I've noticed a change in the last 5 years or so. never in my career before had i ever been told "orders come from the top, do as you're told" and now seemingly every programmer i talk to is dealing with something like that. alone. "i don't like it but i don't want to get fired" is such a pervasive mentality, and i think part of it is because we've been so disempowered in the workplace for so long - but willing to accept it when salaries were high. i hope something changes soon.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · May 01, 2026

Replying to @mmcknett@hachyderm.io

@mmcknett obviously! lmao

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 27, 2026

Replying to @thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io

@thomasfuchs i very much appreciate it :]. i've been looking for ways to talk more about tool design like this - it's something that feels very obvious to me but definitely isn't in general. the more i struggle to find employment in this industry (2 years of looking...) the more i feel like i just have to write.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 27, 2026

Replying to @duarte@hachyderm.io

@duarte @trentshell @jkb i tend to think it's bad for prototyping as well! the point of prototyping isn't to have a fully working polished version of the thing, it is to smoke out issues early and increase your own understanding before building the real thing. llms skip all of that!

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 27, 2026

"i will save time by skipping the boilerplate" actualy just statistical error. most code is not boilerplate. Boilerplate Georg, who assumes that all code written by other people is boilerplate, is a statistical anomaly and should not have been counted

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 27, 2026

Replying to @trentshell@mastodon.social

@trentshell @jkb

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 27, 2026

Replying to @grumble209@kolektiva.social

@grumble209 fair point, that does seem to be how it's shaking out

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 27, 2026

Replying to @AT1ST@mstdn.ca

@AT1ST @kirakira it is *very* susceptible to what i've started referring to as "chicken efficiency measurements" based on this story: https://corporater.com/blog/the-chicken-kpi-be-careful-of-what-you-measure/

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 22, 2026

Boosted by

AssertionError("Joe Groff") @joe@f.duriansoftware.com

framework guy i'm so sorry but you gotta go back to the drawing board with calling it "in-cell touch design"

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

not to mention most of the devs i see in the field are generating their *tests* with AI, which completely defeats their purpose in catching AI errors.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

we already had this discourse a decade ago over TDD, and the result was a pretty universal "automated tests are important and you should have them, but it doesn't mean you don't need QA"

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

i think the idea that there is a quick, easy measure of "good code" that is universally applicable and not filled with holes is... well it's just not true, and we're not even close to defining the problem rigourously, let alone solving it.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

As for automated testing / acceptance checks as a replacement, that mitigates the problem somewhat, but certainly doesn't eliminate it. The tool can make your tests pass, sure, but did it architect it correctly? How do you structurally evaluate that? You fall into the linter tar-pit pretty quickly with that approach.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

Boosted by

Kevin Karhan @kkarhan@jorts.horse

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

what *actually* happens is the workforce pretends to be hypervigilant all the time ("i always check the output!") in ways that are clearly, obviously impossible, and which if true would have turned them into an empty husk of a human being - just to say they "aren't vibe coding" (they are)

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

employers will likely say that you should be hypervigilant all the time, no matter what but hypervigilance, famously, destroys your mind and body. when employers act like it's expected, it is a very strong message that they do not care about their workers.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 19, 2026

half the point of programming-tool design is to reduce the need for hypervigilance on the user.

if we're designing tools that require you to be *more* hypervigilant, legitimately what use are they?

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 10, 2026

Boosted by

SuperDicq @SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo

social media sites should have a "compose with AI✨" button but if you press it you're immediately permabanned

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 09, 2026

Replying to @aphyr@woof.group

@aphyr great writing, wonderfully put

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Apr 08, 2026

i don't know what to say about an industry where every company says they're hiring and not one company is actually hiring

why is this the way that it is

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 30, 2026

Replying to @Slash909uk@mastodon.me.uk

@Slash909uk@mastodon.me.uk thank you so much, means a lot :]

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 30, 2026

Replying to @amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu

@amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu it took me an embarrassingly long time to see even quoted here in your post lmao

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 30, 2026

Replying to @amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu

@amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu oh my god lmao that's a really funny one.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 30, 2026

Replying to @amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu

@amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu ha it's all good, nw

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 30, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

@amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu i'm not sure what you mean by "capable" here, did I make a typo somewhere?

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 30, 2026

Replying to @amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu

@amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu ha! inform and applescript are my usual cautionary tales. inform is actually very interesting as an art project itself, though - the fact that it exists is a marvel, and the things people have made in it as well

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @zwol@masto.hackers.town

@zwol@masto.hackers.town @Jetengineweasel@masto.hackers.town i think there may be part of this thread I can't see, but yes, it's 100% rehashing of a lot of basic UX stuff

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @zwol@masto.hackers.town

@zwol@masto.hackers.town that's incredibly interesting - do you have any reading on that topic you'd recommend?

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @jneen@unstable.systems

https://unstable.systems/@jneen/116307806483254677

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @arclight@oldbytes.space

@arclight@oldbytes.space exactly! i've seen someone ask a chatbot "would you hallucinate if i asked you X" and it's just... not how it works.

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jneen collective @jneen@unstable.systems · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @samir@mastodon.functional.computer

@samir@mastodon.functional.computer thank you so much!

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