It is an amazing time for programmers
Reaching Out to Experts and “Legends”
- Many posters say it’s surprisingly easy and rewarding to email well-known programmers, academics, and OSS maintainers; thoughtful messages often get replies, sometimes after long delays.
- Some describe “just joining” OSS mailing lists and contributing as if they already belonged, which led to ongoing participation and reduced self-policing / imposter syndrome.
- Others stress not spamming: contact should be specific, informed, and appreciative (e.g., about particular code, talks, or papers).
- There’s skepticism about reaching out to top CEOs or heads of state: their inboxes are heavily filtered by assistants, and they may not have practically useful advice for most people.
- Several note that famous technical figures are still just people, generally approachable if treated as peers in their domain.
Community, Loneliness, and Meetups
- Multiple commenters describe isolation: being the only programmer around, working alone in windowless rooms, or living in non-tech regions.
- Suggested remedies include: online chat communities, starting local meetups via generic platforms, low-key “beer & programming” gatherings, or meeting fellow tinkerers through trading hardware locally.
- Some report strong positive experiences with meetups and hobbyist communities; others mention ageism, “circles of avoidance,” and feeling frozen out socially.
- There’s frustration with in-person developer conversations that become one-upping, nitpicking, or dominance displays; others note this behavior exists in many professions.
Past and Present Knowledge Networks
- Several compare today’s online connections to historical scientific letter-writing networks, emphasizing that even past “geniuses” depended on communities and correspondence.
- One view highlights that truly curious people exist everywhere, even in rural areas, and can provide valuable engagement even without technical expertise.
Is It Really an ‘Amazing Time’ for Programmers?
- Optimistic view: unprecedented access to experts, vibrant meetups, easy publishing, and powerful tools (including AI) make this a great era for both programmers and computer scientists.
- Skeptical view:
- Many jobs are now “integrator/plumber” roles with little originality.
- AI may entrench mediocre, deskilled software and threaten deep expertise and “legendary” status.
- Open source creates a high bar for new products; GitHub stars are seen as a vanity metric.
- It may be a better time for marketers who can code than for pure programmers.
- Some argue that if AI takes over routine work, remaining humans could focus on higher-level, novel problems—but worry about lost knowledge and over-reliance on LLMs.