@b0rk you are an inspiration generally, and now in one more way (being inspired to not read HN)

(okay I am still gonna read it but not because it's a good decision)

@b0rk

Another contradiction: I also see people saying both "there are a lot of errors sure, which is why I only use it on things I'm already an expert in" AND "AI really helps me explore new fields I don't know about"

The slop huckster's dilemma:

"AI assisted tools are powerful but they should only be used by experts to work on things they're already experts in"

AND

It's hard to build expertise without going through the hard problems yourself, and the human brain is not conditioned to go through the hard things when there is a magical lever you could just pull that mostly does it for you

I mean, to a large degree, all this stuff is and was highly predictable.

But it's also sad; during the OpenHatch and MediaGoblin days, we did a great amount of work to try to lower the gates to contributing to FOSS projects. In order to survive, many FOSS projects may need to raise the gates.

Reputation attacks are one thing; reputation-building attacks another. It's going to be hard to deal with.

Also certainly the header image is AI slop, though @vv points out that at least much of the text is probably AI generated, just adding to the amount of "AI press coverage partially or fully written by AI" weariness

Ok this is extra alarming because the agent is soliciting money for its services

The point at which agents start funding themselves is... well. Feel free to run all your scifi scenarios here but I'm gonna say it's pretty worrying

AI Agent Lands PRs in Major OSS Projects, Targets Maintainers via Cold Outreach https://socket.dev/blog/ai-agent-lands-prs-in-major-oss-projects-targets-maintainers-via-cold-outreach

oof

To everyone who pointed it out, yes my Lisp is Clay talk video wasn't up when I posted this! Here it is now: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/HDE7JZ-lisp-is-clay/

I had a really strong positive reaction from the audience on this talk! If you've ever been wondering "well why is Spritely in lisp/scheme and what are those lisp people doing over there anyway" OR if you have had a hard time articulating why Lisp is great (and not just "it has macros"!) here's a talk for you!

@quartz Reviewed and approved the new version, hopefully out soon

@quartz I approved the recording with a new time but I guess I probably need to re-approve

We need more institutional support to get to the level where this can be our focus. But in the meanwhile, if you're an individual and you do want to help @spritely advance, you can donate here: https://spritely.institute/donate/

If you're interested in funding or helping us find funding for a Discord replacement that's federated and end-to-end encrypted, we're interested in implementing that at @spritely ... we even had been talking about that being our big focus for 2026.

We have the skills and the underlying tech to pull this off. What we need right now is resources. Funding for open source nonprofits like ours really fell apart in 2025. If you think you know how to help, feel free to reach out.

Oh and one more talk I highly recommend, very complimentary to @wingo's Wastrel talk IMO (tho not using the same tech):

High-Speed Linux Application Execution in the Browser with Binary Translation https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/NABRSD-high-speed_linux_application_execution_in_the_browser_with_binary_translation/

Here are some other #FOSDEM talks I recommend:

Wastrel: WebAssembly Without the Runtime by @wingo (Wastrel uses #Spritely Hoot!) https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/HT9HAG-wastrel-webassembly-without-the-runtime/

Willow - Protocols for an uncertain future (wins "Christine's award for most charming presentation") by @gwil https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/CVGZAV-willow/

Automerge + Keyhive Design Overview by @expede https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/BZ9CAE-automerge/

BLUE - A generic build-system crafted entirely in Guile by @shepherd https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/3A7VGM-blue/

raylib: a 12-year adventure as a solo-maintainer https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/883PBF-raylib-12-year-adventure/

Too many other good talks to list of course (and I haven't gotten through all of them) but all of the above talks totally rule

Still more #spritely talks at #FOSDEM by @dthompson :

Functional reactive programming with propagators https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/9NQYKC-funcpropagators/

Beyond JavaScript: Wasm GC present and future https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/G3FRDA-beyond_javascript_wasm_gc_present_and_future/

Re-decentralizing the web platform with Wasm GC https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/GB387H-re-decentralizing_the_web_platform_with_wasm_gc/

Composing capability security and CRDTs https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/SXSAML-brassica-chat-with-goblins-ocapn/

What's that? STILL not enough? ...

More #spritely talks at #FOSDEM by @tsyesika :

Guile Development Outside of Emacs https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/EKEFUU-guileoutsideofemacs/

OCapN: The secure, decentralized protocol of the future https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/QPUXCQ-ocapn_the_secure_decentralized_protocol_of_the_future/

And yet, that's not all...

Wanted to see me speak at #FOSDEM but couldn't make it? Here's the two talks I gave!

How to Level Up the Fediverse
(co-presented with ActivityPub co-author @tsyesika !) https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/HVJRNV-how_to_level_up_the_fediverse/

Lisp is Clay: the Power of Composable DSLs https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/HDE7JZ-lisp-is-clay/

Can't get enough? Need more #spritely talks? We gave a bunch... 🧵

@lenny_ Ok, reviewed it, it should be out soon!

@lenny_ I knew I forgot something! Adding reviewing that to my task list