feat: gatekeep

5 files changed, 251 insertions, 7 deletions

diff --git a/assets/covers/stanko-dark-eyes b/assets/covers/stanko-dark-eyes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3e96366
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/covers/stanko-dark-eyes
diff --git a/content-org/blog.org b/content-org/blog.org
index 46bee65..60a2d1a 100644
--- a/content-org/blog.org
+++ b/content-org/blog.org
@@ -8,13 +8,157 @@
 #+HUGO_SECTION: blog
 
 
-* 2024  [72/73]                                                       :@blog:
+* 2024  [73/75]                                                       :@blog:
 :PROPERTIES:
 :EXPORT_HUGO_SECTION: blog/2024
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image_dir "blog/images" :image_max_width 600
 :EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: image yt
 :END:
 
+** TODO Why I don't have header images
+
+Recently, I've seen at least a few discussions around stable diffusion generated header images for blog posts.
+The general consensus was: "don't".
+I agree.
+They are insulting to the reader and make the blog lesser.
+It's not even due to the finger counting game, but because very often then they have very little to do with the article.
+They just sit there, ocupying space.
+
+But I don't have any header images, and comes to why I have this blog.
+In general, there are two types of personal blogs: one comes from passion, the latter from the need for self promotion.
+I am not a brand, I don't need to promote myself.
+I am just a lazy, grumpy nerd who likes to write.
+
+I would lie if I said that I don't care if anyone reads what I write (each email from a reader bring a huge grim to my face), but it's not the goal itself.
+If it was then focusing on social media sharing makes sense.
+It's the easiest way to get readers - put it on twttr, linkedin or some other rathole.
+When all you care about are entries, having a header image makes sense.
+It stands out out of other non-linky posts.
+Add a catchy title (/I ate a whole rat, got sick and died. See how this applies to your business/), and boom - you're drowning in shares.
+But those are the worst entries to your site.
+Those people won't return, they have just cliecked a link on their feed.
+Your site is just an entry on the feed.
+
+I do share my articles on Mastodon, of course.
+I want people to /read/ what I write, but we can't forget about the communal aspect.
+Blogs were social media before social media was a thing.
+It was in the pre-unification of the entire cybperspace into 5 sites, so they had lots of personality.
+Say what you will about my design skills, this site has a unique feel to it.
+Do I need an image for that?
+Does a image-based social media share make what I write here any more interesting?
+Does it improve my mediocre english language skill?
+No, but what it would impact writing - I have no graphical skills, so I would need to fiverr.
+I paid for all custom images on my sites[fn:cool].
+Would I do it for all my publications?
+Hell no, I am not made of money!
+
+Lastly, I want to connect to like-minded folks.
+And, with huge certainty, I can tell tell that this crowd doesn't care about any header image.
+Their blogs don't have any after all.
+Heck, they even use a proper [[https://rubenerd.com/i-now-refer-to-rss-et-al-as-web-feeds/][webfeed reader]].
+
+Images are made to add additional value to the text, not to make it load slower.
+
+[fn:cool] Except of [[https://emacs.crys.site/][Coolmacs]].
+Love you, Drew!
+
+** DONE Gatekeeping in tech
+CLOSED: [2024-09-25 Wed 17:33]
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: gatekeeping-in-tech
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract Hidden complexity is the real gatekeer
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening Tomasz Stanko Quintet - Dark Eyes
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening_url https://ecmrecords.com/product/dark-eyes-tomasz-stanko-quintet/
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening_img stanko-dark-eyes.webp
+:END:
+
+A few months ago I've read that promoting usage of basic tools, like Vim, is gatekeeping.
+The reasoning behind this made sense - those tools are complex, require time and dedication, and therefore may lock people out.
+But I can't stop thinking about this idea because I deeply disagree with it.
+
+Vim is complex, sure.
+Terminal is complex, of course.
+I won't even go into Emacs, as it's complexity within complexity and should be considered a field of its own.
+But is gatekeeping?
+Are people like me just up our smug butts, thinking how almighty we are and how we hate the /pleb/?
+Some of us, sure, as using aforementioned Vim is a badge of honour.
+Yet, I don't think it's gatekeeping.
+
+Firstly, why do we promote those "difficult" tools?
+Because computers are complex machines.
+It was true at any point of computing history.
+Initially, all tools were complex, abstractions were unachievable due to technical limitations.
+So yes, /starting/ was much more difficult than it is now.
+
+But you learn.
+Some may say: you pay the high cost of entry, but is it cost?
+You've learned things.
+With each problem you've fixed, you gained knowledge.
+And this knowledge was transplantable!
+Learned how the system hierarchy works?
+Great, now you can use it everywhere!
+Next time you encounter this problem, it will be much easier.
+
+This allowed for /bedroom coders/, kids who were able to master the computer.
+Not everyone was as smart as Carmack, but we were still able to operate the beige boxes.
+The complexity was there, but it was for us to toy around with.
+
+This has not changed one bit.
+Computers became much more complex, but if you can use /basic/ tooling it means that the complexity is close, you can reach it.
+Does it require time?
+Sure.
+Is it doable?
+Sure!
+
+Now, back to 2020s.
+Vim is a thing of the past , you can write sentences of simple english and it may even work.
+You don't need to use a terminal - everything has a web UI.
+Perhaps you don't even need to learn anything, simply subscribe and have it ready for you within minutes.
+Why try to run a bare-metal server, when you can get a ready machine using docker within minutes?
+I think this is the idea behind "vim is gatekeeping".
+
+But the complexity is *there*, like it always was.
+The only difference is that it's hidden, unreachable.
+You may be able to understand how ec2 works, but most likely you won't have time to it.
+There are too many problems with the abstraction.
+
+And even if there are none, someone is paying for making it "easy" to use.
+It doesn't come from the goodness of the heart, there is expectation of "speed".
+You can spin up a server with one little commit in terraform, so you will not spend time there.
+You've learned how to use the abstraction (or an abstraction over abstraction), but it's not transplantable.
+Your Datadog skills are useless unless someone will pay for Datadog.
+You will never master anything, as it will be obsolete before that.
+Remember when you could buy a book about Pascal and teach yourself some programming?
+Just enough to have fun?
+Good luck with this approach now - before even writing some code, you need to set up dozens of dependencies... or pretend they don't exist and dockerize it.
+
+I often whine about money ruing computers, but computers were ruined by money.
+Unix was envisioned as a communal system, where people would gather and toy around.
+It was sold as a mean to make money, but it was not crated for that.
+
+The current trend towards hiding complexity has only one winner - big tech.
+It was never harder to /play/ with a computer than it now.
+Everything is aimed at non-technical folks, simple.
+It is near impossible for a teenager to get the bottom of the bag of complexity.
+Big tech made sure to gate keep that.
+Learning the basics is easy, /anyone can code/.
+Digging deeper is near impossible.
+
+Let's not forget that the same companies providing those "simple" tools are the ones which started because tinkering was so easy.
+Hiding the inner workings of computers makes it difficult for anyone to remove from their trillion dollar piles.
+You can work for them, not against them.
+
+Guess that's why I found FreeBSD so great.
+It's a complex system, but the complexity is known, documented and changing slowly.
+I feel that I am able to get to understand it well by just using it[fn:fbsd].
+
+
+[fn:fbsd] People often say that FreeBSD is like Linux 20 years ago.
+Nothing works without a fight.
+I agree - FreeBSD is like Linux 20 years ago, when you were capable of understanding things.
+It's a system ready for a multi-million company fuelled by interns.
+What it is, is a perfect hobby home system, which just happens to beat Linux at being a server OS.
+
 ** DONE Disenshittify or die!
 CLOSED: [2024-09-24 Tue 20:30]
 :PROPERTIES:
@@ -40,7 +184,7 @@ CLOSED: [2024-09-24 Tue 20:13]
 :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: a-million-googles
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract You can't outgoogle a Google
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement
-:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening_bcamp https://kamasiwashington.bandcamp.com/album/fearless-movement
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening_url https://kamasiwashington.bandcamp.com/album/fearless-movement
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :listening_img kamasi-washington-fearless.jpg
 :END:
 
@@ -797,7 +941,7 @@ What I don't have is 100 hours in 3 days to play Witcher 3 in a week.
 
 I prefer it that way.
 Instead of being a "gamer", I try get a varried dose of entertainment in this time constrained environment.
-Recently I've been reading a lot of books.
+Recently I've beenreading a lot of books.
 Something I was unable to do for quite some time, due to varius personal reasons.
 
 I love them becase the are of a singular vission.
diff --git a/content/blog/2024/a-million-googles.md b/content/blog/2024/a-million-googles.md
index b294b69..8704b9f 100644
--- a/content/blog/2024/a-million-googles.md
+++ b/content/blog/2024/a-million-googles.md
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ author = ["Michał Sapka"]
 date = 2024-09-24T20:13:00+02:00
 categories = ["blog"]
 draft = false
-weight = 2002
+weight = 2003
 image_dir = "blog/images"
 image_max_width = 600
 abstract = "You can't outgoogle a Google"
 listening = "Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement"
-listening_bcamp = "https://kamasiwashington.bandcamp.com/album/fearless-movement"
+listening_url = "https://kamasiwashington.bandcamp.com/album/fearless-movement"
 listening_img = "kamasi-washington-fearless.jpg"
 +++
 
diff --git a/content/blog/2024/gatekeeping-in-tech.md b/content/blog/2024/gatekeeping-in-tech.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..935303d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/blog/2024/gatekeeping-in-tech.md
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
++++
+title = "Gatekeeping in tech"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-09-25T17:33:00+02:00
+categories = ["blog"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2001
+image_dir = "blog/images"
+image_max_width = 600
+abstract = "Hidden complexity is the real gatekeer"
+listening = "Tomasz Stanko Quintet - Dark Eyes"
+listening_url = "https://ecmrecords.com/product/dark-eyes-tomasz-stanko-quintet/"
+listening_img = "stanko-dark-eyes.webp"
++++
+
+A few months ago I've read that promoting usage of basic tools, like Vim, is gatekeeping.
+The reasoning behind this made sense - those tools are complex, require time and dedication, and therefore may lock people out.
+But I can't stop thinking about this idea because I deeply disagree with it.
+
+Vim is complex, sure.
+Terminal is complex, of course.
+I won't even go into Emacs, as it's complexity within complexity and should be considered a field of its own.
+But is gatekeeping?
+Are people like me just up our smug butts, thinking how almighty we are and how we hate the _pleb_?
+Some of us, sure, as using aforementioned Vim is a badge of honour.
+Yet, I don't think it's gatekeeping.
+
+Firstly, why do we promote those "difficult" tools?
+Because computers are complex machines.
+It was true at any point of computing history.
+Initially, all tools were complex, abstractions were unachievable due to technical limitations.
+So yes, _starting_ was much more difficult than it is now.
+
+But you learn.
+Some may say: you pay the high cost of entry, but is it cost?
+You've learned things.
+With each problem you've fixed, you gained knowledge.
+And this knowledge was transplantable!
+Learned how the system hierarchy works?
+Great, now you can use it everywhere!
+Next time you encounter this problem, it will be much easier.
+
+This allowed for _bedroom coders_, kids who were able to master the computer.
+Not everyone was as smart as Carmack, but we were still able to operate the beige boxes.
+The complexity was there, but it was for us to toy around with.
+
+This has not changed one bit.
+Computers became much more complex, but if you can use _basic_ tooling it means that the complexity is close, you can reach it.
+Does it require time?
+Sure.
+Is it doable?
+Sure!
+
+Now, back to 2020s.
+Vim is a thing of the past , you can write sentences of simple english and it may even work.
+You don't need to use a terminal - everything has a web UI.
+Perhaps you don't even need to learn anything, simply subscribe and have it ready for you within minutes.
+Why try to run a bare-metal server, when you can get a ready machine using docker within minutes?
+I think this is the idea behind "vim is gatekeeping".
+
+But the complexity is **there**, like it always was.
+The only difference is that it's hidden, unreachable.
+You may be able to understand how ec2 works, but most likely you won't have time to it.
+There are too many problems with the abstraction.
+
+And even if there are none, someone is paying for making it "easy" to use.
+It doesn't come from the goodness of the heart, there is expectation of "speed".
+You can spin up a server with one little commit in terraform, so you will not spend time there.
+You've learned how to use the abstraction (or an abstraction over abstraction), but it's not transplantable.
+Your Datadog skills are useless unless someone will pay for Datadog.
+You will never master anything, as it will be obsolete before that.
+Remember when you could buy a book about Pascal and teach yourself some programming?
+Just enough to have fun?
+Good luck with this approach now - before even writing some code, you need to set up dozens of dependencies... or pretend they don't exist and dockerize it.
+
+I often whine about money ruing computers, but computers were ruined by money.
+Unix was envisioned as a communal system, where people would gather and toy around.
+It was sold as a mean to make money, but it was not crated for that.
+
+The current trend towards hiding complexity has only one winner - big tech.
+It was never harder to _play_ with a computer than it now.
+Everything is aimed at non-technical folks, simple.
+It is near impossible for a teenager to get the bottom of the bag of complexity.
+Big tech made sure to gate keep that.
+Learning the basics is easy, _anyone can code_.
+Digging deeper is near impossible.
+
+Let's not forget that the same companies providing those "simple" tools are the ones which started because tinkering was so easy.
+Hiding the inner workings of computers makes it difficult for anyone to remove from their trillion dollar piles.
+You can work for them, not against them.
+
+Guess that's why I found FreeBSD so great.
+It's a complex system, but the complexity is known, documented and changing slowly.
+I feel that I am able to get to understand it well by just using it[^fn:1].
+
+[^fn:1]: People often say that FreeBSD is like Linux 20 years ago.
+    Nothing works without a fight.
+    I agree - FreeBSD is like Linux 20 years ago, when you were capable of understanding things.
+    It's a system ready for a multi-million company fuelled by interns.
+    What it is, is a perfect hobby home system, which just happens to beat Linux at being a server OS.
diff --git a/layouts/partials/blog/meta.html b/layouts/partials/blog/meta.html
index 23e1f78..07643b9 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/blog/meta.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/blog/meta.html
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
   <!-- Music  -->
   <div>
     Listening:
-    {{ if .Params.listening_bcamp}}
-      <a href="{{ .Params.listening_bcamp}}"> {{ .Params.listening }}</a>
+    {{ if .Params.listening_url}}
+      <a href="{{ .Params.url}}"> {{ .Params.listening }}</a>
     {{ else }}
       {{ .Params.listening }}
     {{ end }}