creesch's recent activity
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Comment on Amtrak steadily continues upgrading Wisconsin stations for level boarding - improving access and travel time in ~transport
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
creesch Link ParentOh I am well aware there is tooling out there like static code analyzers, more detailed unit test analysis, etc, etc. Most of those only say something about the potential quality of the code, not...Oh I am well aware there is tooling out there like static code analyzers, more detailed unit test analysis, etc, etc.
Most of those only say something about the potential quality of the code, not correctness of the implementation. Unit tests do say something about that but are a bare minimum as far as I am concerned.
So to answer your original question, I do care as it doesn't tell me nearly enough.
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
creesch Link ParentIt matters a lot, depending on the completeness of your tests. Considering I also see people happily letting LLMs generate both tests and code it tends to happen a lot more. Even before the advent...when what it produces passes all possible tests and does what I asked? =)
It matters a lot, depending on the completeness of your tests. Considering I also see people happily letting LLMs generate both tests and code it tends to happen a lot more.
Even before the advent of LLMs this was also such a weird argument to me. Since I have seen companies who started to dictate code coverage percentages and teams that maliciously complied with things likeassert(true.equals(true))in the tests themselves.Even if we assume good well written unit tests, passing those tests is the bare minimum in a good quality process. It doesn't say much about the integration, it doesn't tell you anything about the used dependencies, etc, etc.
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
creesch Link ParentYou place similar caveats in your post as well. I agree with them strongly, but I also think that you are closer to agreeing with the research than you might realize. If I am reading your post...Looking forward it's hard to imagine any future that doesn't involve AI as an integral part of software development. But also there will be carnage along the way. Those subtle bugs we've been talking about are silently building up in codebases everywhere and that will only get worse. Not to mention unnecessary, difficult to maintain code that doesn't technically contain bugs. I chuckle when I hear people talk about how many lines of code they've written in last X days with AI that would have taken them weeks or months otherwise. X lines that should have actually been X/4 lines. Get back to us in 6 months when you're wading through that mess trying to figure out how to maintain it without scrapping it completely.
You place similar caveats in your post as well. I agree with them strongly, but I also think that you are closer to agreeing with the research than you might realize. If I am reading your post correctly, using agentic AI mostly shifted the work you did from writing certain basics to double-checking those basics. There is probably some back and forth happening, prompt refinement, etc.
I firmly believe you are seeing a mental net benefit of not having to do certain tasks from scratch anymore. At the same time, it is entirely possible that you are not seeing a much if any of a time benefit.
I am also not entirely sure if it is the agentic part, not just general model improvements. Then again, agents in this context is a bit of a fuzzy concept. A lot of the IDE tools that were around before the term agentic AI was ever coined are not ret conned to be called agentic.
To be clear, I don't think LLMs are entirely useless. I am a happy user of them myself, with all the same caveats and awareness of limitations you also mention. I personally just classify it as useful but underwhelming compared to the hype and I stand firmly by that.
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
creesch (edited )Link ParentIf that is the case, then you would still be able to find examples of good examples once you start looking for them. If the majority of AI work is supposed to be done by agents, capable of doing...This feels like a CGI case, where all the CGI people remember from movies is bad… because they don’t notice the good examples to begin with, since the intention for most CGI is to be invisible.
If that is the case, then you would still be able to find examples of good examples once you start looking for them. If the majority of AI work is supposed to be done by agents, capable of doing the entire process, including making PRs. And if that process is as revolutionary as the claims. Then, why isn't there an explosion in such PRs on a large amount of open source projects? Specifically, why am I not seeing these PRs on AI related open source projects? If I need to target it even more directly, why am I a not seeing hints of this being applied on code agent repositories?
Call me naïve, but you'd think that these specifically want to demonstrate how well their product works. Making an effort to distinguish PRs that are largely the work of their own agents. Yet, I am not seeing that mostly these "secondary" sources and a lot of "trust me, it is there and it as amazing".
And I am seeing something similar on this post. I think the title of the post is overselling what OP is actually getting out of it.
The usual caveats apply, if you rely on agents to do extensive coding, or handle complex problems, you'll end up regretting it unless you go over every line with a magnifying glass. They will cheerfully introduce subtle bugs that are hard to catch and harder to fix when you finally do stumble across them. And that's assuming they can do the thing you're asking then to do at all. Beyond the basics they still abjectly fail a lot of the time. They'll write humorously bad code, they'll break unrelated code for no apparent reason, they'll freak out and get stuck in loops (that one suprised me in 2025). We're still a long way from agents that can actually write software on their own, despite the hype.
So far this tracks with my experiences as well and seems to hint at what the study also found. Using agentic AI more or less shifts the sort of work you are doing, but it doesn't really speed up the process all that much, if any. Which can still be a net benefit if you are the sort of person who doesn't like doing a lot of the basic tasks. Certainly if you often start with fresh Greenfield projects and not larger established code bases.
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Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
creesch LinkI tried it, wasn't really a fan. Some of that might be because I am rusted in my ways. But in many other ways it is clearly still a beta and a skin on top of Firefox. For example I like having...I tried it, wasn't really a fan. Some of that might be because I am rusted in my ways. But in many other ways it is clearly still a beta and a skin on top of Firefox. For example I like having access to my bookmarks bar easily, this didn't work when I tried it initially, but the options were there. Extensions and having the icons available is another issue. It clearly is a very opinionated browser on the UX/UI and I don't really share that same opinion.
In the future I might giving it another go. But for now I am sticking with Vivaldi for now. One of the few Chrome based browsers that I feel like works for me and cares about their users. A comment I wrote about that browser a while ago.
Firefox would be my browser of choice, except for some issues most people like don't care about in relation to extension development.
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Comment on The death of punctuation in ~humanities.languages
creesch Link ParentI used to do that as well. But in a work related context, that is just not time worth spending. I got cured of that over time when I started mailing with managers and receiving mails from people...For email, it sometime takes me an hour to draft a message, because I'm trying to make sure everything sounds and looks good.
I used to do that as well. But in a work related context, that is just not time worth spending. I got cured of that over time when I started mailing with managers and receiving mails from people high up the totem pole. Where I noticed that the higher up people are in an organization, the less punctuated their mails are to the point of being sloppy. Combined with the fact that many people just poorly read mail no matter how much time I spend on writing them, I just stopped worrying about it so much.
Mind you, I'll still do a read over and make sure it is presentable. But I am just not that bothered by "the tone" being perfect. Frankly, I think I spend more time on Tildes comments than I do on work related mails now that I think about it.
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Comment on Any chance we can get a shorthand for the <details> tag? in ~tildes
creesch Link ParentI'm amazed and dazzled by your zeal, but your puzzling logic is frankly a bit hazy and lazy. What have pizzas, zebras, and jazz ever done to you? My enthusiasm for this zany scheme is basically zero.I'm amazed and dazzled by your zeal, but your puzzling logic is frankly a bit hazy and lazy. What have pizzas, zebras, and jazz ever done to you? My enthusiasm for this zany scheme is basically zero.
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Comment on Any chance we can get a shorthand for the <details> tag? in ~tildes
creesch Link Parent| is called a pipe, at least that is what I know it as from terminal stuff. Looking it up, it goes by many names ;)|is called a pipe, at least that is what I know it as from terminal stuff. Looking it up, it goes by many names ;) -
Comment on Any chance we can get a shorthand for the <details> tag? in ~tildes
creesch LinkConsidering tildes is open source it is all possible. The question is, what would the shorthand be? My assumption is that you are not really having trouble with typing the "details" bit. But...Considering tildes is open source it is all possible. The question is, what would the shorthand be?
My assumption is that you are not really having trouble with typing the "details" bit. But rather characters like
<,>and/because those are nested several layers in phone keyboards.As others have mentioned a dedicated spoiler tag might be cool. Stackexchange, Reddit and a few other websites use
>!for that.
So something like thisThis is not a spoiler >! this will render as a spoilerIt might be worthwhile to implement that.
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Comment on Posts vs. comments. Where do you fall and why? in ~tech
creesch LinkHighly depends on the sort of post I am commenting in. If the OP (original poster, that's you ;) ) asks a question which I am answering, I am more likely to post a top-level comment. Simply...Highly depends on the sort of post I am commenting in. If the OP (original poster, that's you ;) ) asks a question which I am answering, I am more likely to post a top-level comment. Simply because otherwise the OP might not see my answer. Sometimes though, someone already has posted part of the answer and I just have some additional information. In that case I might reply to that person and the ping the OP.
If the post is more a generic discussion or it is a link post it really depends. Do I have something specific to say that doesn't fit in already existing discussions? Top-level comment. Do I just have something to contribute to the conversation? Reply to the relevant comment.
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Comment on Around the world in 80 days ... sustainably in ~talk
creesch Link ParentI guess it isn't that obvious, as you clearly have a different idea of sustainable in mind. Mind you, I responded to your statement about there being no sustainable travel period. Mind expanding...I guess it isn't that obvious, as you clearly have a different idea of sustainable in mind. Mind you, I responded to your statement about there being no sustainable travel period. Mind expanding on why you believe that to be case?
Edit: I just saw your other comment, apparently you intended it in the context of 80 days. I still think sailing might be an option there, but fair enough I guess. Though I had some additional thoughts about it here as well.
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Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
creesch Link ParentI loved the original steam controller touchpad for games that didn't expect a traditional controller. For actual controller optimized games I often found it lacking to the point that I bought a...I loved the original steam controller touchpad for games that didn't expect a traditional controller. For actual controller optimized games I often found it lacking to the point that I bought a xbox controller specifically for those games.
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Comment on Around the world in 80 days ... sustainably in ~talk
creesch (edited )Link ParentSomething else I realized reading your comment. Someone using a single vehicle possibly uses less resources overall compared to them living in an apartment/house, going to work, etc. Of course...Something else I realized reading your comment. Someone using a single vehicle possibly uses less resources overall compared to them living in an apartment/house, going to work, etc. Of course there are the materials to build the vehicle and maintain it. A house will cost more as far as initial build goes, though maintaining a house costs less resources.
I am honestly not sure which way the scale eventually goes. Just some idle musing from my side.
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Comment on Around the world in 80 days ... sustainably in ~talk
creesch Link ParentWalking, cycling and sailing are all methods of travel that come to mind. That is just starting with the obvious.Walking, cycling and sailing are all methods of travel that come to mind. That is just starting with the obvious.
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Comment on How should open source software projects handle AI‑generated code? in ~tech
creesch Link ParentWell actually, I am saying that the malicious human doesn't need to do much. Because, if we assume good faith, well-meaning people are already doing this on a large enough scale that it is an issue.Well actually, I am saying that the malicious human doesn't need to do much. Because, if we assume good faith, well-meaning people are already doing this on a large enough scale that it is an issue.
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Comment on How should open source software projects handle AI‑generated code? in ~tech
creesch LinkI think the take from the keepassXC maintainers is fairly reasonable. It is difficult to find any project these days where there is zero use of any llm based tooling. As you said, these tools...I think the take from the keepassXC maintainers is fairly reasonable. It is difficult to find any project these days where there is zero use of any llm based tooling. As you said, these tools leave no signature.
But, that is also why I do take a bit of an issue with the statement.
It’s easier to sabotage an open‑source project as a human than with the help of an AI.
Willfully, yes. But, that does discount the influx of merge requests and “vulnerability" reports open source projects have to deal with now that are absolute bogus. Tying up maintainers in the process of reviewing merge requests is also a form of sabotage.
Something you do acknowledge just a few lines down. So it really strikes as an odd statement.Not only that, if maintainers are overwhelmed by AI slop submissions, it makes it much easier for a human actor to slip in actual malicious changes.
So while I fully agree to a complete ban on code that has been near AI is not feasible. I do not think believe for a second that we are at a point in time where we can say that AI aided submissions aren't causing tangible issues. That some maintainers remain a realistic outlook that they can't avoid it entirely doesn't mean the issue is no longer there.
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Comment on Mullvad - Shutting down our search proxy Leta in ~tech
creesch Link ParentYou need to look a bit closer to the results. When I test with a regular browser and ublock installed I already get that result, but that is not about fingerprinting specifically. Under that line...You need to look a bit closer to the results. When I test with a regular browser and ublock installed I already get that result, but that is not about fingerprinting specifically. Under that line praising you is a bit more detailed breakdown highlighted in this screenshot.
I suspect that here Librewolf will give very similar results the Mullvad browser.
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Comment on Mullvad - Shutting down our search proxy Leta in ~tech
creesch Link ParentFingerprinting is a complex issue to begin with. They seem to imply just that with their closing words about a privacy focused browser. It should be noted that Mullvad also offers a Firefox port...Fingerprinting is a complex issue to begin with.
Unless the browser is like the Tor version of Firefox with no extensions installed or settings changed?
They seem to imply just that with their closing words about a privacy focused browser. It should be noted that Mullvad also offers a Firefox port of their own which I think leans heavily on the Tor browser for some things.
Even if the browser is protected against fingerprinting (the if is doing a lot of heavy lifting, more on that later), as soon as you start installing extensions you will be adding to your fingerprint again.
Complete fingerprinting also means some websites will work in ways you don't expect. For example, timezones are part of a fingerprint so any browser that has fingerprint protection will need to spoof timezone data. This means that times websites show will be all over the place. Another thing the Mullvad browser does is adding gray borders around websites to change the viewport window. It's all understandable, but it makes for an overall poor browsing experience.
Even with all that, the result isn't huge. A quick test with the test the EFF provides shows that even using the Mullvad browser bumps my fingerprint from unique to "nearly-unique". I honestly don't expect that to be much different for other browsers with anti fingerprinting features.
So, from my perspective ,it all boils down to how much tracking protection you want, for what reasons and against who.
The latter is also important, Mullvad is right that just having a search engine proxy doesn't get you there. You still will click through to other websites who can do their own fingerprinting.For casual browsing I think it is fair to argue that it is all a bit much for actually relative little gain. At least for most people and I want to stress the casual browsing context again.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season? in ~games
creesch Link ParentI do like the idea, but not everyone who will join in the first few days will be a veteran and willing to go through to this. Either that or, I feel like someone will probably speedrun it to the...I do like the idea, but not everyone who will join in the first few days will be a veteran and willing to go through to this. Either that or, I feel like someone will probably speedrun it to the point of it being effectively pointless to begin with.
What's interesting to me is that it is certainly possible and viable. At least from a demand perspective. Slightly more North you have Arnhem being connect with a regional train to Emmerich which continues in Germany all the way to Düsseldorf.
It is a fairly recent connection, I think it is only 10 years old at this point? It runs every half an hour and the few times I have used it the train was decently full. The biggest difference is that it could leverage rail infrastructure already there used by the international high speed line. But to me that just shows to confirm what the video already says. It isn't a lack of demand, it is a lack of political willpower to invest in linking up the rail near Nijmegen.