> It's no wonder many people basically view anything past the surface level of computers as dark magic, and we call people good with these magical devices "wiza

> It's no wonder many people basically view anything past the surface level of computers as dark magic, and we call people good with these magical devices "wizards". The dirty secret is that, due to the consultant effect, that feeling tends to owe its existence to those "wizards" who are happy for things to remain that way (and go around making it so where it's not already). The Computer Lib Pledge (<https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-978-3-319-16925-5/page/n64/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-978-3-319-16925...>): The purpose of computers is human freedom. I am going to help make people free through computers. I will not help the computer priesthood confuse and bully the public. I will endeavor to explain patiently what computer systems really do. I will try to answer people's questions kindly, or explain that I do not have time. I will not treat any question as a dumb question, since there is no such thing. I will not give misleading answers to get people off my back, like "Because that's the way computers work" instead of "Because that's the way I designed it." I will stand firm against the forces of evil. I will speak up against computer systems that are oppressive, insulting or unkind, and do the best I can to improve or replace them, if I cannot prevent them from being bought or created in the first place. I will fight injustice, complication, and any company that makes things difficult on purpose. I will do all I can to further human understanding, especially through the new visualizing tools of interactive computer graphics. I will do what I can to make systems easy to understand, interactive wherever possible, and fun for the user. I will try not to make fun of another's favorite computer language, even if it is COBOL or BASIC. So help me. -- Ted Nelson