7 ms·

Had me in the first half, lost me in the second. Why not try to create unions instead of "don't document anything because you're making yourself replaceable"?

chobeat 4y ago
why not both?
- striking 4y ago
  Because, as they state under another heading, > It’s not in your interest as a worker to let capital think that its workers are saboteurs. And although documentation can make you somewhat replaceable, it is a joyless and tiring experience to work on something that is quickly evolving yet completely undocumented. I'd rather be made slightly more replaceable if it meant my job wouldn't be a tiring, joyless grind.
  - fluoridation 4y ago
    The trick is to have documentation but keep it a secret.
  - lmz 4y ago
    The part about code reviews and meetings is about working to rule, to further delay progress. Don't take risks with bugs, review thoroughly. Don't ask for forgiveness, ask dor permission and escalate it in meetings.
- greenie_beans 4y ago
  it's not nice to the other workers — that's not very good class solidarity.
  - keskival 4y ago
    The article was missing the words "together" and "solidarity". It seemed to be a product of a culture of extreme individualism.
    - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
      Yeah. "I, the individual, am going to do my best to make sure that I get mine, even if it harms the company and my coworkers". That's not "class warfare". That's narcissism.
      - cudgy 4y ago
        As opposed to “I, the executive or founder, am going to do my best to make sure that I get mine, even if it harms the company and my employees." Who has the most incentive and power to be the narcissist? Employees would be smart to understand this dynamic.
justizin 4y ago
This is called, "The Tyranny of Competence", and is hostile to other workers. Companies also don't have a way to quantify this, and sometimes will hesitate to term someone, until they are fed up and will just decide it is worthwhile at all costs. I have worked with or been the successor to folks who did this and it made me absolutely furious, and reflected poorly on my performance.
- uoaei 4y ago
  Yeah, leaving your fellow employees out to dry is absolutely not class warfare, except insofar as it is friendly fire.
- letitbeirie 4y ago
  > hostile to other workers It's also hostile to the practitioner if they last long enough at the same company. I end up reinventing my "clever" (until I forget the context at least) hacks more often than I care to admit and I'm not actively trying to sabotage my company.
xupybd 4y ago
I work hard to become replaceable. I want to move up, I can't be too important at my current level. If that means automating things, documentation and training juniors then I'm all for it.
dljsjr 4y ago
This is exactly what the article says to do. I also paused at that section that listed all those crazy things, if you power through and get to the end you'll find this: >If you’re a conscientious engineer, you are probably going to find the above suggestions somewhere between counterintuitive and horrifying. You should! They are horrifying! This is how deeply capital’s war on workers is scarring our profession. >These people are actively trying to take your wealth away from you and keep it for themselves. You need to protect yourself. >Oh, yeah, we should also have a union. Sure. Let’s get on that one of these days.
- frollo 4y ago
  For being the point of the article (and it is), it's very well hidden. I like the article and feel like we need more of this out there, but they should be written a little better.
pdonis 4y ago
Lost me in the first half. The whole capital vs. labor thing is a false dichotomy, particularly here where we're talking about highly skilled tech workers. Your skills are capital, and your pay for using those skills is mostly return on capital, not "labor cost". The real dichotomy here is simple: it's between people who understand that they own capital and work to maximize their return on that capital, and people who don't.
- uoaei 4y ago
  Capitalist vs laborer is a true dichotomy, in that one cannot be both simultaneously within one context. But it is important to remember these are embodied roles and not character traits. I.e., a laborer becomes a consumer when they leave their place of employment to drive to the grocery store.
  - qualudeheart 4y ago
    What about owner-operators? Truckers who own their own trucks are both laborers and capitalists.
    - uoaei 4y ago
      A truck is useless without a route. In the case of trucking, "the means of production" includes customer lead generation, driver dispatch, etc. Owning their truck only gives them the flexibility to switch employers more easily.
      - ddoolin 4y ago
        Agreed. But just as a thought experiment: what about a truck driver who owns their own trucking company, employs around a dozen other drivers, and also drives as one of its drivers? I would guess, theoretically, this is impossible past a certain size of enterprise, but in the meantime I would imagine that they would be both. A capitalist laboring as part of their own means of production.

chobeat 4y ago

why not both?

striking 4y ago
Because, as they state under another heading, > It’s not in your interest as a worker to let capital think that its workers are saboteurs. And although documentation can make you somewhat replaceable, it is a joyless and tiring experience to work on something that is quickly evolving yet completely undocumented. I'd rather be made slightly more replaceable if it meant my job wouldn't be a tiring, joyless grind.
- fluoridation 4y ago
  The trick is to have documentation but keep it a secret.
- lmz 4y ago
  The part about code reviews and meetings is about working to rule, to further delay progress. Don't take risks with bugs, review thoroughly. Don't ask for forgiveness, ask dor permission and escalate it in meetings.
greenie_beans 4y ago
it's not nice to the other workers — that's not very good class solidarity.
- keskival 4y ago
  The article was missing the words "together" and "solidarity". It seemed to be a product of a culture of extreme individualism.
  - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
    Yeah. "I, the individual, am going to do my best to make sure that I get mine, even if it harms the company and my coworkers". That's not "class warfare". That's narcissism.
    - cudgy 4y ago
      As opposed to “I, the executive or founder, am going to do my best to make sure that I get mine, even if it harms the company and my employees." Who has the most incentive and power to be the narcissist? Employees would be smart to understand this dynamic.

justizin 4y ago

This is called, "The Tyranny of Competence", and is hostile to other workers. Companies also don't have a way to quantify this, and sometimes will hesitate to term someone, until they are fed up and will just decide it is worthwhile at all costs. I have worked with or been the successor to folks who did this and it made me absolutely furious, and reflected poorly on my performance.

uoaei 4y ago
Yeah, leaving your fellow employees out to dry is absolutely not class warfare, except insofar as it is friendly fire.
letitbeirie 4y ago
> hostile to other workers It's also hostile to the practitioner if they last long enough at the same company. I end up reinventing my "clever" (until I forget the context at least) hacks more often than I care to admit and I'm not actively trying to sabotage my company.

xupybd 4y ago

I work hard to become replaceable. I want to move up, I can't be too important at my current level. If that means automating things, documentation and training juniors then I'm all for it.

dljsjr 4y ago

This is exactly what the article says to do. I also paused at that section that listed all those crazy things, if you power through and get to the end you'll find this: >If you’re a conscientious engineer, you are probably going to find the above suggestions somewhere between counterintuitive and horrifying. You should! They are horrifying! This is how deeply capital’s war on workers is scarring our profession. >These people are actively trying to take your wealth away from you and keep it for themselves. You need to protect yourself. >Oh, yeah, we should also have a union. Sure. Let’s get on that one of these days.

frollo 4y ago
For being the point of the article (and it is), it's very well hidden. I like the article and feel like we need more of this out there, but they should be written a little better.

pdonis 4y ago

Lost me in the first half. The whole capital vs. labor thing is a false dichotomy, particularly here where we're talking about highly skilled tech workers. Your skills are capital, and your pay for using those skills is mostly return on capital, not "labor cost". The real dichotomy here is simple: it's between people who understand that they own capital and work to maximize their return on that capital, and people who don't.

uoaei 4y ago
Capitalist vs laborer is a true dichotomy, in that one cannot be both simultaneously within one context. But it is important to remember these are embodied roles and not character traits. I.e., a laborer becomes a consumer when they leave their place of employment to drive to the grocery store.
- qualudeheart 4y ago
  What about owner-operators? Truckers who own their own trucks are both laborers and capitalists.
  - uoaei 4y ago
    A truck is useless without a route. In the case of trucking, "the means of production" includes customer lead generation, driver dispatch, etc. Owning their truck only gives them the flexibility to switch employers more easily.
    - ddoolin 4y ago
      Agreed. But just as a thought experiment: what about a truck driver who owns their own trucking company, employs around a dozen other drivers, and also drives as one of its drivers? I would guess, theoretically, this is impossible past a certain size of enterprise, but in the meantime I would imagine that they would be both. A capitalist laboring as part of their own means of production.