6 ms·

I really don’t get this attitude. What deal do you mean? You using VS Code? Why not change the setting simply?

apetresc 9mo ago
Because the point is just to loudly proclaim how virtuously anti-AI you are, how disruptive it actually is to your workflow is irrelevant.
- bigyabai 9mo ago
  glances at Windows 11 No, I think the point is to escape encroaching monetization that dilutes the value of local on-device text editing.
- g947o 9mo ago
  Oh, I use coding assistants every day, just not the one that came with VSCode. Because I want to decide if/which coding assistant I want to use, not whatever VSCode forces upon me. In fact, at many companies, GitHub Copilot is explicitly forbidden. Not the smartest argument to brand this as anti-AI.
  - KronisLV 9mo ago
    I really like the Copilot autocomplete across multiple symbols in the file (e.g. predictive edits that you can tab through). For most other stuff I prefer Cline/RooCode/KiloCode, but sadly it doesn’t seem like any of those offer similar autocomplete (Continue.dev did with even Ollama support for local models but the whole plugin was a buggy mess and it didn’t work well). Oh and sometimes Claude Code or Codex is nice in a terminal directly. Personally, I don’t mind something being there by default (same as how JetBrains has their pre installed plugin and also something like Junie available), as long as it’s easy to turn off or uninstall. Similar to how I wouldn’t scoff at a Git integration plugin even if I prefer to use Sourcetree or GitKraken.
    - g947o 9mo ago
      > as long as it’s easy to turn off or uninstall That's the issue here. The "disable all AI features" option isn't really easy to find.
- blks 9mo ago
  In my experience it’s people with “agents” mass editing their code, in their 10th attempt to convince their tool to do what they want it do, are people with a disrupted workflow, in a constant struggle with their tools.
WolfeReader 9mo ago
You should really look in to the difference between opt-in and opt-out. Opt-in respects the user; opt-out is for foisting features that the user might not need or want.
- sauercrowd 9mo ago
  Flip it around: a new user might be confused why the AI features that all their friends told them about are not available. It's a tradeoff
  - WolfeReader 9mo ago
    If it means more users aren't using Gen AI, I'll happily take that tradeoff!
  - kmoser 9mo ago
    If it is opt-in for everybody, then their friends would also tell them that they have to opt-in to get it.
- CuriouslyC 9mo ago
  The anti-AI folks should just fork everything at this point, because it's hypocritical as hell to complain about it and use a bunch of stuff built with it. Then you can opt out of society!
  - WolfeReader 9mo ago
    Oh no, just think of all the good AI-produced things we'll be missing out on. ...are there any?
    - CuriouslyC 9mo ago
      I'd say the percentage of stuff developed using AI now is higher than the percentage of pro athletes who use performance enhancing drugs, and there's almost as much incentive to mask it and say "made without AI"
spartanatreyu 9mo ago
> Why not change the setting simply? My default settings are stored in a 11922 line json file. Am I expected to read that entire file to find the setting I'm after? Am I expected to do so when I don't know what the setting is called? The reason you can't simply change the setting is because the setting isn't simple. It's essentially a hidden setting, cloaked behind an ambiguous name in a user-hostile manner.
- heartbreak 9mo ago
  > My default settings are stored in a 11922 line json file. Am I expected to read that entire file to find the setting I'm after? That’s what AI is for. Have it turn itself off.
  - spartanatreyu 9mo ago
    Ah, but if AI was correct, I wouldn't need to turn it off.
- sgc 9mo ago
  It's a tool for programmers. Use google + ctrl+f. Not a hill to die on.
  - spartanatreyu 9mo ago
    How is googling it meant to work when they keep changing what the AI settings are called each month?
    - sgc 9mo ago
      Alternatively, use the single setting that was literally just given to you above. That is pretty much as easy as it gets without resurrecting Clippy to help you figure it out. It's not reasonable to expect a massive bloated gui if people have 10k+ settings they are using.
      - 9mo ago
kmoser 9mo ago
That, in a nutshell, is one of my biggest complaints about VS Code: there are many overlapping settings for various things, and I could never get clarity on what takes priority. Setting up things like formatters (and their settings) for various file types was a nightmare; between VS Code complaining I didn't have one set up (I did), the settings seemingly being ignored, and various other issues, I break into a cold sweat whenever I have to edit my settings file. But more to the point, I don't understand why one would ever have to edit the file directly when there's already a settings panel that lets you search for a setting using natural language, and get back a list of matching settings. Why doesn't VS Code let you make all the changes from the settings panel, without having to mess with JSON directly?

Because the point is just to loudly proclaim how virtuously anti-AI you are, how disruptive it actually is to your workflow is irrelevant.

bigyabai 9mo ago
glances at Windows 11 No, I think the point is to escape encroaching monetization that dilutes the value of local on-device text editing.
g947o 9mo ago
Oh, I use coding assistants every day, just not the one that came with VSCode. Because I want to decide if/which coding assistant I want to use, not whatever VSCode forces upon me. In fact, at many companies, GitHub Copilot is explicitly forbidden. Not the smartest argument to brand this as anti-AI.
- KronisLV 9mo ago
  I really like the Copilot autocomplete across multiple symbols in the file (e.g. predictive edits that you can tab through). For most other stuff I prefer Cline/RooCode/KiloCode, but sadly it doesn’t seem like any of those offer similar autocomplete (Continue.dev did with even Ollama support for local models but the whole plugin was a buggy mess and it didn’t work well). Oh and sometimes Claude Code or Codex is nice in a terminal directly. Personally, I don’t mind something being there by default (same as how JetBrains has their pre installed plugin and also something like Junie available), as long as it’s easy to turn off or uninstall. Similar to how I wouldn’t scoff at a Git integration plugin even if I prefer to use Sourcetree or GitKraken.
  - g947o 9mo ago
    > as long as it’s easy to turn off or uninstall That's the issue here. The "disable all AI features" option isn't really easy to find.
blks 9mo ago
In my experience it’s people with “agents” mass editing their code, in their 10th attempt to convince their tool to do what they want it do, are people with a disrupted workflow, in a constant struggle with their tools.

WolfeReader 9mo ago

You should really look in to the difference between opt-in and opt-out. Opt-in respects the user; opt-out is for foisting features that the user might not need or want.

sauercrowd 9mo ago
Flip it around: a new user might be confused why the AI features that all their friends told them about are not available. It's a tradeoff
- WolfeReader 9mo ago
  If it means more users aren't using Gen AI, I'll happily take that tradeoff!
- kmoser 9mo ago
  If it is opt-in for everybody, then their friends would also tell them that they have to opt-in to get it.
CuriouslyC 9mo ago
The anti-AI folks should just fork everything at this point, because it's hypocritical as hell to complain about it and use a bunch of stuff built with it. Then you can opt out of society!
- WolfeReader 9mo ago
  Oh no, just think of all the good AI-produced things we'll be missing out on. ...are there any?
  - CuriouslyC 9mo ago
    I'd say the percentage of stuff developed using AI now is higher than the percentage of pro athletes who use performance enhancing drugs, and there's almost as much incentive to mask it and say "made without AI"

spartanatreyu 9mo ago

> Why not change the setting simply? My default settings are stored in a 11922 line json file. Am I expected to read that entire file to find the setting I'm after? Am I expected to do so when I don't know what the setting is called? The reason you can't simply change the setting is because the setting isn't simple. It's essentially a hidden setting, cloaked behind an ambiguous name in a user-hostile manner.

heartbreak 9mo ago
> My default settings are stored in a 11922 line json file. Am I expected to read that entire file to find the setting I'm after? That’s what AI is for. Have it turn itself off.
- spartanatreyu 9mo ago
  Ah, but if AI was correct, I wouldn't need to turn it off.
sgc 9mo ago
It's a tool for programmers. Use google + ctrl+f. Not a hill to die on.
- spartanatreyu 9mo ago
  How is googling it meant to work when they keep changing what the AI settings are called each month?
  - sgc 9mo ago
    Alternatively, use the single setting that was literally just given to you above. That is pretty much as easy as it gets without resurrecting Clippy to help you figure it out. It's not reasonable to expect a massive bloated gui if people have 10k+ settings they are using.
    - 9mo ago

kmoser 9mo ago

That, in a nutshell, is one of my biggest complaints about VS Code: there are many overlapping settings for various things, and I could never get clarity on what takes priority. Setting up things like formatters (and their settings) for various file types was a nightmare; between VS Code complaining I didn't have one set up (I did), the settings seemingly being ignored, and various other issues, I break into a cold sweat whenever I have to edit my settings file. But more to the point, I don't understand why one would ever have to edit the file directly when there's already a settings panel that lets you search for a setting using natural language, and get back a list of matching settings. Why doesn't VS Code let you make all the changes from the settings panel, without having to mess with JSON directly?