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The Rsync maintainer, Andrew Tridgell, used Claude Opus to add a Discord link to the README in one of his recent commits
(files.catbox.moe)
this post was submitted on 31 May 2026
287 points (93.4% liked)
Fuck AI
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A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
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I'm no fan of vibe coded apps but rsync is literally free software with a free licence... forking it seems like less work than harrassing the guy who maintains in the hope that he capitulates.
We dont have the capacity to replace like 50% of all open source devs. We just have to hope that they get their shit together again.
I don't see anyone here quietly hoping
Indeed.
What I see: A world class software engineer (Samba, rsync, linux, and more) is learning how to use the latest tech that is vastly changing the industry he works in. It would be both foolish and irresponsible to not learn it and embrace it responsibly. If anyone is in a good position to direct and judge the output of LLMs, it will be engineers like Andrew who have spent their life applying critical thinking and good judgement.
And on the opposing side, we see a bunch of droll jammerlappies, pitching tents on the side of a highway, waving their fists at the world zooming by.
Worse even because they're not waving their fists at "the world", they're waving them at a person.
Honestly I would not be shocked if years from now we discover these harassment campaigns are funded by Thiel.
Keep outsourcing your critical thinking to a glorified autocorrect. Hope that works out for you.
Keep outsourcing your critical thinking to a glorified internet mob turning against open source maintainers, one of our last significant allies in the field. Hope that works out for you.
Lol nice comeback
i think it's as shitty as the comment it replies to
One could just as well argue that books / written knowledge is a crutch that prevents people from learning.
Assuming everyone using a tool is outsourcing their thinking is daft, and casting unfounded aspersions on others isn't exactly a model of critical thinking either. lol
Truly spoken like someone who's never actually read a book before.
Is THAT the best you could come up with? Oh dear.
Come up with? Did you think I was aiming for some kind of pithy comeback?
You literally said that books are a crutch that prevent people from learning. Something an illiterate person would say.
Perhaps you should work on your english comprehension.
jbloggs, could you try making this argument? I really want to see what it looks like.
IIRC, the ancient greek philosophers took a swing at writing, claiming it would weaken memory/increase reliance on written texts to create an illusion of knowledge, plus it can't engage in dialogue which they considered a requirement to develop true knowledge.
IMHO, there's some narrow merit to the arguments, but on the whole, writing has helped to democratise knowledge, and serves as an important tool in education.
The greek philosophers are largely wrong for reasons that can be explained and given.
Speaking requires mental work.
Writing requires mental work.
Reading (such that you can speak) requires mental work.
AI use requires nothing.
This fourth one is not like the other three. "Democratizing knowledge" has nothing to do with it.
It's of course true that one can use AI to be a lazy thinker, but that does not mean that everyone (on every occasion) who uses AI is thinking lazily.
I agree, though, that it is a risk, and risks should be managed. We are, as a species, predisposed to fast/lazy thinking. Recognizing and compensating for our own weaknesses is important.
(edit: that reads like AI when I am drunk.. apologies..)