I am so done here. The slop is overwhelming.

Source: Dev.to

Background

I started on dev.to because it seemed like a good place to engage with a tech community that didn’t feel gamified and ad‑ridden.

Problems with AI and Sponsored Content

Soon, flood accounts began posting patently incorrect, ill‑applied computer‑science concepts. Scam accounts appeared, and short posts were designed to funnel readers to Medium and other sites for monetization.

Now nearly every sponsored event is some AI “slopfest” challenge. AI has this tendency, both in programming and in art/writing, to promise a free aesthetic as long as you don’t care about the craft. You don’t need to understand it; you just keep paying a subscription and ignore the rest.

It feels like the microwave‑freezer meals of our domain: some of us came to cook, but the industry wants us to consume and dispose of. People using it at home is one thing, but when restaurants start doing it, even professionals stop cooking.

I recently chatted with an AI programming enthusiast who claimed that software made predominantly with AI doesn’t need maintaining—just regenerate new software. Imagine that: disposable software, draining freshwater and burning fuel every time you need to regenerate a website for a customer.

Conclusion

I am done here, dev.to. It was a nice idea. I’m sure the community will grow, and I’ll be a dinosaur fossil, and all that. I’m just so sorry it happened.