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I am retiring from tech to live offline

openpath.quest

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Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#431

Post by booleandilemma »

GaryBluto wrote: post #189

While I admire his commitment to his ideals, I find some of this veers into an uncomfortable fanaticism, especially the remarks praising the savage acts of violence committed by the Sentinelese (which I find particularly odd considering the author's professed religion). I doubt the Amish (who apply technology selectively and intelligently) would appreciate being compared to them either; the Sentinelese are not preser…

despite the fact that he has communicated in text-form on BlueSky since the letter's authoring

Lol thanks, that answers my question. Whenever these "I'm leaving tech" posts come up I'm amused that the website is still online, they're still tweeting, and there's no indication that they've left anything at all. Our society rewards speaking out too much. It's especially difficult to stop if a big part of your existence is networking, and this guy seems to be all about networking.

Just look at all those socials:

https://chadwhitacre.com/

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#432

Post by insane_dreamer »

latkin wrote: post #320

This whole thing is eye-searingly performative. Whether or not he follows through and goes dark after this, this farewell is just so ridiculous. Claims to have not used the internet or a phone since February, does all communication via USPS, declares that AI and social media make him hate himself... But somehow is continuing to post on Bluesky, continuing to update his blog, continuing to post YouTube videos, continu…

so much conjecture in your post

> If you are serious about being done with tech and plan to go off-grid, you just go off grid.

says who? you?

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#433

Post by cheeze »

xantronix wrote: post #418
latkin wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He is not fucking around for clicks in any shallow sense. He is undeniably "fucking around for clicks." When you don't want clicks, you don't cross-post to YouTube, BlueSky, LinkedIn, your blog, etc. Clearly a lot of effort went into making this announcement social media friendly and click-worthy. He has analytics on his blog to track how many clicks he gets. Whether it's in a "shallow sense" or not is subjective a…

I don't really see the problem of proliferating a message one finds sufficiently important to as many places as one has reach.

It's a bit performative to say "x is my last day" when there is a ton of evidence to the contrary.

I agree with you, it's more that... it is performative in itself.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#434

Post by whodidntante »

siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

Very good advice. I was at it for 40 years, actually did some MUMPS (for those of you who watched The Audacity), as well as every tech from the old days, even some hardware, and kept current and on the very edge up until the end. I also loved it and thought I would do it forever, I felt so grateful that my hobby and passion as also my career, and very well paying (eventually, back then no one thought it would be a career).

I retired 10 years ago when I had enough (money) and had enough (of the industry). Always lived below my means. I cannot imagine what it was like to be in the industry for the past 10 years.

As far as the nonsense that is pushed top down, it is not so simple. I was at/near the top. I know what was happening, what I was doing, but everyone has a boss, even the boss. The industry is too important, too big, too critical for it not to be run by human nature. So glad I got out when I did.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#435

Post by throwaway-away »

throwfaraway4 wrote: post #368
reachableceo wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not check out now? Why after this year ? You supposedly have the means to do so now , so why not exit now? You won’t exit after this year. You’ll keep pushing it out.

As you can imagine, it's a planning heavy decision. I came off parental leave earlier this year and prior to that my wife and I talked about me not going back. However, we decided to delay until my next vesting later this year and to see how the midterms play out with this clown car of an administration and the potential impacts on healthcare. Barring anything catastrophic, it's happening this year. Parental leave al…

Same boat, my son was born in October last year and have been back at work since February and I am already completely overwhelmed. Our plan is to wait for the second child and get another paternity leave and then I will fuck off from any corporate/enterprise job and try to do my own thing first and we'll live off menial jobs + the income from the couple of apartments we have on AirBnB.

I am not planning to stay out of tech altogether though, at least long term.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#436

Post by latkin »

dbgrman wrote: post #402

Mad respect for his work. Love his writing. But no, i'm not buying the story of going offline, especially not with a trending hackernews post and a typewritten letter to the internet. When one is done with something, they're done. Cold turkey. like "F ck this sh t, i'm out". If someone notices that you are missing, they'll ask, and you can give them your spiel about being AI-Amish or whatever. Even if you ignore all…

100%. I get it -- I'm _also_ burned out on social media, AI, screens, the treadmill of the tech industry, etc.

But you can just stop doing those specific things. Delete your social media accounts. Put a screen time timer on your phone. Continue to work on your hobby projects or work projects without AI. There is a middle ground without going full "1980s tech Amish life conversion". Email, text messaging, Maps, basic websites, etc are all still super useful and generally non-harmful. You can still perfectly-well enjoy analog hobbies like typewriters, vinyl, film photography, etc _alongside_ common-sense modern tech.

And you look dumb to anyone paying attention when you launch a multi-pronged social media moment to tell the world that you don't think social media is worth using. It's kind of sad, like someone making a huge deal about "this is my L A S T cigarette everyone!", "this is my L A S T drink!" but all their friends are kind of cringing inside.

Also sad that he feels the need for online promotion of his paper zine about fully offline life.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#437

Post by throwfaraway4 »

throwaway-away wrote: post #435
throwfaraway4 wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As you can imagine, it's a planning heavy decision. I came off parental leave earlier this year and prior to that my wife and I talked about me not going back. However, we decided to delay until my next vesting later this year and to see how the midterms play out with this clown car of an administration and the potential impacts on healthcare. Barring anything catastrophic, it's happening this year. Parental leave al…

Same boat, my son was born in October last year and have been back at work since February and I am already completely overwhelmed. Our plan is to wait for the second child and get another paternity leave and then I will fuck off from any corporate/enterprise job and try to do my own thing first and we'll live off menial jobs + the income from the couple of apartments we have on AirBnB. I am not planning to stay out o…

Happy journey friend. Enjoy those kiddos

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#438

Post by AnEro »

I think it is fair to dog on this for being a bit performative, like announcing you are blocking someone or quiting XYZ social media by posting on that social media. I do give some grace for trying to make an offline magazine/newsletter because I'd like to see more of that in the world, especially passion projects in general. All that to say, I think the attempt to be offline or more disconnected from some of these services is ultimately a healthy habit and is noble self improvement goal in itself. In the same way, trying and failing to quit cigarettes is ultimately healthier than not trying to quit smoking cigarettes. (I am biased; I think the way he formatted the post is quite aesthetic for what it is and would enjoy more analog to mellow out my life)

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#439

Post by 0______0 »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #432
latkin wrote: post #320

This whole thing is eye-searingly performative. Whether or not he follows through and goes dark after this, this farewell is just so ridiculous. Claims to have not used the internet or a phone since February, does all communication via USPS, declares that AI and social media make him hate himself... But somehow is continuing to post on Bluesky, continuing to update his blog, continuing to post YouTube videos, continu…

so much conjecture in your post > If you are serious about being done with tech and plan to go off-grid, you just go off grid. says who? you?

>says who? you?

Yes, says exactly them.

You have a problem with people's own opinions in their own comments? Should they somehow reflect your opinion instead?

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