[CamperBob2]

And that's exactly what the person I was replying to seems to be complaining about.

So many people on "Hacker" News could benefit from reading the canonical text on the subject by Steven Levy. A true hacker wants to bring the fire down the mountain. People around here just want to piss on it.

[recursive]

No, he's complaining about changes. Everyone can do it and that's not a change. Everyone could always do it.

[CamperBob2]

No, that's not what he's complaining about. He doesn't feel like a special '1337 hax0r anymore, and that's a problem for him.

[recursive]

It seems there are multiple possible readings.

[shafoshaf]

I suppose I could just tell you what I'm feeling, not the op. The fun was bringing down the fire. That is INCREDIBLY fun! That feels valuable. That feels like you are helping others.

Now, the mountain is gone. All the skills I learned to navigate it are becoming obsolete. Sure, tools get better, new models are adopted, but it didn't wipe out the mountain. When the world move from the 90s to the Internet age, I took my pitons, backpack, and rope and started climbing higher. I felt like I was empowered to bring MORE fire down to MORE people.

With vibe coding getting better and better, I still have my leadership skills, my ability to understand navigation, and all those skills, but the value and joy of climbing isn't quite there. There is a road leading to the top of the mountain and cars go up there all the time.

That is more than just change. That is something the Luddites faced: it wasn't technology and mass production they decried, it was a loss of identity. Kirkpatrick Sale's "Rebels Against The Future" is an awesome history of the luddites and I think it is very relevant today.