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miiiiiike commented on Games Workshop bans staff from using AI   ign.com/articles/warhamme... · Posted by u/jsheard
StrLght · a month ago
> Indeed, companies will always start using something if it makes financial sense for them.

I agree that this is often the case. I still see Games Workshop as an exception. They could have moved plastic production to a cheaper region (e.g. China), but they haven't done so. Financials are obviously important to them, but they're being very careful and thoughtful about their actions. This AI ban is just another showcase of that.

miiiiiike · a month ago
The UK production is mostly about speed (turnaround from 3d prototype, to mold, to finished sprue, and ‘Eavy Metal painted promo images) and quality control for the models. All of their paper and hard plastic products (books, dice, etc) are produced in China.
miiiiiike commented on Games Workshop bans staff from using AI   ign.com/articles/warhamme... · Posted by u/jsheard
ronsor · a month ago
This basically reflects my observations.

> Games Workshop elects not to experience multi-year headache. Will use AI when profitable.

Indeed, companies will always start using something if it makes financial sense for them.

> One thing I've found when talking to non-technical board gamers about AI is that while they 100% against using AI to generate art or game design, when you ask them about using AI tools to build software or websites the response is almost always something like "Programmers are expensive, I can't afford that. If I can use AI to cut programmers out of the process I'm going to do it."

This is because they don't view programming as a "creative" form of labor. I think this is an incorrect view, but this knowledge is at least useful in weighting their opinions.

The most interesting observation is that regardless of how "anti-AI" most people seem to be, it isn't that deep of an opinion. Their stated preference is they don't want any AI anywhere, but their revealed preference is they'll continue to spend money as long as the product is good. Most products produced with AI, however, are still crap.

miiiiiike · a month ago
That’s the thing. One day everyone is going to just stop caring about being anti-AI. Already I’ve noticed that most people are only against other people’s use of AI. Their use is justified.

I actively don’t use AI because the results are unreliable or ugly. I’m just not against AI in principle. It’s funny that my position is considered contemptible by people who regularly use AI but are hard hardliners against it on moral grounds.

Remember when everything wasn’t a religious war? Actually, I don’t. It was always like this and it’s always going to be like this. Just one forever crusade after another.

miiiiiike commented on Games Workshop bans staff from using AI   ign.com/articles/warhamme... · Posted by u/jsheard
lovich · a month ago
I’m surprised they didn’t take the opportunity to lean into their existing properties which in universe treat AI as an abomination(the in universe phrase AI stands for “abominable intelligence”)

Seems like a missed bit of PR for their community

miiiiiike · a month ago
Yeah they used to have quarterly reports where they talked about their plans for world domination.
miiiiiike commented on Games Workshop bans staff from using AI   ign.com/articles/warhamme... · Posted by u/jsheard
miiiiiike · a month ago
Don't underestimate how anti-AI the tabletop community is. This could have been entitled: "Games Workshop elects not to experience multi-year headache. Will use AI when profitable."

I don't do much with crypto/NFTs/AI, because I don't find any of it useful yet. But I get so much "with us or against us" heat for not being zealously against the the idea of them. It was NFTs, NFTs, NFTs at the table for months until it became AI, AI, AI. My preference is to talk about something else while playing board games.

One thing I've found when talking to non-technical board gamers about AI is that while they’re 100% against using AI to generate art or game design, when you ask them about using AI tools to build software or websites the response is almost always something like "Programmers are expensive, I can't afford that. If I can use AI to cut programmers out of the process I'm going to do it."

A minority are conflicted about this position.

When I talk to technical people at game nights we almost never talk about tech. The one time our programmers all played RoboRally the night kind of died because it felt too close to work for a Saturday night.

If GW was going to use AI they would probably start with sprue layouts. Maybe the AI could number the bits in sane way? I would be for that.

miiiiiike commented on CSS sucks because we don't bother learning it (2022)   idiallo.com/blog/learn-cs... · Posted by u/Brajeshwar
miiiiiike · a month ago
If you want to learn CSS, and I mean, REALLY learn it, buy "CSS: The Definitive Guide" (https://www.amazon.com/CSS-Definitive-Guide-Layout-Presentat...), read it cover to cover, and use every property in playground while you're going through it. I was a backend developer that hated CSS before it, now I love it.
miiiiiike commented on Stardew Valley developer made a $125k donation to the FOSS C# framework MonoGame   monogame.net/blog/2025-12... · Posted by u/haunter
sneak · a month ago
Gifts do not confer obligation. Copying deprives the original party of nothing. Absolutely nothing about free software requires or even implies any responsibility to “give back”. This idea that anyone making money with free software somehow owes the original authors anything (or “should” donate a portion of their profits) is ridiculous.

If the authors wanted money for their software, they would have sold it instead of giving it away for free as a gift.

By releasing software under free software licenses you are explicitly stating that you do not expect or anticipate payment for it. The licenses (that they freely chose) are clear. Free software, in addition to being free as in speech, is also always free as in beer.

My friend bought me lunch. I used that energy at my job. Do I owe them part of my paycheck?

miiiiiike · a month ago
Upvoting because you’re correct. Commenting because you’re wrong.

Donate to the F/OSS projects that you used to make it big.

miiiiiike commented on CSS Grid Lanes   webkit.org/blog/17660/int... · Posted by u/frizlab
dagmx · 2 months ago
This feels very much tinfoil.

There’s no incentive to the companies or the employees to draw out the discussion, especially over something so trivial. It’s much more preferable to try and speed through things to get things done in a time frame that can be adopted.

And regardless, if you don’t feel it’s worth your time, then why cast aspersions that it was something clandestine and intentionally hidden? You could have shown up and kept up with it, just like everyone else involved presumably did.

miiiiiike · 2 months ago
Eh, you’re trying to put words in my mouth.

I didn’t ascribe a motive to anyone. Their reasons are their own and it only makes sense that the people who stay in these fights do it because it’s part of their jobs.

There are people who, for whatever reason, keep debates going over small points of disagreement and prevent issues from being settled. Sometimes for years. Right?

The older I get, the more likely I am to recognize and route around or ignore interminable debates. Especially if it’s not for a company, project, or initiative under my direct control.

Remember, the question at the top of this thread was essentially “What happened to ‘masonry’?” Well, there were quibbles over the descriptors.

I don’t care about quibbles. “masonry”, “grid-lanes”, “grid-masonry”, pick one, they’re equivalent. I don’t like it when quibbles block progress.

Sometimes people and companies do want to block things. You’d have to ask them why. Like I said earlier:

> I don't have an incentive to build consensus within a group of people who fundamentally disagree that the thing I need should exist.

Pick your battles… Actually, no, it’s usually better to ignore the fights and just get what you need to get done so you can move on.

miiiiiike commented on CSS Grid Lanes   webkit.org/blog/17660/int... · Posted by u/frizlab
dagmx · 2 months ago
But if you were the one who tuned out, then isn’t it uncharitable to describe it as their failing to make you aware of the vote? Isn’t it on you to stay in the loop?

Surely they can’t start just pinging everyone who might have cared at some point during the time to get involved.

miiiiiike · 2 months ago
I get what you're saying but making interminable arguments and keeping the "debate" going is a tactic. There's that CIA sabotage manual with the section about meetings and conferences, it can feel like that. The duration of these debates aren't usually measured in hours, days, or weeks, but years. And the people who dragging them on and staying in the fights are employed full-time to do exactly that.

It got to the point where I believed that subgrid was dead. FF implemented it but absolutely no one else did, for years.

Is it our fault for tuning out of the debate? Yep. But tactics were employed to achieve that exact outcome. I'm fine admitting that I tuned out. But it was a battle of attrition waged by people who were fine holding up progress indefinitely.

Is that how you want decisions to be made?

Ultimately I'm not too concerned what you call the masonry feature. However the debate over what to call it was an extreme case of bikeshedding. I would have rather given up the fight over semantics to resolve the non-issues and ship the feature years ago. As it stands we're still years away from actually being able to use the feature in production.

I've stopped waiting for companies, committees, or projects to change course. I don't have an incentive to build consensus within a group of people who fundamentally disagree that the thing I need should exist. Why bother? I have an incentive to spend my time building features that users will use.

miiiiiike commented on CSS Grid Lanes   webkit.org/blog/17660/int... · Posted by u/frizlab
JimDabell · 2 months ago
> We held a vote that you weren’t aware of and decided that masonry was out. If you cared, you should have participated in the vote that you were not aware was happening. It’s too late to change it.

I think that’s an exceptionally uncharitable description of what happened. This is a decision the WebKit team has been repeatedly publicly asking people to participate in for over 18 months.

> Help us invent CSS Grid Level 3, aka “Masonry” layout

> P.S. About the name

> It’s likely masonry is not the best name for this new value. […] The CSSWG is debating this name in [this issue]. If you have ideas or preferences for a name, please join that discussion.

https://webkit.org/blog/15269/help-us-invent-masonry-layouts...

> Help us choose the final syntax for Masonry in CSS

> We also believe that the value masonry should be renamed.

> As described in our previous article, “masonry” is not an ideal name, since it represents a metaphor, and not a direct description of its purpose. It’s also not a universally used name for this kind of layout. Many developers call it “waterfall layout” instead, which is also a metaphor.

> Many of you have made suggestions for a better name. Two have stood out, collapse and pack as in — grid-template-rows: collapse or grid-template-rows: pack. Which do you like better? Or do you have another suggestion? Comment on [this issue] specifically about a new value name (for the Just Use grid option).

https://webkit.org/blog/16026/css-masonry-syntax/#footnote-1

> [css-grid-3] Renaming masonry keyword

https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/issues/9733

miiiiiike · 2 months ago
The debates went on for years and following it closely became a poor use of time. Even the subgrid conversation seemed completely stalled. I think a lot of people tuned out long before any vote was discussed. I did.
miiiiiike commented on CSS Grid Lanes   webkit.org/blog/17660/int... · Posted by u/frizlab
afavour · 2 months ago
Masonry was never “in”, no? Mozilla proposed it and were the only ones to implement it, behind a feature flag. Then WebKit proposed an alternative that was discussed at length:

https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/issues/10233

miiiiiike · 2 months ago
People have been dragging their feet on subgrid, masonry, etc for almost a decade. I followed it pretty closely for years but stopped when it started turning into a Christopher Guest mockumentary.

Masonry or grid-lanes, who cares? I’m just glad masonry (the feature, Baseline 20XX) and subgrid (Baseline 2023) are finally here.

u/miiiiiike

KarmaCake day4996January 24, 2014
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