A discussion of how Erlang processes help us build scalable and reliable systems in Elixir.
This may not be news to developers, but might be useful for broader company discussions.
Readit Newsnathan_long commented on Scaling Up with Elixir dockyard.com/blog/2020/05... · Posted by u/nathan_long
nathan_long commented on Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files obsidian.md/... · Posted by u/ericax
The idea is that if you're creating value with Obsidian, your employer should expense that, ideally it shouldn't impact you financially. If you're working for a non-profit for example, it's all free.
> (Also, their license page could do with some proofreading)
Interested to hear more! We did a few rounds of proofreading, did you find any typos?
This is really murky to me. As a professional, I keep notes as I learn things which may or may not relate to my current employment. The notes are my property and part of my knowledge base that I bring to any job. But I suppose I indirectly receive compensation for knowing things, so I need a commercial license?
Or what if I start taking notes on some random subject for fun, and eventually I write and sell a book based on them? All of a sudden I need to start paying a yearly fee?
It's not a prohibitive amount of money, but I'd be much happier with paying a one-time fee for the current version, then buying future versions if I choose to.
nathan_long commented on Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever buzzfeednews.com/article/... · Posted by u/minimaxir
I work at a large tech company on a young team (average age is late twenties). In my experience many don't view working from home regularly as a benefit. I understand that must change drastically when you're middle aged, have a family to live around and a spacious house in the suburbs. But most younger people want to live in the middle of the city (i.e. small, often shared apartments but a short commute) and have no responsibilities outside of work, in this situation WFH loses a lot of its lustre.
> I work at a large tech company on a young team (average age is late twenties). In my experience many don't view working from home regularly as a benefit. I understand that must change drastically when you're middle aged
Yes, and there is some correlation between age and seniority. If companies are so eager to hire senior developers, they might consider the preferences of candidates who have been working long enough to fit that description.
nathan_long commented on Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever buzzfeednews.com/article/... · Posted by u/minimaxir
Companies don't do this. They will adjust your salary down based on your city of residence. Square is one example of this. You're not compensated for the value you provide, you're compensated for the cost of living near the office.
You're also now competing against a national talent pool vs locals only
So you're considering Candidate A, who lives in SF, and B, who lives in a small town.
You decide that B has to compete with A on talent, but A doesn't have to compete with B on price.
Does that make strategic sense?
nathan_long commented on Twitter Will Allow Employees to Work at Home Forever buzzfeednews.com/article/... · Posted by u/minimaxir
What's the guarantee that say your San Francisco/NYC employer will keep paying you city rates when you are living in a small town in mid-west. At some point they will catch up and start saving money this way. Everyone at a tech company is not a crucial employee. Don't get me wrong, I am all in for getting paid SF rates while living in a cheap Texas suburb.
It cuts both ways, right?
Companies: "I don't have to pay you $big_city rates because you live in $small_town and nobody there will offer you $big_city rates."
Candidates: "I don't have to accept $small_town rates because I work remotely and can work for a company in $big_city."
nathan_long commented on Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work? · Posted by u/minasss
Hiring is more difficult. It's not that you can't find applicants, but the people capable of performing without direct supervision is (mostly) a subset of those capable of performing in an office. It can be difficult to identify those who will actually perform well in that environment. It takes some degree of maturity and responsibility to provide value as a remote worker because there's always that temptation to do something else.
That said, I wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything. The only complaint I've ever had is that coworkers not capable of performing in a remote environment sometimes last too long at the company.
> Hiring is more difficult. It's not that you can't find applicants, but the people capable of performing without direct supervision is (mostly) a subset of those capable of performing in an office.
OTOH, your applicant pool is limited only to the time zones and legal jurisdictions you're willing to hire from. If you're office-based, it's limited to those who can reasonably commute there.
nathan_long commented on Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work? · Posted by u/minasss
Typically remote work companies still have occasional (say quarterly) in person, all-hands gatherings.
Yep. But I'm not lugging a crock pot on a plane. :)
nathan_long commented on Ask HN: What is your strongest argument against remote work? · Posted by u/minasss
I work from home and am a big advocate of doing so.
One thing I find difficult in remote teams is the ability to ask a coworker a question quickly. There can be a fair amount of lag time over messenger and this occasionally blocks the completion of work.
> There can be a fair amount of lag time over messenger and this occasionally blocks the completion of work.
Agreed. But the reverse is also true: it's harder for people to interrupt you.
80 seems good to me.