Born Against, or why hobby programming communities are aggressively against LLM usage

生而反叛：为什么业余编程社区如此抵制大语言模型（LLM）

[fogus.me /send more paramedics /read-eval-print-λove /src] I came across a GH thread related to chess engine development that made me think of why hobby programming communities are increasingly hostile toward LLM development. While the thread doesn’t give a lot of insight into answering the question, it prompted me to think about it a bit.

我在 GitHub 上看到一个关于国际象棋引擎开发的讨论帖，这让我开始思考：为什么业余编程社区对大语言模型（LLM）的开发越来越充满敌意？虽然该讨论帖本身并没有提供太多答案，但它确实引发了我的深思。

I’ve seen similar sentiments expressed in other niche hobby programming communities like OSDev, LangDev, TxtDev, EmuDev, RLDev, the demoscene, and code golfers. The general consensus seems to be that the knowledge that these communities work in is hard-fought and the use of LLMs is a form of missing the point entirely.

我在其他小众业余编程社区（如操作系统开发 OSDev、语言开发 LangDev、文本开发 TxtDev、模拟器开发 EmuDev、强化学习开发 RLDev、演示场景 demoscene 以及代码高尔夫 code golfers）中也看到了类似的观点。普遍的共识似乎是：这些社区所钻研的知识是来之不易的，而使用 LLM 完全是本末倒置。

In these communities (keep in mind that there is an implicit “not all…” throughout) the process of mastering a difficult field itself is the product, and something that runs is generally a nice-to-have. Further, I’ve noticed that even in the instances where there was earnest early engagement with LLMs in some of these niche communities, the well was quickly poisoned by a combination of a lack of a deep understanding by the LLM practitioners, and a vitriolic subset of those communities that view the LLM enterprise as a form of cheating.

在这些社区中（请记住，这并不代表所有人），掌握一个困难领域的过程本身就是“产品”，而代码能否运行通常只是锦上添花。此外，我注意到，即使在某些小众社区早期曾认真尝试过 LLM，但由于 LLM 使用者缺乏深厚的理解，加上社区中一部分人将 LLM 视为一种作弊行为并对此恶语相向，这种尝试很快就被破坏了。

Granted these communities have, in general, historically been characterized by feverish gatekeeping and painstakingly slow progress, so it makes sense that there might be a desire to grab some easy cachet by bursting onto the scene like the Kool-Aid man. OH YEAH…. OH NO!

诚然，这些社区在历史上通常以狂热的“守门人”心态和极其缓慢的进展而著称，因此，有人想要像“酷爱小子”（Kool-Aid man）那样横冲直撞地闯入现场，以获取一些廉价的声望，这倒也说得通。噢耶……噢不！

In traditional niche dev circles, respect is earned slowly through years of activity in their respective fora, sharing elegant code, displays of genuine curiosity, and through sharing deep domain knowledge along the way. At the end of the day, these communities don’t care if your code works at all, but instead care that you know why and how it works.

在传统的小众开发圈子里，尊重是靠多年在各自论坛中的活跃表现、分享优雅的代码、展现真诚的好奇心以及分享深厚的领域知识而慢慢赢得的。归根结底，这些社区并不在乎你的代码是否能运行，而是在乎你是否理解它为何以及如何运行。

To me, an LLM functions best as a force multiplier, not a surrogate. In the hands of an expert who already understands a domain deeply, it could act like a lever. But in these niche communities, the entire exercise is in the learning. Using an LLM to generate the finished piece doesn’t make us craftsmen; it just robs us of the craft.

对我而言，LLM 最好的定位是“力量倍增器”，而不是“替代品”。在已经深入理解该领域的专家手中，它可以像杠杆一样发挥作用。但在这些小众社区中，整个练习的核心在于学习。使用 LLM 生成成品并不能让我们成为工匠，它只会剥夺我们磨练技艺的过程。

:F This is the latest in my evolving thoughts on LLMs. Also see: LLMe and Mind the van Emden Gap That said, expertise offers no natural immunity against being fooled by LLMs.

:F 这是我关于 LLM 不断演变的思考中的最新内容。另请参阅：LLMe 和 Mind the van Emden Gap。话虽如此，专业知识并不能让人天然地免受 LLM 的误导。