1-600-DOCTORB @dumdumjobes@qoto.org

There is something wildly amusing to me about the fact that I’ve gotten more actual, human engagement with my posts in less than 1 week on Mastodon than I have in 13 years on Twitter. It’s almost as if monetizing engagement artificially shapes conversations. Or maybe I just got way better at posting overnight. It’s probably that second thing since the alternative means business guys are bad at people stuff and that capitalism has uncorrectable problems.

@admitsWrongIfProven Dare me to dream and I will, comrade.

@pep You're right in that it truly is semantics after a certain point. It always just strikes me as funny that it's easier for us to classify others than it is for us to turn that lens back on ourselves. I only just got to thinking about it cause I've had multiple folks approach me at work with "You're a programmer, right? Can you take a look at this for me..." So it goes.

@blake Very similar for me. Started as a kid in the 80s, sys admin/engineer by trade for 20+ years, written lots of code (in maybe half as many languages, kudos on that), etc. It wasn't until I recognized that I was now the gray beard that others were going to for answers that I felt comfortable even using engineer as a self descriptor. To my mind, I'm just a computer guy. The rest feels like window dressing.

@vunderkind That's pretty much where I'm at with it. It's like whatever the opposite of imposter syndrome is. I'm just glad it ain't just me. 👍

@freemo I am oddly impressed you had objective benchmarks on the ready. Well played.

Question: at what point do folks consider themselves programmers? Or scientists?

I've written programs, but don't feel I've earned the title "programmer". I've used the scientific method to identify and resolve issues, but "scientist"? Not I. At what point do folks feel comfortable identifying themselves that way? Just wondering if anyone else is pondering what I'm pondering.

The nice thing about Twitter self immolating is that folks who would otherwise never even look at alternative platforms seem to be kicking the tires and trying to make things work on other sites. Really helps with the chicken/egg issue. If Twitter -> Mastodon works, no reason to think there isn’t hope for Facebook -> Diaspora (or similar). At that point, only thing left to do would be to make friends to connect with. Exciting days ahead!

@lucifargundam
I was about to agree with you without qualification, then I realized I had to click a button that said "TOOT!" to post it. I have much to consider.

"Toots" is a terrible name for these missives. "Toots" is also perfect.