Getting Banned from r/java

internetter

> In 2026, if you are still writing code “by hand” without AI assistance, then either you haven’t tried using AI, or you are just coding for fun — without any desire to be productive. However, if you have a goal in mind to build something, then you would be foolish to do it “by hand”. What an insane assertion. While it is undeniable that AI has gotten good at writing code, there are absolutely times where it makes sense to reject it (for writing, at least), such as when a high degree of comprehension and correctness is required. People have been "productive" writing code by "hand" for over 50 years. This hasn't changed, though AI does in many cases incrementally improve productivity, it does not always and it does not mean not using it is inherently unproductive. For instance, for many libraries such as the ones I use to access databases or do complex calculations, I would like it to, at the very least, not be immediately obvious the project was vibe coded. Would you have still been banned if it wasn't so obvious you had prompted your way through the whole library? If it is obvious you prompted blindly, how can the code be human quality? > some guy off the street can type a prompt into AI, and produce better code than we could. It’s not fair. AI rarely seems to write better code than humans. It certainly writes mostly functional code faster. But significant time is lost in review compared to human code in my professional experience.

redox99

Being banned from reddit is a blessing. Such a weird place.

schleck8

> The offence was that I had broken rule #9, which I hadn’t noticed, and was new since the last time I posted there. This rule forbids sharing any software that involves AI at all Linus Torvalds recently said he uses AI to develop Java GUIs because he doesn't know how to write Java GUIs. Between the mods of r/java and Linus Torvalds, I know who I trust more with judging new technological potential. Here is more from a recent interview: "I used to think it was just not very good — but now I’m at the point where I actually really like using AI. [...] I don’t do a lot of kernel programming. I’m a maintainer. The Linux kernel is a project where other people do the real work, and I act as the collection point. But I still enjoy programming immensely. I think AI is a wonderful tool if you use it correctly and treat it as a tool, and I find it makes programming much more enjoyable. [...] I started programming in 1981 or so, and back then computers were much simpler, and you could understand what they were doing, and also the programs you compared your own programs to were much simpler. It’s a different story today. The bar in software engineering has grown so high that it’s hard to see your own small efforts as worth anything, because you’re used to all these polished, professional programs. [...] A lot of people make fun of vibe coding, but I think it’s a wonderful way to find joy in programming. It makes you feel like you’re doing something relevant. It allows you, as a new programmer, to do things that you would otherwise have a really hard time with.” https://www.zdnet.com/tech/linus-torvalds-ai-coding-programm...

croes

> if you are still writing code “by hand” without AI assistance, then either you haven’t tried using AI, or you are just coding for fun Writing code by hand is writing code, with AI assistance you don’t write code, you order code. You became a manager

1228a7

Yeah, yeah. AI is better than we are. Manual coding is obsolete. The em-dash rules. Are you even human or just an angry bot who has been told "not to back down"? But Java is getting more and more attractive. Who would have thought?

NoDodgeQuestion

>Projects like the OpenJDK almost certainly already have substantial amounts of AI-assisted code. So a strict No-AI policy in a sub like /r/java, if we follow the letter of the rule, should disallow sharing even links to OpenJDK. But that’s absurd. Why no mention https://openjdk.org/legal/ai ? even if you think it lie you should say that

borlox

Given the amount of AI generated bullshit I have to deal with, I have quite some sympathy with the r/java mods. Maybe I would tend a bit to the "very clearly state if and what was done by AI" side of things, but I would definitely love to ban all the 95% overconfident agent, 5% pebkac customers that are spamming our ticket queues.

FLeXMurphy

> AI is better at coding than we are now lol > I’m not so upset by the banning. > At some point in the future, I’m sure this irony will become too obvious to ignore and they’ll need to move the goal posts. This person is very sour indeed.

xigoi

> Insisting on hand-coding a project for these reasons is akin to choosing a shovel over an excavator This is a great analogy because an excavator is much more expensive than a shovel and can’t fit into small places, so it’s only worth it for large projects.

hax0ron3

It's just going to make people go elsewhere for Java discussion. Similar to how subreddit mods often banned people for saying things that they correctly or incorrectly perceived as being right-wing, being hate speech, etc. And some of those people just made their own websites. Musk bought X. Etc. The overall level of speech online coming from people who would have been banned by those Reddit mods probably increased rather than decreased.

functionmouse

Yesterday, I received a lifetime ban from r/MiSTerFPGA for simply replying to a post showcasing an AI-generated core with the text "ai poison" Two words, no warning - Lifetime ban Regardless as to whichever side of the camp you're on on this issue, the hysteria is clear. Everyone's so edgy and reactionary. You could probably say the same about my comment.

surgical_fire

> In 2026, if you are still writing code “by hand” without AI assistance, then either you haven’t tried using AI, or you are just coding for fun — without any desire to be productive. Maybe the person posted this could have reflected on the reason they got banned. With some introspection they might have learned something. Some people are, however, fundamentally uncurious.

archagon

Boo fucking hoo.