I've loved the 37signals folks ever since Iroiso introduced me to their work in 2010. Everything about them made so much sense. It was a fresh way of thinking, and it blew my mind. Getting Real is still a great, practical read. Rework is seminal. And Seun swears by Shape Up.
Sixteen years is a long time, and a lot has happened along the way. The world has changed. I have changed. The two are closely connected. At some point you become acutely conscious of the beliefs and values you hold, and you have to decide how vocal, and how active, you want to be about them.
DHH writes a bit about his views on immigrants and immigration. I don't agree with most of them. Why? There are no good and bad immigrants; there are only good and bad people. It's okay to push for sovereignty and to want to preserve your cultural values without putting down whole groups of people. But it's also okay to hold opinions others don't share.
There are plenty of billionaires and corporations I don't agree with. Unfortunately, many of them will get my money one way or another. Unless I move back to my village, I have little choice in the matter. But where I can replace them, I will. So here I am, replacing Hey. I used it mainly because it was the easiest way for me to write and publish. Now I can do that myself, and stop contributing, in my own small way, to making DHH any richer.
I used to be passive about this sort of thing, but over the years I've learned that passivity isn't an option, especially when you're already geographically disadvantaged. I also have to credit Ireti for making me think far more critically about the positions I take. This video she sent me a while back offers a more rounded way of approaching social issues.
It's okay if this only makes me happy and doesn't make a dent in his world. And it helps me sleep much better at night. So where is my small money going instead? To the good folks at Archiving. Some of it has been going there for a while; now this small subscription joins it.