Some people on HN were bragging during the pandemic about having multiple jobs and doing the bare minimum to stay employed. And many in HN often talk about the transactional nature of their jobs. In my view, the hacker spirit was about working relentlessly towards a goal. PG would say the same. Whether that ultimate achievement benefits accrues financially just to you, or a larger corpo, is not that relevant. It’s about developing the sort of personality that works hard, always. Making it about who accrues the benefit ends up being an impediment to our own personal growth that comes from hard work. I do think the overall HN vibe has changed, and I do think we have lost something as a community.