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

Hobby programming communities like chess engine development, operating system development, and the demoscene are increasingly hostile toward LLM usage because they view the learning process and mastery of difficult domains as the primary value, not just producing working code. In these communities, respect is earned through years of demonstrating deep understanding and craftsmanship, and using LLMs to generate finished products undermines the learning journey that defines membership. The author argues LLMs work best as tools for experts who already understand their domain deeply, rather than as shortcuts that rob practitioners of the craft itself.