CSS-Tricks, acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022, has become inactive again after the company went silent following the rehiring of lead editor Geoff Graham in 2024. The timing raises questions about DigitalOcean's priorities, as the company recently pledged $3 million to Omarchy while discontinuing support for CSS-Tricks, GNOME, and Flathub.
The article questions whether Paul Graham's and Scott Adams's advice to 'write simply' is actually responsible for their success, or if it's survivorship bias masking the importance of pre-existing brand and wealth. The author argues that successful writers often employ academic, sophisticated prose rather than simple writing, suggesting that complexity conveys credibility and attracts educated audiences.
Tech industry figures including Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan and Intercom cofounder Des Traynor are using the term "LARP" to criticize founders who perform entrepreneurship on social media rather than genuinely building companies. The trend reflects concerns about founder-influencers prioritizing marketing optics over actual business results in an era of accessible capital and AI hype.