GoKawiilPublished on August 25, 2026
When I was a teenager, years before I had dedicated myself to studying computer science, I wanted to learn how to make websites. Out of the many competing options, I found Ruby on Rails to be incredibly enticing. The purported speed with which high-quality websites could be developed was a big draw. It rested firmly on the shoulders of convention over configuration. I inspected the conventions and they taught me much about how websites were, or at least could have been, built. It all seemed so sane. As somebody deeply prone to analysis paralysis, it offered the guidance that I desperately needed. Because of this, I grew to respect David Heinemeier Hansson as a great thinker. I was fascinated by the idea that clear thinking, a computer, and consistency could function like some sort of conjuration magic. We can produce something valuable with only labor as the input. DHH was something of an idol for me in this regard. He had done what I dreamed of and produced software that millions of people found valuable.
Perhaps it's only natural that I was excited when he announced HEY. I agreed with the premise. Email *does* suck (even today), and I thought that maybe HEY could fix it. I signed up and was whelmed. The product honestly didn't spark much joy in me. The features didn't feel like they had fixed email. Realistically, HEY is just email with sender blocking, spam filtering, folders, etc. Slightly more opinionated, I guess, but really there are no new ideas to be found in there. I was happy enough to support DHH and have a cool domain though, so I stuck around.
At least, I did until something fundamental shifted; I no longer respect DHH. If you're terminally online, like me, then you already know that DHH has some very controversial opinions. If you're not, then I'll summarize them for you. DHH believes that Europe belongs to white people and that immigrants are largely stupid criminals. I'll link a few examples from his blog for you, but I'll refrain from direct quotes because you're better off reading them for yourself. [0][1][2]
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