Comment by toraway
Drives me absolutely crazy how lately any time I comment about my experience using LLMs for coding that isn’t gushing praise, I get the same predictable, condescending lecture about how I'm using it ever so slightly wrong (unlike them) which explains why I don't get perfect output literally 100% of the time.
It’s like I need a sticky disclaimer:
1. No, I didn’t form an outdated impression based on GPT-4 that I never updated, in fact I use these tools *constantly every single day*
2. Yes, I am using Opus 4.5
3. Yes, I am using a CLAUDE.md file that documents my expectations in detail
3a. No, it isn’t 20000 characters or anything
3b. Yes, thank you, I have in fact already heard about the “pink elephant problem”
4. Yes, I am routinely starting with fresh context
4a. No, I don’t expect every solution to be one-shotable
5. Yes, I am still using Opus fucking 4.5
6. At no point did I actually ask for Unsolicited LLM Tips 101.
That doesn't mean these tools are useless! Or that I’m “afraid” or in denial or trying to hurt your feelings or something! I’m just trying to be objective about my own personal experience.
It’s just impossible to have an honest, productive discussion if the other person can always just lob responses like “actually you need to use the API not the 200/mo plan you pay for” or “Opus 4.5 unless you’re using it already in which case GPT 5.2 XHigh / or vice versa” to invalidate your experience on the basis of “you’re holding it wrong” with an endlessly slippery standard of “right”.
When I wrote my reply I was not familiar with the existing climate of LLM-advice-as-a-cudgel that you describe.
> to invalidate your experience on the basis of “you’re holding it wrong”
This was not my intent in replying to 9rx. I was just trying to help.