Cynical software is the result of a "growth at all costs" mentality. When a line on a chart becomes more important than the person using the keyboard, the software inevitably turns predatory. As users, our power lies in our "exit intent." By supporting developers who respect our agency and opting out of extractive platforms, we can demand a future where software is a tool once again, not a trap.
Cynical software isn't defined by what it does, but by its intent. It is software built with a fundamental distrust of the user, designed not to solve a problem, but to capture attention, manipulate behavior, and extract value at the expense of human well-being. What Makes Software "Cynical"? cynical software
A term coined by Cory Doctorow to describe the lifecycle of platforms. First, they are good to users; then they abuse users to favor business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Cynical software is the result of a "growth
specific stability patterns like circuit breakers in your code? Cynical software isn't defined by what it does,
: Derived from ship design, this pattern partitions a system into isolated sections. If one section "floods" (crashes or runs out of resources), the rest of the ship (the application) remains afloat.