People will try to game systems because playing games is what people do.

Games motivate us. To game is Human.

Sometimes the game is hidden, sometimes it's tricky and social, but many times we choose to play.

Partnering and making discoveries together leads to strengthening sources of resilience. Building community and sharing common ground are activities wrapped in gameplay.

Playing games together is how humans learn how to grow together, from casual teasing to complex interactions. We long for it.

#SRE #resilience #Gameplay #ToGameIsHuman #ConnectiveLabor

I finished Babel and wrote a review about Kuang's epic about AI that isn't about AI.

#RebeccaKuang #Babel #AI #Revolution #Colonialism #ConnectiveLabor

https://www.sounding.com/2025/08/18/babellingai/

Was sharing this with a friend today, my description of a game called "Wheel of Expertise" that helps teams dig into deep specifics of their systems:

https://www.popg.xyz/2024/05/23/wheelofexpertise/

#SRE #ContinuousLearning #ConnectiveLabor #IncidentResponse #ComplexSystems #WheelOfExpertise #ResilienceEngineering

I saw someone giving people shit because they bother to ask someone else what something means, interrupting the other person's life because they are lazy.

Back in the early days of the internet, we called this LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You.

I cannot stand this dickish response for the simple reason that I fucking know Google exists, I slaved in a datacenter to make them exist. I am asking YOU because I want to connect with YOU.

But yeah I get it. There are asswipes who don't want to do the footwork. There are privileged shits who want everything in a basket with a bow.

But maybe critics should consider that the person doing the asking is doing connective labor footwork by asking. They're reaching out to someone as a human, to have a conversation, to localize our relationship around a common thread.

#ConnectiveLabor #LMGTFY

I have been engrossed in Allison Pugh's book "The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World".

"Connective Labor" is a new concept for me, and I immediately saw how well it describes what we do in SRE. It is helping me understand my social anxiety as a backdrop against a highly socialtechnical job.

I really wanted to get my thoughts down about this, because it's making a difference in how I look at teamwork. It isn't just a nice thing to have, it is necessary for resilience.

#ConnectiveLabor #SRE #Resilience

https://www.sounding.com/2025/02/21/sociotechnical/

"Whatever calamity strikes, we must never give up our human connections."

#ConnectiveLabor #AllisonPugh #Sociotechnical #Resilience #SRE

https://www.sounding.com/2025/02/21/sociotechnical/

"All you have to do is notice the invigoration you feel when you believe that someone has really understood you during a good conversation." The power of seeing each other! Not just for deep relations #connectivelabor

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/harvard-happiness-study-relationships/672753/