I became a software engineer because, as a child, I had unrestricted access to computers. I could install and reinstall any operating system I desired as many times as I wanted.

That freedom to experiment, to break things and fix them again, is what taught me how computers actually work. No classroom, no tutorial, and certainly no age-gated platform could have replicated that. These laws wouldn't have protected me. They would have taken that away from me.

Protecting children and limiting their potential are not the same thing.

https://blog.system76.com/post/system76-on-age-verification

Hot take, so controversial it counts as trolling: all notifications should default "off". Anything that can interrupt or distract the person using a computer or other device should be explicitly turned on by that person.

There are exceptions for things that can cause serious harm if ignored. "You've got mail" is not an exception. Neither is "someone liked your social media post".