I dislike self-promotion that unfairly attacks (quote below) what has come before. The "software priesthood" has made numerous compilers and interpreters freely available to download and use. If repl.it makes it even easier for people to start coding, great, but they are extending the work of others.

"Our mission is to give everyone in the world computer superpowers. We build powerful yet approachable tools & platforms for developers, students, and educators.

We see a new generation of hackers and entrepreneurs rising to seize the power of computers and the internet to create software that empowers them and their communities. They refuse to be programmed by the software priesthood that wants them to endlessly consume ads."

I think it is fair to say that over the years the gap between shaping software and using it (shrink-wrap/prohibitions/revoking/saas …) grew further and further.

At the same time the tools we use to create software also have become more complex (to setup, maintain, learn, keep up with, …), not necessarily beginner friendly and empowering.

repl.it is one of the few efforts out there with an _ambitious_ take for the long-term (yet delivering like a clockwork!)

A breeze of fresh air and a glass of water in this desolate wasteland of shrink-wrap.

I think it is fair to note, as you point out that the shrink-wrap-factories also have pockets of amazing people who build great tooling we can all be thankful for (I certainly am) but my gut feeling is we read the same paragraphs, just from slightly different zoom levels.

I'm not sure I agree that repl.it is attacking "what has come before". Even in that quote there is no reference other software, they are explaining their goals and ambitions. I too do not like ads, which is why I enjoy the fact that repl.it does not have any, nor do they sell my data.

Yes. I definitely see you up there with Turing / Dijkstra / IBM 360 / DEC and Unix.

Hi