(Inspired by yungporko’s Ask HN post, which got me thinking.)
Pretty much every community, dojo, workplace, subculture, scene you can imagine in the modern day had a software sub-scene embedded within it. It can be as small as “that guy who does our Excel”, or as large as the scene itself . This is owing to the fantastic generality of software as a way to make almost anything more efficient, but we won’t go on that tangent now.
Within said sub-scene, a curious 80/20 rule holds true. Most of the scene’s adherents are just there for what it can do for them now. Excel speeds up annoying paperwork - sure, let’s use some functions. Video games get us through the day faster - pop in Call of Duty and let’s have a good time. But, except in the absolute smallest of scenes, you will always find power users. People who take an explicit interest in the software itself. No longer just a means to an end, but an end in itself. Oh, yeah, baby, it’s scenes and sub-scenes all the way down.
Beyond the power users’ sub-sub-scene is an often absolutely miniscule little vanguard of hackers. This isn’t really hacking in the ESR sense, although the two groups have hella overlap. No, the group I’m talking about are people who take the power users’ view of the software as an end in itself and wrap it back around into an entirely new thing. What would it look like, if this software we are all such fans of - was the best it could be?
That’s my pet theory of where truly great software really finds its real start.