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   Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell: (lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me)'s status on Thursday, 04-Dec-2025 04:27:42 JST Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell:

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   • Ben Zanin
   @gnomon To me the framing is more:
   
   - Pets: They have custom hostnames; machines having special setups is extremely common
   - Cattle: Purely number-based hostname or similar kind of careless naming scheme; too industrial to have individual setups
   
   So automation is a bit more orthogonal, you'll get automation, but it'll take a very different shape (unless you're doing something like roleplaying a corporation at home).
   Like how effectively a kitchen food processor is automation, but isn't comparable to a factory.
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     Ben Zanin (gnomon@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 04-Dec-2025 04:27:43 JST Ben Zanin

     I hate the "cattle vs. pets" framing of managing larger clusters of computers with automation, implying that managing small clusters or single machines is done manually.

     I hate it because managing a single machine without a framework suitable for automation has been generally poor practice *forever*.

     But I hate it even more because the foundation of the metaphor is that it is OK and normal to treat livestock without compassion or care. It is quite simply not.

     Retire that framing, please.