>Am I insane for being completely satisfied with $80,000/yr to do really cool multithreaded programming work on some seriously beefy hardware? (Midwest area.)

In 10 years of midwest experience, $80k is probably a bit on the low side for systems-level work. Just a few years ago I would see DreamWeaver jockeys pick up full time for ~$50k/year. One hire did NOT know the difference between HTML and an HTTP server, someone else called me into a training session she was hosting and asked why her form wouldn't work. She had set the form's action param to email:

  <form action="mailto:[email protected]">

Sadly I'm not kidding. :(

On the high-side, I've seen C/C++ contractors charge $100-$250/hour, depending wildly on the individual consultants.

So I don't think you're crazy for being happy. And great working conditions can have an often immeasurable impact on life. Happiness, is, after all, the end game - and a guaranteed $80k/year might be worth more than an unknown $120k/year for some people.

Mailto actions were widely supported in early (pre-Netscape!) browsers, weren't they?

Cool, I didn't know that (started late 90s here) but that wasn't what this person attempting to do. Apparently she had asked for the source from another dev's script and saw something like:

  action="process.php"

And just thought This Should Work™ too and put the mailto: into the form. When it happened, in front of 50 other people, I just stared at her for a moment and said it was complex and we could look at it later. Not really much else you can do in those situations.

No. Mosaic did not have an integrated email reader, and there was no protocol for starting your mail client of choice. OmniWeb did support mailto: by passing it over to the mail app on NeXTStep, but that was an uncommon platform.

When I first learnt HTML in the late nineties, the book I used contained mailto actions on forms, which I remember worked just fine for me in IE (4 or 5). Some searching suggests that IE interfaced with Outlook Express to do this.

Interesting. How on earth did that work? Did browsers have built in SMTP clients?

Netscape included a mail client.

Maybe you just have a different set of priorities.

I feel much the same way. The bills are paid, there's some money going into savings, there's time to spend with the family, and I'm doing work that's fun.

OK, I'll ride that for a while. Could I make more? Maybe. Probably. Do I need to? Nope. Sometimes going with the flow is worth it for the amount of stress it saves you (and your family). As long as you are not stagnating and feeling unfulfilled and poorly compensated, I see nothing wrong with leaving well enough alone until one of those criteria changes or a great opportunity happens along.

If it ain't broke....

I'm satisfied with my strength, but I still work out to get healthier.

I'm satisfied with my social life, but I still enjoy meeting new people.

I'm satisfied with my life, but still enjoy new experiences.

I'm getting $47.5k in Nebraska to work for a Maryland company working on their Service-Now platform. 6 years with the company, been using SN since we were customer #5, and I just had to fight for a raise ($2.5k) after 2 years without. $80k seems pretty damn good, but based on what it sounds like you're doing you've got the skills to earn it.

Myself, I'm not so sure, and I really do love working from home, so I'm plodding along as is. A little ominous though to read this right after I insisted on a salary review and got one...

That means you are not married and don't have kids to send to school and very young, to do any retirement planning.

I, too, am young, with a couple years of experience at Well Known Company, hacking away on a somewhat cool project, working at 25% potential, paying my bills and saving some cash. But I am adopting a whole different mindset when thinking long-term future. Wife, children, cars, house, tuition, vacations, etc. There's a whole lot that doesn't make sense about working at Well Known Company for some salary. It's one of the reasons why I spend most of my nights programming and building things that will hopefully generate passive income, or even spawn a business. That's the only way I can see being able to work at 100% potential. That's what makes sense.

No where in there did I say that the best employees have to quit and leave for better offers. I'm part of a startup that underpays me (based on job offers I've had since joining) yet I wouldn't dream of leaving. Incentives (and priorities) make a difference.

Wouldn't you rather be retired than working full time, regardless of the job?

Yes you are, I'm at 130k and looking for more.