The age emphasizes the absurdist, incompetent slapdash nature of the whole thing. It's not a grizzled expert aiding a coup, it's some kid fucking around.

Why is it absurd for a 25 year old to write system-critical code? That's not even that young for the field. I'd been coding for 12 years at that age!

Do you think you, or anyone, have the capacity to understand changes you are making to a system developed over decades, that manages trillions and affects real lives, with only a few days worth of experience with the system?

You don't think they grabbed one or two of the existing coders that know the system? (I have no idea)

The article explicitly mentions how the system's normal maintainers are in a panic because this kid 'Fred' they have no info about (not even a last name) has unlimited access to change things.

No, I don't think so.

I think it's the dumbest, high confidence kids(with big egos) in the room who agree to do shit like this.

PR submitted, comments by concerned coders with years experience in the system overruled and force merged with message "wcgw".

I never made that claim, I only say the raw age is irrelevant and distracts from the real headline. Experience with those specific systems is a separate category. e.g. a 25 year old with 8 years of finance systems programming might be more qualified than a 50 year old with 3 years in that domain, it all depends on their background. The more important headline is that it's an illegal coup.

> a 25 year old with 8 years of finance systems programming

Show me one.

Hang out in some quant shops you'll see a bunch.

So was I, now I'm over 40 and boy oh boy can I tell you how I would definitely not trust myself at that age going into such critical systems.

It's not the quality of code in question, but of judgement.

I don’t care that the kid is writing code. I do care that the kid is an active participant in a coup against the US government.

> I don’t care that the kid is writing code

I really do care that the kid is writing code because Bessent told senior Republicans in a closed-door meeting Musk et al only have read access and that through another person (Krause). If this kid is writing code, he's doing so without legal authority. This isn't a coup, it's espionage.

> This isn't a coup, it's espionage

That's just play on words at this time

Clearly the federal government has been compromised by private citizens with unclear, or secret, affiliations to the president and his associates

Congress and the courts seem unable to repel the attack so far

You are rationally correct. However, most people react very quickly, and it is very effective to say "teenager" or "25 year old" to mean "ridiculously inexperienced" for what is happening right now

Yes, some teenagers and 25 year olds are capable, and probably do in fact, write system-critical code

But having people who previously had nothing to do with the government, take over a federal system, with seemingly no experience managing those types of systems before, is very alarming

>I care that they have no constitutional authority.

Opinion article that at least explains some of the authority that DOGE may have. DOGE is operating under U.S. Digital Service which was started by Obama, not congress, with a mission to assist other government services with technology, and may have authority via OMB and the president if the affected departs resist.

Nice to finally get some details, instead of rank speculation on all sides.

https://thehill.com/opinion/5126111-department-government-ef...

It’s called “experience”. HN skews young white and male, and if there’s one thing young white male coders are NOT is “humble.” Any decades plus veteran of the industry who has hired new college grads knows a lot more than you seem to.