Slopware is now the default experience when you try to create a README file in an empty project using the GitLab Web UI.

Instead of being able to quickly create a new project with the summary of the idea in the README using the GitLab Web UI, I now end up having to use some slop Microsoft product (the “GitLab WebIDE” is just a broken web-port of VSCode) that can’t even commit a simple README.md into an empty repository: Screenshot of an error message saying "Failed to commit changes. See the console for more information."

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I expected the default editor on a site built around hosting code with Git would let you commit to a Git repo.

Also, hey WebIDE, is this console with more information in the room with us right now? Because all the panels I can see are:

  • Comments
    • Showing a “There are no comments in this workspace yet” placeholder text
  • Terminal
    • Showing a “The terminal is not available in the Web IDE” placeholder text
  • Output
    • Which is empty
  • Problems
    • Showing a “No problems have been detected in this workspace” placeholder text

And of course in good Microsoft fashion, you can only copy some of the panel placeholder texts, who needs a consistent experience after all, just ask the AI to put more slop on top of it until you don’t notice it anymore.

I’m sad (apart from the anger I feel because using a previously useful tool now resulted in me having to look at yet another ugly and broken Microsoft UI) to see another default option being slop, what is happening to software QA?

And I wonder, same as when I see Microsoft employees holding presentations about their slop OS using MacBooks, if people really use the software they put out anymore.