(Inspired by Martin Fowler)

Some pieces from Stop Sloppypasta I thought were interesting:

Too long, didn’t read:

slop·py·pas·ta n. Verbatim LLM output copy-pasted at someone, unread, unrefined, and unrequested. From slop (low-quality AI-generated content) + copypasta (text copied and pasted, often as a meme, without critical thought). It is considered rude because it asks the recipient to do work the sender did not bother to do themselves.

The Eager Beaver

A conversation participant wants to contribute to the topic at hand, so they ask a chatbot and share whatever comes back. The intention is good - they genuinely want to help - but the wall of generic AI text they contributed blocks the discussion already underway. Now other participants have to scroll past it to continue, or stop to read and validate it. It feels helpful to send. It creates work to receive.

The OrAIcle

Someone asks a specific question. Another person puts it into a chatbot and pastes the response as the answer.

The Ghostwriter

The sender shares AI output as their own work, with no indication a chatbot wrote it. Recipients have no reason to question it, and may act on information that is out of date, incomplete, or simply wrong. Using AI as a ghostwriter borrows the sender’s credibility. If the content turns out to be wrong, that credibility is what gets spent.