WeCoded 2026: Echoes of Experience 💜
This is a submission for the 2026 WeCoded Challenge: Echoes of Experience
Over the last year, It recently shed light to me that I want to share that is overlooked, especially in any career and no one pointed out.
I recently had severe OCD back in August and it prevented me from using my devices. As a result, I was lock in boredom where I couldn't do anything.
- I can't code
- I can't build projects
- Job Hunting is out of the question
However, it showed me that I should have expect, but never got to it.
It was spending time with others.
It is obvious that life is too short and we should cherish on others as much as we can. However, we are so busy in our lives that we have not got the chance to be with the one's we loved. I know that a developer career takes a lot of time because we have to keep up with tech and continue to build projects, though we never got the chance to socialize.
The Time it Changed
Recently, I came across this short that genuinely made me cry:
It reminded me that I rarely have chances to be with those that helped me on my journey. This short felt like I was intentionally robbing them, which is not the case. Of course, if someone has helped you, you want to return the favor. I felt like that I have not done that.
What hurt the most is on Dev.to. Yes, this platform is an inclusive space and everyone is really supportive. But it just so to happen recently that there was some expectation I fail to meet and that it was my fault.
One case is that I recently made a Tutorial Guide to engage with the community on Dev.to. When I was replying to everyone's comment, there was one that stood out to me:
This trigger this feeling that I need to be responsible for everyone on Dev.to because I don't want to think that them posting their articles and not getting engagement in some way is a robbery of their time.
As a result, I started to look at other people's activity on Dev.to. One person that stood out is @bingkahu, who is part of my DEVengers Org.
I notice he post consistently, but haven't got any engagement from the community whatsoever. It made me genuinely sad because he put so much effort into posting consistently, but haven't receive anything from the community. I felt guilty that he is part of my organization, but haven't interacted with him. As a result, I decided to apologize in one of the Weekly Challenges he has done with this comment:
If anything, please give some love to him and give him challenges!
Another person in mind is @jarvisscript
He has been on Dev.to for 9 Years. Very impressive indeed!
However, I notice he too also not get a lot of engagement. I decided to post on one of this weekly posts:
What Point am I Making?
The point is to check up with each other. There will be a time where we won't be on Dev.to much longer and we will move on from our lives, wherever it takes us. The whole goal is trying to make this place a memorable place and is not something where we join Dev.to just to check off in our TODO list. It is the whole reason why I created the guide on Dev.to to begin with:
I want everyone to feel inclusive and not leaving anyone in the dust. Every time I see an article with no engagement, I felt responsible and genuinely sad. It made me take initiative because I don't want others to feel loneliness.
What can you do?
Here are some things we can do!
If you see a user that gets no engagement, be the Icebreaker!
If you see a post on the #discuss tag or any post, leave a genuine comment! This platform's goal is to help one another and we need to show that! It can be tiring sure, but if we all do it, it would be the most inclusive community we can achieve and that is something worth remembering. As a bonus, we may even get the IceBreaker badge!
Welcome Threads!
I took a break from replying to every single comment in the Welcome Threads and I notice that most of the comments doesn't get any welcome responses. Most cases it's just me and Richard Pascoe replying and welcoming everyone to Dev.to. If you can, for every welcome thread, leave a reply at least one person that does not have any replies and welcome them to Dev.to!
If possible, refer back to my article on the Dev.to guide if you can! The goal is to make the best user friendly guide on Dev.to and it would help if we can share it to others!
Thanks for Reading
I just want to share this since I have been feeling guilty and responsible for not being inclusive enough recently. I know I can't do this along since it is tiring, which is the reason I asked everyone if they can do this. It will be greatly appreciated! Now, let me ask you this:
Are you doing okay?
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