# Couriers, Not Coders

Source: https://www.yegor256.com/2026/05/03/no-mercy.html

Someone submitted an issue to one of our open GitHub repositories a week ago,
  suggesting a new feature.
We didn't respond, since we
  [didn't notice it]({% pst 2024/apr/2024-04-01-ping-me-please %}).
Today, someone else submitted an implementation of the feature in a pull request.
I rejected it and explained that the feature request must first be
  accepted by the
  [project architect]({% pst 2014/oct/2014-10-12-who-is-software-architect %}),
  and only then would it be worth
  making a pull request.
The author of the PR got offended.
He won't be back.
Good.
A year ago, we would have been sad to lose an
  [enthusiastic]({% pst 2019/jan/2019-01-01-hazardous-enthusiasm %}) contributor.
Today, we don't care.


{% jb_picture_body %}

For years you sold coding skill at $50 an hour.
AI now codes for cents.
But you still want $50.

We are still ready to pay.
Not for the code---the code is free.
For the _delivery_.

You take what [Claude Code] wrote and you walk it to our door.
You are the _courier_, not the coder.

The margin is what we pay for trust:
  that what you deliver, we can merge without re-checking.
So the delivery must be flawless.

{% quote We pay for the delivery, not the code %}

A PR without a description is a package with no label---refused.
An unfocused PR is two parcels in one box---refused.
A PR too large to read is an oversized package---refused.
A PR sitting in review for weeks is a delivery that never arrived---refused.
A PR for an unapproved feature is a parcel for an address we never accepted---refused.

What we forgave yesterday, when we still needed the code, we no longer forgive.
The market for couriers is huge.
We can afford to choose.
So the bar rises, not falls.

Working code is now the minimum.
We expect discipline, speed of delivery, clear and detailed communication,
  and readiness to re-work.
Above all, we expect you to understand our
  [rules]({% pst 2015/oct/2015-10-13-competition-without-rules %})
  and _obey_ them.

No mercy for mess.
Not anymore.

If you want the wage, earn the margin.

Be proud of the delivery, not the code.

[Claude Code]: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code