Living

The day-to-day experience of residing in the stack: using the tools, finding things, getting things done. The resident doesn't maintain the infrastructure, but their experience of it is what the whole stack is ultimately for.

Living in the technology has many aspects to it.

Usability — the tools should work the way people expect them to. Interfaces should be consistent, actions should have predictable results, and getting things done should not require reading a manual. The best tools disappear: they don't demand attention or take up space unless they need to. The resident should be focused on the task, not the software.

Accessibility — the stack should not separate people based on their bodies. Differences in ability, device, language, or technical background should not determine who can participate. Accessibility is not an afterthought; it shapes which tools get chosen and how they are configured.

Delight — good software is a pleasure to use. Small things matter: responsiveness, thoughtful defaults, a sense that the people who built it cared. Art and other forms of creativity are part of this — the visual language of a tool, the way it presents itself, the choices someone made about how it feels. Delight is not a luxury; it is what makes people actually want to use something.

Trust — residents need to know that the tools are safe: that data stays private, that nothing is tracked beyond what the service needs to function, and that the infrastructure won't be pulled from under them. Reliability is part of this — a tool that is down when you need it erodes trust as surely as one that leaks data. Trust is earned through consistency and transparency, not promised in a terms of service.