Thorsten Ball: latest models make context-management tricks like /btw and forking obsolete
andreisavu · x · 2026-10-15
Thorsten Ball argues that with the latest models, context-management features like /btw and forking no longer make sense in coding tools. Models are now so good at following instructions that you can ask side-questions in the same thread — the model absorbs the aside, answers it, and continues the original task. His implication: coding-tool UX built to compensate for weak instruction-following is being rendered unnecessary by the models themselves.
More from coding & agent
- 542 AI engineering lessons on GitHub: build algorithms from scratch before libraries — techNmak · 2026-10-15
- x402 payments on Base explode from 58.8K to 138.5M transactions in a year — rkulidzan · 2026-10-15
- Tana founder: cloud agents with durable storage are a big deal — jobergum · 2026-10-15
- Opinion: AI Gets Away With Bad Design Decisions via Relentlessness and Context — Jsevillamol · 2026-10-15
- Ultrafast mode + subagents makes paperwork 'ADHD friendly', user reports — beffjezos · 2026-10-15
- Dev uses 6.1 Sol to polish a 3D scene, fixing a ton of geometry and texture issues — Dimillian · 2026-10-15