About
Function over Fad is an independent publication launched in February 2025 by Matt Farmer. Matt has been working professionally in the technology industry for close to two decades, and has held positions supporting all kinds of technology in that time. From being a consultant, to working in large companies, and small startups doing a bit of everything - Matt has been around the block a few times and has come to believe that decisions driven by a ruthless pragmatism stand the test of time better than following the crowd. A lot of the writings here are going to follow that theme.
You can find Matt on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
You'll find topics running the gamut from technology to parenthood, and everything in between. When he's not pontificating wildly on the internet, Matt is a Site Reliability Engineer at kid herder.
Sponsors & Supporters
Folks who support the site at the supporter level or above will be listed here.
Nobody has taken me up on the officer yet. 🌵
FAQ
What does a paid subscription get me over a free subscription?
Paid subscriptions will give you the ability to comment on posts, and receive periodic members-only posts.
Why do I have to pay to comment?
Comment sections on the internet have become a dumpster fire because there's no barrier to entry. Anyone can pop off and say the first thing that comes to their mind, spam the comments to harass folks, etc. Requiring a paid subscription to comment will (a) raise that barrier to entry to throwing your thoughts to appear under mine but not so much as to be cost prohibitive and (b) will give me some contact information for who you are if you start harassing or threatening people and provide some level of confidence that's your real identity. This allows me to follow up on any illegal or harassing activity that occurs in my comment section.
So is everyone commenting paying you?
No, I will comp subscriptions for folks that I know well. So some folks will be on comp'd subscriptions. While I always appreciate (and provide for) folks to show additional support, I'm not in this to make a profit.
What do you do with the money you make?
Barring some kind of personal calamity like losing my job, my plan is to use the money to cover the costs of operating the site and then donate the rest to a nonprofit focused on doing good in the world, like the ACLU.