What "keep IT simple" actually means

It's on the front page of this site, so it's fair to ask what I mean by it.

Simple doesn't mean basic, and it isn't about avoiding good tools. It means you can explain your own setup to another person — where your files live, what happens if the laptop dies, who to call. If you can't, the setup is too complicated, regardless of how sophisticated it is.

The test I use

Before I finish a job, I ask the client to tell me back what we've just done. Not to check up on them — to check up on me. If the explanation comes out tangled, I've built something they'll be a hostage to, and I'd rather find that out while I'm still in the room.

Fewer moving parts wins

Two backup systems that half-work are worse than one that works. Three security products fighting each other leave you less protected than one configured properly. Every extra piece is another thing to expire, break, or be forgotten about.

Jargon is usually a smell

When someone explains a solution and you come away less certain than when you started, that's rarely your fault. If I can't put something in plain terms, it's a sign I don't understand it well enough yet.

Simple things get maintained

This is the real reason to care. Complicated setups are the ones that quietly stop working, because nobody wants to touch them. The simple version gets checked, updated, and actually used — which makes it the one that's there when you need it.

That's the whole philosophy. It's not glamorous, and it means I occasionally talk people out of spending money with me. I'd rather do that than build something you can't explain.