Hackers' Pub

Syntax	Description	Examples
`"` keyword `"`	Finds the string within quotes, including spaces. Case-insensitive. (Escape quotes inside with `\"`)	`"Hackers' Pub"`
`from:` handle	Finds content written by the specified user.	`from:hongminhee` `from:hongminhee@hollo.social`
`lang:` ISO 639-1	Finds content written in the specified language.	`lang:en`
`#` tag	Finds content with the specified tag. Case-insensitive.	`#HackersPub`
condition condition	Finds content that satisfies both conditions on either side of the space (logical AND).	`"Hackers' Pub" lang:en`
condition `OR` condition	Finds content that satisfies at least one of the conditions on either side of the OR operator (logical OR).	`#HackersPub OR "Hackers' Pub" lang:en`
`(` condition `)`	Combines the operators within the parentheses first.	`(#HackersPub OR "Hackers' Pub" OR "Hackers Pub") lang:en`

Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl@zirk.us

1/21/2026, 9:14:14 PM

Public

Yesterday, I interviewed a tech guy who told me something too important for me to wait until the podcast comes out for you to hear it:

Many free AI detectors have especially high false positive rates because they make money selling software that "humanizes" writing. 1/2

Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl@zirk.us

1/21/2026, 9:14:29 PM

Public

They tell students papers sound like AI — even when they're the students' own writing — so the company can scare them and sell them a product.

This goes beyond the general problem that even good AI detectors aren't perfect and shouldn't be the sole reason to accuse someone of writing with AI.

If you have a fediverse account, you can quote this note from your own instance. Search https://zirk.us/users/grammargirl/statuses/115935154609937486 on your instance and quote it. (Note that quoting is not supported in Mastodon.)