Yes - my initial thought was 'Sabbatical - what will that mean for his business and (more importantly to me) his writing?"
Realising it was a March 2000 article, I'm now interested in a follow up. Did his start-up shift his 4-years-on 1-year-off work strategy because of finances, or because he was more energised to keep at it for longer?
And how did his perception of "billions of not-very-smart venture dollars out there...good salaries...and the chance of having a "liquidity event" change in the 12 months after this was written?
I think Joel's got the right idea. After about five years at a startup (that grew up a bit) I quit in January 2008. Just a couple weeks ago I signed on with a pre-funding company in SF. Most of the interval was spent hacking on my own projects and traveling. It's been one of the best years of my life and I'd recommend it to other readers.
"I've gradually come to realize that there is nothing really risky about starting a company these days. There are billions of not-very-smart venture dollars out there looking for somebody to spend; [snip] working at 4 startups over a 10 year period, there is a fantanstic chance that you will make a big buttload of moolah."
Later that year, Fog Creek Software was born. Pretty interesting to read his thoughts at the beginnings of entrepreneurship.