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I always want to comment on articles like this and share my opinion, but then I worry that if mass public opinion shifts or changes a decade from now, everythin

I always want to comment on articles like this and share my opinion, but then I worry that if mass public opinion shifts or changes a decade from now, everything I've said about a touchy subject will be archived online for any future employer to search. There always seems to be a delicate art to wording one's thoughts in a "neutral" way on issues like this.

hackuser 11y ago
I agree it's a concern, but the truth doesn't change with a trend. Slavery was wrong when it was trendy in some places and it's still wrong now that it's not. What do you think of the people who held their tongues? What about the ones that spoke out? I despise intellectual trends. If it was a good/bad idea before, that hasn't changed because the idea (or the entire subject) became un/fashionable. Privacy is one such issue that comes to mind.
e40 11y ago
I think hackuser said it pretty darn well.[1] [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10904615 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10904615
curun1r 11y ago
HN has no real name policy. Why not sign up for another account that you use to discuss riskier topics? As long as you're careful to not include identifying details in posts, you should be okay. Missing out on substantive discourse simply because of fear would make me sad.
- droidist2 11y ago
  Although people are already working on open source machine learning projects to identify people by how they write.
  - stillsut 11y ago
    I've been interested in this for awhile. Could you post some of examples or open source examples?
pcl 11y ago
Agreed. The digitization of communication (both public and private) has some fascinating self-censorship impacts.
marincounty 11y ago
I feel in the near future, what we say, buy, and do will be easily available data to anyone. I think employees, Insurers, law enforcement, etc. will be able to tie data to specific IP's, and even if you have been careful not to use your real name--it won't matter. I think we need federal laws enacted protecting privacy. I would like to see a universal Delete law. Meaning if I wanted everything from my IP address, or my name permently deleted from Facebook, Google, etc. servers they would be required to do so. It would also be a felony to sell, or even give away data.
millermp12 11y ago
Or you can just grow a pair.
vijayr 11y ago
That is sad. People grow, people mature. Most of us say/do things that we regret years later - it shows that the person has matured compared to 10 years ago. If an employer rejects an applicant because of some comments they made 10 years ago, maybe one should think twice about working for that employer?
cuckcuckspruce 11y ago
Not to rain on your parade, but it's gone beyond things you say online. Ask the two gentlemen who lost their jobs for making a dongle joke/repo forking joke at PyCon. They're named and shamed for the rest of their lives because somebody objected to a private conversation they were having.
alexc05 11y ago
Because your birth certificate lists your first name as Xcelerate? At least you didn't list your full name as it appears on your resume 'Xcelerate Bartholomew Jones' Less sarcastically, at least here on hacker news you're as anonymous as you want to be. A future employer isn't going to find any comments you post if you remain as anonymous as you currently are.

hackuser 11y ago

I agree it's a concern, but the truth doesn't change with a trend. Slavery was wrong when it was trendy in some places and it's still wrong now that it's not. What do you think of the people who held their tongues? What about the ones that spoke out? I despise intellectual trends. If it was a good/bad idea before, that hasn't changed because the idea (or the entire subject) became un/fashionable. Privacy is one such issue that comes to mind.

e40 11y ago

I think hackuser said it pretty darn well.[1] [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10904615 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10904615

curun1r 11y ago

HN has no real name policy. Why not sign up for another account that you use to discuss riskier topics? As long as you're careful to not include identifying details in posts, you should be okay. Missing out on substantive discourse simply because of fear would make me sad.

droidist2 11y ago
Although people are already working on open source machine learning projects to identify people by how they write.
- stillsut 11y ago
  I've been interested in this for awhile. Could you post some of examples or open source examples?

pcl 11y ago

Agreed. The digitization of communication (both public and private) has some fascinating self-censorship impacts.

marincounty 11y ago

I feel in the near future, what we say, buy, and do will be easily available data to anyone. I think employees, Insurers, law enforcement, etc. will be able to tie data to specific IP's, and even if you have been careful not to use your real name--it won't matter. I think we need federal laws enacted protecting privacy. I would like to see a universal Delete law. Meaning if I wanted everything from my IP address, or my name permently deleted from Facebook, Google, etc. servers they would be required to do so. It would also be a felony to sell, or even give away data.

millermp12 11y ago

Or you can just grow a pair.

vijayr 11y ago

That is sad. People grow, people mature. Most of us say/do things that we regret years later - it shows that the person has matured compared to 10 years ago. If an employer rejects an applicant because of some comments they made 10 years ago, maybe one should think twice about working for that employer?

cuckcuckspruce 11y ago

Not to rain on your parade, but it's gone beyond things you say online. Ask the two gentlemen who lost their jobs for making a dongle joke/repo forking joke at PyCon. They're named and shamed for the rest of their lives because somebody objected to a private conversation they were having.

alexc05 11y ago

Because your birth certificate lists your first name as Xcelerate? At least you didn't list your full name as it appears on your resume 'Xcelerate Bartholomew Jones' Less sarcastically, at least here on hacker news you're as anonymous as you want to be. A future employer isn't going to find any comments you post if you remain as anonymous as you currently are.