3 ms·

> No person-to-person platform can reach scale and be apolitical. Companies that are too political can't scale at all, they put to many people off. Most overtl

by flukus 9y ago

> No person-to-person platform can reach scale and be apolitical. Companies that are too political can't scale at all, they put to many people off. Most overtly political business like feminist cafe's or LGBT bookshops die pretty quickly. In the tech world, if I could go back half a decade and know how political github would become I and many other people would have never signed up. > The idea that companies are apolitical can't die fast enough. Why do you want to make life more complicated? When I go get my morning coffee I don't want to know what the companies opinion on gay marriage is. When I go watch a movie I don't want to know what the makers opinions are on progressive taxation. When I buy a phone I don't want to know the manufacturers opinion on global warming.

saghm 9y ago
> Companies that are too political can't scale at all If being against white supremacy is "too political", then what you're really saying is that companies shouldn't be political at all—which is a reasonable viewpoint, but I think the phrasing "too political" is a bit misleading.
salvar 9y ago
When I stay at an Airbnb I'd like to know that my host isn't a KKK member. I'm sure most of Airbnb's customer's feel this way. I'd say that Airbnb's services are much more personal (in a person-to-person way) than coffee, movies or phones.
- flukus 9y ago
  > When I stay at an Airbnb I'd like to know that my host isn't a KKK member. I'm sure most of Airbnb's customer's feel this way. I've got some bad news then: you don't know that. Unless the host has swastikas on their forehead or explicit tells people then neither Airbnb or it's customers know that. Every single time you book there is a chance you'll be staying in the home of a KKK member. But as shown by recent hot topics, most people prefer to be blissfully unaware.
  - salvar 9y ago
    > I've got some bad news then: you don't know that. Thanks for the snark, it really helps the discussion. Let me rephrase to include some nuance: When I stay at an Airbnb I'd like to think that the company has some interest in the host not being an openly card-carrying KKK member, and would take reasonable action to remove those hosts from their services, as they seem to have done in this instance. I realise that this does not mean there is no chance that I'll be staying in the home of a KKK member, but thanks for the tip.

by flukus 9y ago

saghm 9y ago

> Companies that are too political can't scale at all If being against white supremacy is "too political", then what you're really saying is that companies shouldn't be political at all—which is a reasonable viewpoint, but I think the phrasing "too political" is a bit misleading.

salvar 9y ago

When I stay at an Airbnb I'd like to know that my host isn't a KKK member. I'm sure most of Airbnb's customer's feel this way. I'd say that Airbnb's services are much more personal (in a person-to-person way) than coffee, movies or phones.

flukus 9y ago
> When I stay at an Airbnb I'd like to know that my host isn't a KKK member. I'm sure most of Airbnb's customer's feel this way. I've got some bad news then: you don't know that. Unless the host has swastikas on their forehead or explicit tells people then neither Airbnb or it's customers know that. Every single time you book there is a chance you'll be staying in the home of a KKK member. But as shown by recent hot topics, most people prefer to be blissfully unaware.
- salvar 9y ago
  > I've got some bad news then: you don't know that. Thanks for the snark, it really helps the discussion. Let me rephrase to include some nuance: When I stay at an Airbnb I'd like to think that the company has some interest in the host not being an openly card-carrying KKK member, and would take reasonable action to remove those hosts from their services, as they seem to have done in this instance. I realise that this does not mean there is no chance that I'll be staying in the home of a KKK member, but thanks for the tip.