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I was just reflecting on this. If you agree that React is a net positive for software development (efficiency, creating complicated UIs faster), then you can ma

by yonasb 9y ago

I was just reflecting on this. If you agree that React is a net positive for software development (efficiency, creating complicated UIs faster), then you can make the case that Ads on Facebook have indirectly helped a lot of engineers and thus companies. They had a problem, a piece of technology was created to solve it, and then released to the world, and now many others are able to solve problems using the same technology. Seems like this is exactly how open source should work (license issues aside). The fact that this all comes back to Ads highlights the importance of Ads in the software development ecosystem IMO. Worth noting that Google and Facebook have contributed a ton of open source to the world and they’re both built on ads. Amazon and Apple on the other hand do far less open sourcing and their businesses don’t rely on ads. Not saying there’s causation, but does make you wonder why that’s the case.

collectively 9y ago
I mean, software companies will spin ads any way they can to get engineers interested. That’s their prerogative. It doesn’t mean any of it is true—the world is 100% worse off due to ads, and no amount of smooth scrolling animations is going to change that.
- golergka 9y ago
  > the world is 100% worse off due to ads Do you have the source for that? Personally, most of the modern targeted ads I notice are a net gain for my life. Do you have a different experience?
username223 9y ago
It's sort of like the Manhattan Project writ small. Back then we roasted a few hundred thousand Japanese people, and we may still extinguish life on our planet, but we ended up with some pretty sweet tech. Now we're cynically monitoring and manipulating billions of people, but we may end up with easier ways to create complicated web pages.
- fizwhiz 9y ago
  > Back then we roasted a few hundred thousand Japanese people Unbelievable. Flagged.
  - rollinDyno 9y ago
    Why is this comment being downvoted? Can't anyone else see the poor taste in words? I'm not sure it deserves to be flagged but definitely worth calling out.
    - Fnoord 9y ago
      Yes, it is poor taste, unnecessarily insulting, and assumes 'we' == 'US'. "Worth calling out"? Nope. That puts unnecessary emphasis on it, and creates unnecessary discussion. Either the comment should be upvoted or downvoted. Readers are mature enough to decide that. I tend to downvote any complaints or discussion about moderation (including this one by myself if I could) because it is boring/offtopic read. YMMV.
      - username223 9y ago
        Not gonna downvote you. I am from the US, and am deeply ambivalent about the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It may have ended the war sooner; it definitely killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese people. Not many of the European Allies said much at the time. That's war.

by yonasb 9y ago

collectively 9y ago

I mean, software companies will spin ads any way they can to get engineers interested. That’s their prerogative. It doesn’t mean any of it is true—the world is 100% worse off due to ads, and no amount of smooth scrolling animations is going to change that.

golergka 9y ago
> the world is 100% worse off due to ads Do you have the source for that? Personally, most of the modern targeted ads I notice are a net gain for my life. Do you have a different experience?

username223 9y ago

It's sort of like the Manhattan Project writ small. Back then we roasted a few hundred thousand Japanese people, and we may still extinguish life on our planet, but we ended up with some pretty sweet tech. Now we're cynically monitoring and manipulating billions of people, but we may end up with easier ways to create complicated web pages.

fizwhiz 9y ago
> Back then we roasted a few hundred thousand Japanese people Unbelievable. Flagged.
- rollinDyno 9y ago
  Why is this comment being downvoted? Can't anyone else see the poor taste in words? I'm not sure it deserves to be flagged but definitely worth calling out.
  - Fnoord 9y ago
    Yes, it is poor taste, unnecessarily insulting, and assumes 'we' == 'US'. "Worth calling out"? Nope. That puts unnecessary emphasis on it, and creates unnecessary discussion. Either the comment should be upvoted or downvoted. Readers are mature enough to decide that. I tend to downvote any complaints or discussion about moderation (including this one by myself if I could) because it is boring/offtopic read. YMMV.
    - username223 9y ago
      Not gonna downvote you. I am from the US, and am deeply ambivalent about the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It may have ended the war sooner; it definitely killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese people. Not many of the European Allies said much at the time. That's war.