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There's a lot in this article that raises red flags for me, but more about the journalism then the subject. There's an element of sensationalism implying that

by iaw 9y ago

There's a lot in this article that raises red flags for me, but more about the journalism then the subject. There's an element of sensationalism implying that this is a 'side' of Silicon Valley without offering evidence of prevalence. > ... Founder X told me. The things here on the record are by those who aren't involved, those who are involved speaking on the record do so anonymously. It really seems less that this is a 'side' of Silicon Valley but more that there is a small number of people engaged in the activity. Further drawing into question the author's credibility... >Managing directors at top-tier investment banks may pocket a million a year and be worth tens of millions after a long career. Principals at mid-tier firms can make a couple million per year. A million dollar quarterly bonus for a fund manager isn't absurd. Henry Paulson took the Treasury Secretary job because it gave him a tax-free sale of his $500M worth of equities after being a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Those at VC funds may have more influence socially because they hold purse strings, but banking is the 'traditional' way to make too much money. I'm really having a hard time not thinking that the entire article is exaggerated.

soundwave106 9y ago
That's my thought too. From my perspective, there seems to be some weird intermixing between various alternative cultures in this article. Some parts of the article reminded me of swinger culture. Some parts of the article reminded me more of MDMA oriented cultures. Burns and bondage clubs are briefly mentioned. Although there is some interplay between all these cultures, these cultures are in many other ways very separate from each other. MDMA, for instance, or other hallucinogenic / empathetic drugs really isn't found that much in a lot of swinger culture (or, for that matter, the majority of BDSM culture). All of the above alternative cultures tend to heavily emphasize consent, but they are also very frequently misinterpreted from the outside. If people are being forced and coerced into these types of parties by VC types as this article implies, that would be a bad thing indeed. But it also would very much be against the spirit of these cultures. From my perspective, the author seems to be combining several entirely different subcultures together here with an overfocus on the lurid, so I personally don't have a lot of confidence in the accuracy of this article.
owens99 9y ago
It's not a side for Silicon Valley. It's a side for Silicon Valley's most powerful and influential people. That does mean something.
- iaw 9y ago
  >It's a side for Silicon Valley's most powerful and influential people What I am trying to say is that I see the author making an allegation but they don't do a very good job of justifying. If a small percentage of all people engage in alternative lifestyle cultures then it's not surprising if a small percentage of powerful and influential people in Silicon Valley also engage. What the author alleges is that the behavior is cultural which would put women who didn't participate at a disadvantage, neither of these assertions are backed up with a reasonable journalistic standard in the article. Not being a member of that community I make no assertions about the veracity of the authors claims, my point is that the author is lobbing some pretty big allegations that they didn't back up well in this article.

by iaw 9y ago

soundwave106 9y ago

That's my thought too. From my perspective, there seems to be some weird intermixing between various alternative cultures in this article. Some parts of the article reminded me of swinger culture. Some parts of the article reminded me more of MDMA oriented cultures. Burns and bondage clubs are briefly mentioned. Although there is some interplay between all these cultures, these cultures are in many other ways very separate from each other. MDMA, for instance, or other hallucinogenic / empathetic drugs really isn't found that much in a lot of swinger culture (or, for that matter, the majority of BDSM culture). All of the above alternative cultures tend to heavily emphasize consent, but they are also very frequently misinterpreted from the outside. If people are being forced and coerced into these types of parties by VC types as this article implies, that would be a bad thing indeed. But it also would very much be against the spirit of these cultures. From my perspective, the author seems to be combining several entirely different subcultures together here with an overfocus on the lurid, so I personally don't have a lot of confidence in the accuracy of this article.

owens99 9y ago

It's not a side for Silicon Valley. It's a side for Silicon Valley's most powerful and influential people. That does mean something.

iaw 9y ago
>It's a side for Silicon Valley's most powerful and influential people What I am trying to say is that I see the author making an allegation but they don't do a very good job of justifying. If a small percentage of all people engage in alternative lifestyle cultures then it's not surprising if a small percentage of powerful and influential people in Silicon Valley also engage. What the author alleges is that the behavior is cultural which would put women who didn't participate at a disadvantage, neither of these assertions are backed up with a reasonable journalistic standard in the article. Not being a member of that community I make no assertions about the veracity of the authors claims, my point is that the author is lobbing some pretty big allegations that they didn't back up well in this article.