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A lot of issues have already been discussed, but one I haven't seen is the constant reminder that people and the Internet are terrible. Ignoring people that cen

A lot of issues have already been discussed, but one I haven't seen is the constant reminder that people and the Internet are terrible. Ignoring people that censor beheadings on YouTube and the Dark Web, I am very vividly aware of things Goatse, Blue Waffle, 1 Guy 1 Jar, Ogrish, early 4chan's \b\ and those mental images are very much burned into my brain. Maybe its not every aspect in the tech industry or maybe its changing with the next generation or maybe I just got into tech at a very impressionable age, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that was exposed to that stuff early on. I think that's a dark side. There's some generally fucked up shit out there and someone has to be aware of it to keep it far, far away.

kentm 8y ago
The tech industry idolizes and encourages terrible behavior, and it ends up being self-reinforcing. Efforts to counteract that get pushback. How many people will get upset if you suggest that Steve Jobs was not a good person and probably shouldn't be idolized? Or that Linus's email habits are not a good thing to emulate? We will tell ourselves fun stories about how people being jerks just means they are no bullshit people who care about getting things done.
- tsumnia 8y ago
  I don't entirely agree with respect to my original post and that your use of Jobs and Torvalds don't correctly align to my post. I don't think the majority of people idolize stuff that makes everyone gag or grimace in disgust. A small subset of internet trolls idolize and encourage this behavior. Tech is only associated because it also shares the loner basement dweller stereotype. There are entire organizations designed to counteract underage pornography and sex trafficking, everyone agrees this is a terrible thing. However, it still persists despite opposition and tech is heavily involved in the process. This gets back to my point that to be in tech requires an unavoidable knowledge of the cruelty of man. Someone's email habits pales in comparison.
  - kentm 8y ago
    Yeah I misread your post, sorry about that.

kentm 8y ago

The tech industry idolizes and encourages terrible behavior, and it ends up being self-reinforcing. Efforts to counteract that get pushback. How many people will get upset if you suggest that Steve Jobs was not a good person and probably shouldn't be idolized? Or that Linus's email habits are not a good thing to emulate? We will tell ourselves fun stories about how people being jerks just means they are no bullshit people who care about getting things done.

tsumnia 8y ago
I don't entirely agree with respect to my original post and that your use of Jobs and Torvalds don't correctly align to my post. I don't think the majority of people idolize stuff that makes everyone gag or grimace in disgust. A small subset of internet trolls idolize and encourage this behavior. Tech is only associated because it also shares the loner basement dweller stereotype. There are entire organizations designed to counteract underage pornography and sex trafficking, everyone agrees this is a terrible thing. However, it still persists despite opposition and tech is heavily involved in the process. This gets back to my point that to be in tech requires an unavoidable knowledge of the cruelty of man. Someone's email habits pales in comparison.
- kentm 8y ago
  Yeah I misread your post, sorry about that.