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This submission contains useful and relevant information about VR. It fully complies with the submission guidelines on HN. If we choose to blacklist certain aut

This submission contains useful and relevant information about VR. It fully complies with the submission guidelines on HN. If we choose to blacklist certain authors simply because of their political affiliations, then we are no better than any number of dreadful totalitarians. I do not agree with Luckey's political views - indeed, I am vehemently opposed to them - but they are in no way relevant to his opinions on VR technology. To argue otherwise is tantamount to Lysenkoism. One of the great strengths of the hacker movement has been our exceptional commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. We don't care what you do in your private life as long as you make a useful contribution to our community. It would be a tragedy if that vital strength was sacrificed in the name of ideological purity. You might believe that Luckey's views make him dangerous, you might even be right, but he would only become more dangerous if he is marginalised by the hacker community and is forced to find other allies. Evangelical Christians at least maintain the pretence of "loving the sinner while hating the sin". We should show a degree of civility to those who hold political opinions that we find unpalatable; we may one day rely upon that civility ourselves.

jki275 8y ago
Well said, I wish more people took this view.
archagon 8y ago
I struggle with this a lot. I think I would agree with you if he was some random schmo, but he’s a millionaire with heaps of power and influence. As such, I don’t want to give him even an iota of extra renown. He’s had many chances to use his gifts wisely, and he wasted them on trolling, white supremacy, and reactionary politics. And for the record, he’s already found plenty of “other” allies as linked elsewhere in this subthread. I can’t stop Luckey because I am some random schmo, but I can at least help drain his power in some infinitesimal way.

jki275 8y ago

Well said, I wish more people took this view.

archagon 8y ago

I struggle with this a lot. I think I would agree with you if he was some random schmo, but he’s a millionaire with heaps of power and influence. As such, I don’t want to give him even an iota of extra renown. He’s had many chances to use his gifts wisely, and he wasted them on trolling, white supremacy, and reactionary politics. And for the record, he’s already found plenty of “other” allies as linked elsewhere in this subthread. I can’t stop Luckey because I am some random schmo, but I can at least help drain his power in some infinitesimal way.