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In a recent HN thread [0] someone's account was literally guilty by association with no recourse. That process is a black box. Maybe they could blacklist an IP

In a recent HN thread [0] someone's account was literally guilty by association with no recourse. That process is a black box. Maybe they could blacklist an IP range. Who knows. Let's say we're note-gathering at a conference about metadata formats for international science collaboration. Often we get remote participants who want to join the conversation, and selection bias says that they especially come from developing countries and can't afford to travel. Those constituencies may have vital information which will help to guide a standardization process for shared metadata. If they are blocked, for whatever reason, they may be unable to contribute to the conversation. Maybe their missing voice means that metadata systems add another piece of systematic bias against them and further excludes them. I don't know of any specific examples where this has happened, but the underpinnings are all true. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19124324 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19124324

skybrian 8y ago
The part I question is treating blocked/not blocked as a binary thing. There are often workarounds. Some are easier than others. Some people are more capable than others. On the one hand we have people who need lots of hand-holding to use computers at all, and on the other hand there are very capable hackers for whom getting one account blocked by Google is a minor speed bump. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle in terms of resourcefulness. There are many other barriers to getting online, including cost, connectivity, language, and cultural barriers. We're clearly not in a state of equal access. I doubt remaining in Google's good graces is all that big a contribution?
- afandian 8y ago
  Yeah, at this point pragmatism meets principle. All of the above is true, but given a choice, why choose a platform where you even might have to 'work round it'? Etherpad might look more scary, but it's designed specifically to promote inclusion and liberating data. The thing that I find inspirational about the Wikimedia example is that they embody principles of inclusivity in their tech choices.

skybrian 8y ago

The part I question is treating blocked/not blocked as a binary thing. There are often workarounds. Some are easier than others. Some people are more capable than others. On the one hand we have people who need lots of hand-holding to use computers at all, and on the other hand there are very capable hackers for whom getting one account blocked by Google is a minor speed bump. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle in terms of resourcefulness. There are many other barriers to getting online, including cost, connectivity, language, and cultural barriers. We're clearly not in a state of equal access. I doubt remaining in Google's good graces is all that big a contribution?

afandian 8y ago
Yeah, at this point pragmatism meets principle. All of the above is true, but given a choice, why choose a platform where you even might have to 'work round it'? Etherpad might look more scary, but it's designed specifically to promote inclusion and liberating data. The thing that I find inspirational about the Wikimedia example is that they embody principles of inclusivity in their tech choices.