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The technical issue is "can we provide these features without weakening privacy?" The political issue is "if we can't provide these features without weakening

by shawnz 6y ago

The technical issue is "can we provide these features without weakening privacy?" The political issue is "if we can't provide these features without weakening privacy, should we still provide them?" Aren't they both important points to discuss?

nickpp 6y ago
They are, but the difference is that we can fix technical issues, or at least improve them. We can (mostly) agree about what's right and wrong and what's better or worse. Political issues on the other hand, just end up antagonizing us ever more. We argue endlessly, go on countless tangents and nobody agrees on anything because we see the very issues under different lights, experiences, values and cultures. I am tired of politics. I just want to get stuff done. Hopefully good stuff, but I’d settle for slightly better.
- shawnz 6y ago
  I think this is a terrible attitude. We can improve political issues and we do it by defending our opinions in the public sphere, which has the power to change others' opinions. If you don't work to present your ideas to the world in the best possible light then you will just allow other, weaker ideas to become more convincing in comparison, thus doing a disservice to anyone who could have been convinced otherwise. I am sorry that politics is tiring but I think that is just a reality of politics being a manifestation of natural forces. The natural world is competitive, it's competitive on the cellular level, the food chain is competitive, and human societies are competitive too. Looking the other way doesn't change the reality, it just guarantees that the opinions of others will become more significant to the world than your own. Just like how our cells compete to form the best possible body, I think we are obligated to compete with our ideas to form the best possible society.
  - mattalbie 6y ago
    People tire of politics when (they feel) the conversation becomes unconvincing, pedantic, or monotonus. That doesn't mean those people have the wrong attitude, it means the argument is not compelling.
- lwouis 6y ago
  Politics is about where we go. Tech is about how we arrive there. If you disagree on the direction we are headed, discussing different ways to arrive there seems pointless. You may agree with the status-quo politics, but other people don't. For them it's not about the tech, it's about the overall direction. For those people the important discussion to have is political. For instance, I personally am against the current direction macOS and Windows are headed. I have no problem with these kind of security measures as long as there is a button to opt out. Currently, Apple decides for everyone, and doesn't provide ways to opt out for power users. I dislike this, and I feel like discussing better cryptography, security protocols, etc, doesn't address my priorities.
- noobermin 6y ago
  People are "tired of politics" until it affects something they care about.

by shawnz 6y ago

nickpp 6y ago

They are, but the difference is that we can fix technical issues, or at least improve them. We can (mostly) agree about what's right and wrong and what's better or worse. Political issues on the other hand, just end up antagonizing us ever more. We argue endlessly, go on countless tangents and nobody agrees on anything because we see the very issues under different lights, experiences, values and cultures. I am tired of politics. I just want to get stuff done. Hopefully good stuff, but I’d settle for slightly better.

shawnz 6y ago
I think this is a terrible attitude. We can improve political issues and we do it by defending our opinions in the public sphere, which has the power to change others' opinions. If you don't work to present your ideas to the world in the best possible light then you will just allow other, weaker ideas to become more convincing in comparison, thus doing a disservice to anyone who could have been convinced otherwise. I am sorry that politics is tiring but I think that is just a reality of politics being a manifestation of natural forces. The natural world is competitive, it's competitive on the cellular level, the food chain is competitive, and human societies are competitive too. Looking the other way doesn't change the reality, it just guarantees that the opinions of others will become more significant to the world than your own. Just like how our cells compete to form the best possible body, I think we are obligated to compete with our ideas to form the best possible society.
- mattalbie 6y ago
  People tire of politics when (they feel) the conversation becomes unconvincing, pedantic, or monotonus. That doesn't mean those people have the wrong attitude, it means the argument is not compelling.
lwouis 6y ago
Politics is about where we go. Tech is about how we arrive there. If you disagree on the direction we are headed, discussing different ways to arrive there seems pointless. You may agree with the status-quo politics, but other people don't. For them it's not about the tech, it's about the overall direction. For those people the important discussion to have is political. For instance, I personally am against the current direction macOS and Windows are headed. I have no problem with these kind of security measures as long as there is a button to opt out. Currently, Apple decides for everyone, and doesn't provide ways to opt out for power users. I dislike this, and I feel like discussing better cryptography, security protocols, etc, doesn't address my priorities.
noobermin 6y ago
People are "tired of politics" until it affects something they care about.