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Stories like this make me sad and depressed. Basically some greedy jerk didn't want to pay living wages to some programmers. Due to his position of already be

Stories like this make me sad and depressed. Basically some greedy jerk didn't want to pay living wages to some programmers. Due to his position of already being rather well off he was able to put off (through even more cheap labor) until he found a naive sucker to do the work basically for free. In this case a college kid. Its the reason I really want to get out of tech. Its a goldmine for spineless knowledge workers to get "put over the barrel" as the story says for a fraction of what they are worth. Then those of us that know what we are worth have to navigate I don't see a heroic story here. I see someone that took off their armor and walked into battle to be slaughtered.

ggarnhart 5y ago
This is an interesting take — I don't disagree that these sorts of things happen, but in this case, the author clearly felt his work was paid for fairly. I think one's own perspective is a pretty key regulator of what's fair and what's not. Perhaps not in the macro level, but on a case by case basis. Is the author's point of view incorrect in your eyes? Who else should be able to decide that, other than the person who experienced it?
- citizenpaul 5y ago
  The very story tells upfront that he only needs money to pay college living expenses. This kid was almost certainly taken advantage of and used as a "weapon" against whatever company was making this software. The company that made the software obviously felt that whatever they charged was the correct price for them to afford to live and continue doing business and pay their employees. This was more money than what this guy charged him, though its not stated exactly how much(that by the way is a clue). Also that they guy didn't offer him money but made him "choose" his price because he knows a young college kid is going to choose some random round number $100,$1000 ect. Which is less than a company needs to stay in business. I've done plenty of tech business over the years and while I cannot prove it I know from experience this kid screwed over this company that was almost certainly getting nickle-and-dime'd by this man from the story. The writer says he was exactly stereotypical of a car sales guy, would you trust a car salesman?. They probably already did work he never paid for(again knowledge from past experiences). This guys description fits that behavior to a "T"
hnbad 5y ago
I'll let you in on a secret: understanding what you understand there, go back and take a look at hacker culture fan favorites like _Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution_. All the stories are like this. Either adults taking advantage of some naïve rich kids who don't understand what money is worth, or the same rich kids using their status-induced naïveté to get away with computer fraud without consequences. A lot of the "wholesome" tall tales of those rich white kids would have ended very differently for poor Black "youths" but we don't talk about that here. And it's the same for most "success" stories you hear about where the punchline isn't simply another "rags to FAANG employee" non-miracle: all the billionaire wonderboys already started out wealthy and with access to the right social circles. Even the ones that will tell you they came from poverty. We need to kill our heroes (figuratively speaking) and realize that programming is just a job like any other. Collectivize and develop solidarity with your peers, don't chase dreams of becoming the next tech billionaire (unless you're already in the right spot, in which case, just don't be as much of a jerk as the last guy, okay?). It's okay to love what you do but that doesn't mean it's okay for you to be exploited, even if you personally are doing well enough not to have to care about the exact size of your paycheck.
- citizenpaul 5y ago
  >wholesome" tall tales of those rich white kids would have ended very differently for poor Black "youths" That was pretty much my point. This kid undermined someones livelihood by doing what he did. The only reason he was able to do that was coming from a place of privilege and depressing naivety. He was weaponized in a battle of these two companies for a pittance.

ggarnhart 5y ago

This is an interesting take — I don't disagree that these sorts of things happen, but in this case, the author clearly felt his work was paid for fairly. I think one's own perspective is a pretty key regulator of what's fair and what's not. Perhaps not in the macro level, but on a case by case basis. Is the author's point of view incorrect in your eyes? Who else should be able to decide that, other than the person who experienced it?

citizenpaul 5y ago
The very story tells upfront that he only needs money to pay college living expenses. This kid was almost certainly taken advantage of and used as a "weapon" against whatever company was making this software. The company that made the software obviously felt that whatever they charged was the correct price for them to afford to live and continue doing business and pay their employees. This was more money than what this guy charged him, though its not stated exactly how much(that by the way is a clue). Also that they guy didn't offer him money but made him "choose" his price because he knows a young college kid is going to choose some random round number $100,$1000 ect. Which is less than a company needs to stay in business. I've done plenty of tech business over the years and while I cannot prove it I know from experience this kid screwed over this company that was almost certainly getting nickle-and-dime'd by this man from the story. The writer says he was exactly stereotypical of a car sales guy, would you trust a car salesman?. They probably already did work he never paid for(again knowledge from past experiences). This guys description fits that behavior to a "T"

hnbad 5y ago

I'll let you in on a secret: understanding what you understand there, go back and take a look at hacker culture fan favorites like _Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution_. All the stories are like this. Either adults taking advantage of some naïve rich kids who don't understand what money is worth, or the same rich kids using their status-induced naïveté to get away with computer fraud without consequences. A lot of the "wholesome" tall tales of those rich white kids would have ended very differently for poor Black "youths" but we don't talk about that here. And it's the same for most "success" stories you hear about where the punchline isn't simply another "rags to FAANG employee" non-miracle: all the billionaire wonderboys already started out wealthy and with access to the right social circles. Even the ones that will tell you they came from poverty. We need to kill our heroes (figuratively speaking) and realize that programming is just a job like any other. Collectivize and develop solidarity with your peers, don't chase dreams of becoming the next tech billionaire (unless you're already in the right spot, in which case, just don't be as much of a jerk as the last guy, okay?). It's okay to love what you do but that doesn't mean it's okay for you to be exploited, even if you personally are doing well enough not to have to care about the exact size of your paycheck.

citizenpaul 5y ago
>wholesome" tall tales of those rich white kids would have ended very differently for poor Black "youths" That was pretty much my point. This kid undermined someones livelihood by doing what he did. The only reason he was able to do that was coming from a place of privilege and depressing naivety. He was weaponized in a battle of these two companies for a pittance.