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This is a terrible article. The author contributes nothing to the discussion other than to fawn over Musk and attack straw men through pseudo-intellectual prose

This is a terrible article. The author contributes nothing to the discussion other than to fawn over Musk and attack straw men through pseudo-intellectual prose. It also appears to have factual information wrong. The article is not worth being on HN if this is the discourse it provides.

ryandrake 4y ago
At least the author managed to grind a bunch of political axes like equity, diversity, inclusion, ESG, climate-change(!), perceived censorship, and so on. Checked all the usual culture-war checkboxes.
- jscheel 4y ago
  Yeah, I noticed that. A quick jaunt to the about section of the site explains everything I needed to know.
edflsafoiewq 4y ago
The article doesn't remotely fawn over Musk. Did you read it?
- jscheel 4y ago
  Umm, yes, I did. It's pretty easy to read between the lines. This article is pretty on-the-nose.
- xypage 4y ago
  Not overtly but they do seem to be a fan. They literally described his actions on Twitter as "pok[ing] the first hole in the digital Berlin Wall erected over the past half decade." Which makes it sound like he's made momentous steps forward but as far as I'm aware all he's actually done so far is let you pay for check marks and laid a bunch of people off (the latter of which he also tied into 18th century France, aka shortly before the French revolution).
  - edflsafoiewq 4y ago
    No they do not. > In many accounts, Musk is engaged in a war against “the cathedral” [...] Musk has now supposedly poked the first hole in the digital Berlin Wall erected over the past half decade. This is couched in the language of describing reports which are in circulation ("many accounts", "supposedly"), but without endorsing them. Indeed the author is going to present a different view. The next paragraph continues. > Yet there is another aspect of the Musk takeover that has little to do with free speech or even ideology [...] As a recession looms, Silicon Valley is shedding the non-essential workers it acquired when unlimited venture funding made turning a profit an afterthought. Musk happens to have taken the helm at Twitter just as this reality is asserting itself. The author downplays the previously presented narratives. Musk's role is minimized and the titular trend (the "Email Caste's Last Stand") is brought to the fore. > Musk paid $44 billion to acquire Twitter, and all indications are that the platform isn’t worth anything close to that. This is rather the opposite of a fawning endorsement. > So he proceeded to do what most executives would do in this situation [...] The abrupt firing of thousands of employees solicited a new wave of outrage from Musk’s haters. But even if you remove him from the equation, Twitter couldn’t have gone much longer without massive layoffs. The same thing is happening across Silicon Valley. Again the author downplays Musk's agency; his actions are an inevitable result of the current environment.
- paxys 4y ago
  Did you read it? > Musk is engaged in a war against “the cathedral”—that is, against the dominance of professionals who have sought to make the internet more restrictive > Musk has now supposedly poked the first hole in the digital Berlin Wall erected over the past half decade. > the revolt against his leadership is the last stand of a cohort of activist hangers-on > So he proceeded to do what most executives would do in this situation: He laid off some of his workers. > solicited a new wave of outrage from Musk’s haters. But even if you remove him from the equation, Twitter couldn’t have gone much longer without massive layoffs. And this is just the first three paragraphs. If you read the whole thing and came away with "this is neutral and objective" then I don't know what to say.

ryandrake 4y ago

At least the author managed to grind a bunch of political axes like equity, diversity, inclusion, ESG, climate-change(!), perceived censorship, and so on. Checked all the usual culture-war checkboxes.

jscheel 4y ago
Yeah, I noticed that. A quick jaunt to the about section of the site explains everything I needed to know.

edflsafoiewq 4y ago

The article doesn't remotely fawn over Musk. Did you read it?

jscheel 4y ago
Umm, yes, I did. It's pretty easy to read between the lines. This article is pretty on-the-nose.
xypage 4y ago
Not overtly but they do seem to be a fan. They literally described his actions on Twitter as "pok[ing] the first hole in the digital Berlin Wall erected over the past half decade." Which makes it sound like he's made momentous steps forward but as far as I'm aware all he's actually done so far is let you pay for check marks and laid a bunch of people off (the latter of which he also tied into 18th century France, aka shortly before the French revolution).
- edflsafoiewq 4y ago
  No they do not. > In many accounts, Musk is engaged in a war against “the cathedral” [...] Musk has now supposedly poked the first hole in the digital Berlin Wall erected over the past half decade. This is couched in the language of describing reports which are in circulation ("many accounts", "supposedly"), but without endorsing them. Indeed the author is going to present a different view. The next paragraph continues. > Yet there is another aspect of the Musk takeover that has little to do with free speech or even ideology [...] As a recession looms, Silicon Valley is shedding the non-essential workers it acquired when unlimited venture funding made turning a profit an afterthought. Musk happens to have taken the helm at Twitter just as this reality is asserting itself. The author downplays the previously presented narratives. Musk's role is minimized and the titular trend (the "Email Caste's Last Stand") is brought to the fore. > Musk paid $44 billion to acquire Twitter, and all indications are that the platform isn’t worth anything close to that. This is rather the opposite of a fawning endorsement. > So he proceeded to do what most executives would do in this situation [...] The abrupt firing of thousands of employees solicited a new wave of outrage from Musk’s haters. But even if you remove him from the equation, Twitter couldn’t have gone much longer without massive layoffs. The same thing is happening across Silicon Valley. Again the author downplays Musk's agency; his actions are an inevitable result of the current environment.
paxys 4y ago
Did you read it? > Musk is engaged in a war against “the cathedral”—that is, against the dominance of professionals who have sought to make the internet more restrictive > Musk has now supposedly poked the first hole in the digital Berlin Wall erected over the past half decade. > the revolt against his leadership is the last stand of a cohort of activist hangers-on > So he proceeded to do what most executives would do in this situation: He laid off some of his workers. > solicited a new wave of outrage from Musk’s haters. But even if you remove him from the equation, Twitter couldn’t have gone much longer without massive layoffs. And this is just the first three paragraphs. If you read the whole thing and came away with "this is neutral and objective" then I don't know what to say.