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I think Zuckerberg is a sociopath but this chat log often gets dredged up and it’s never been verified. It could be real but it could be an urban legend or an i

I think Zuckerberg is a sociopath but this chat log often gets dredged up and it’s never been verified. It could be real but it could be an urban legend or an internet echo or the reincarnation of tubgirl.

stametseater 4y ago
Short of Zuck confessing to the authenticity of those messages, what sort of verification would you even expect? If Business Insider was libeling him, why didn't he sue them for it? The quote is consistent with his behavior and attitudes since then, and with other accounts of his behavior and attitudes at the time. I don't see any reason to believe it's a fake quote. People on HN get upset when the quote is posted because it's posted so frequently, and the reason it's posted so frequently is because it continues to be relevant to and consistent with Zuckerberg's behavior and attitudes to this day.
- henriquez 4y ago
  I think it’s more disturbing that Zuckerberg named his company Meta in reference to a fictional dystopia where an antagonistic billionaire monopolist who runs a V.R. universe tries to literally control the minds of the world population both on and offline to become more powerful than world governments. Hubris is arrogance before the gods but what do you call the same before the devils? TL;DR: there is factual stuff Zuck does right in the open and is worse than a sketchy internet quote.
  - stametseater 4y ago
    > TL;DR: there is factual stuff Zuck does right in the open and is worse than a sketchy internet quote. All that shit lends credence to the veracity of the quote (which comes from Business Insider, not the amorphous "internet"). A quote which Zuckerberg has never even bothered to deny. > it could be an urban legend or an internet echo or the reincarnation of tubgirl. Please.
  - robocat 4y ago
    > named his company Meta in reference to a fictional dystopia Meta is a normal developer word - like Uber was. I personally never even knew there was a movie called Meta, although it is entirely obvious there should be at least one. Not saying Zuck wasn’t referencing the movie, but I am saying it is reasonably likely that wasn’t the reason.
    - JohnFen 4y ago
      Uber was a normal developer word?? I don't remember hearing it used in developer circles. As to meta, yes, it's a common dev word. But Facebook is using it as short for "metaverse", which Zuck has admitted to lifting from Snow Crash's dystopian world.
      - scrollaway 4y ago
        Uber is a standard German word, which was often used in English as internet/gaming slang where you’d today use something like “hyper”, eg “uber awesome” or sometimes in video games “I am uber” (= “I am the best”).
        JohnFen 4y ago
        Yes, it was used in gaming circles. I was questioning its use in dev circles.
- vkou 4y ago
  > Short of Zuck confessing to the authenticity of those messages, what sort of verification would you even expect? If Business Insider was libeling him, why didn't he sue them for it? Streisand effect?
  - stametseater 4y ago
    Or because it wasn't libel. There is no evidence that it was libel, the man quoted has never said it was libel, so why are you laboring to defend this asshole billionaire who won't even defend himself? Cease your insipid simping.
    - ToValueFunfetti 4y ago
      I don't like Zuckerberg and I think the quote is probably real. Dismissing someone as a simp is worse than ad hominem because, while an ad hominem criticizes a trait that someone actually has, anyone who disagrees with you on this issue can be labeled a simp. Get over yourself; people can disagree with you for reasons other than being blinded by irrationality.
blibble 4y ago
20 years later it still perfectly sums up facebook's business model

stametseater 4y ago

Short of Zuck confessing to the authenticity of those messages, what sort of verification would you even expect? If Business Insider was libeling him, why didn't he sue them for it? The quote is consistent with his behavior and attitudes since then, and with other accounts of his behavior and attitudes at the time. I don't see any reason to believe it's a fake quote. People on HN get upset when the quote is posted because it's posted so frequently, and the reason it's posted so frequently is because it continues to be relevant to and consistent with Zuckerberg's behavior and attitudes to this day.

henriquez 4y ago
I think it’s more disturbing that Zuckerberg named his company Meta in reference to a fictional dystopia where an antagonistic billionaire monopolist who runs a V.R. universe tries to literally control the minds of the world population both on and offline to become more powerful than world governments. Hubris is arrogance before the gods but what do you call the same before the devils? TL;DR: there is factual stuff Zuck does right in the open and is worse than a sketchy internet quote.
- stametseater 4y ago
  > TL;DR: there is factual stuff Zuck does right in the open and is worse than a sketchy internet quote. All that shit lends credence to the veracity of the quote (which comes from Business Insider, not the amorphous "internet"). A quote which Zuckerberg has never even bothered to deny. > it could be an urban legend or an internet echo or the reincarnation of tubgirl. Please.
- robocat 4y ago
  > named his company Meta in reference to a fictional dystopia Meta is a normal developer word - like Uber was. I personally never even knew there was a movie called Meta, although it is entirely obvious there should be at least one. Not saying Zuck wasn’t referencing the movie, but I am saying it is reasonably likely that wasn’t the reason.
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    Uber was a normal developer word?? I don't remember hearing it used in developer circles. As to meta, yes, it's a common dev word. But Facebook is using it as short for "metaverse", which Zuck has admitted to lifting from Snow Crash's dystopian world.
    - scrollaway 4y ago
      Uber is a standard German word, which was often used in English as internet/gaming slang where you’d today use something like “hyper”, eg “uber awesome” or sometimes in video games “I am uber” (= “I am the best”).
      - JohnFen 4y ago
        Yes, it was used in gaming circles. I was questioning its use in dev circles.
vkou 4y ago
> Short of Zuck confessing to the authenticity of those messages, what sort of verification would you even expect? If Business Insider was libeling him, why didn't he sue them for it? Streisand effect?
- stametseater 4y ago
  Or because it wasn't libel. There is no evidence that it was libel, the man quoted has never said it was libel, so why are you laboring to defend this asshole billionaire who won't even defend himself? Cease your insipid simping.
  - ToValueFunfetti 4y ago
    I don't like Zuckerberg and I think the quote is probably real. Dismissing someone as a simp is worse than ad hominem because, while an ad hominem criticizes a trait that someone actually has, anyone who disagrees with you on this issue can be labeled a simp. Get over yourself; people can disagree with you for reasons other than being blinded by irrationality.

blibble 4y ago

20 years later it still perfectly sums up facebook's business model