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Hacker News as a whole has essentially never been pro free software or freedom. It's a forum for the discussion of profitable endeavour first and foremost. Mac

by throwaway22032 4y ago

Hacker News as a whole has essentially never been pro free software or freedom. It's a forum for the discussion of profitable endeavour first and foremost. Mac discussion is as common as Linux. There's a pervasive bias against cryptocurrency, not only the scams but the basic principle of freedom from regulation. "Intellectual property" isn't a joke here, it's generally respected. I could go on, but my main point is that this is predominantly a capitalist forum, not an anarchist one. Principles take a back seat to pragmatism here, the FSF is the opposite of that.

dale_glass 4y ago
Point taken, but still it's adjacent enough that I think something or other should percolate here. And there should be some measure of shared interest all the same. Eg, the Linux kernel is under the GPL and I don't see anybody really complaining about that. Pragmatism tells me that even if the philosophy isn't to your liking, the code works and you can often make use of it anyway.
- throwaway22032 4y ago
  Sure, Linux and BSD tools are used by people all of the time here, in the same way that like, a meat eater eats broccoli, but that doesn't make them vegetarian. It just doesn't stop where it would need to for people to be aligned with the FSF. People here, in the majority, whack on "ALLOW_UNFREE_PACKAGES" and just get on with it. Or install unfree OSes, or use unfree hardware. It's just not a focus at all.
hammyhavoc 4y ago
"pervasive bias"? Prior to the bubble popping, crypto was hot on HN, and people aggressively attacked anybody with anything negative to say about crypto as so many people were either HODLing or running something within the space.
- throwaway22032 4y ago
  You are describing exactly the same phenomenon as I. On here, it's all about the money, the exchanges, Gox, FTX, companies that scam, badcoins that scam, whatever the latest "crash" is, and not about the freedom to transact, which does not fluctuate with a chart line or the successes of a corporation.
- vinceguidry 4y ago
  I never remember crypto being hot on HN. People talked about it, sure, but there was as many people calling it a scam as there has been folks pumping it up. AI is treated better here than crypto ever was.
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    I actually stopped visiting HN for a time because of the hyping of crypto. There's a good chance that comments or posts got deleted over time, but I see most things as they happen because I'm terminally online.

dale_glass 4y ago

Point taken, but still it's adjacent enough that I think something or other should percolate here. And there should be some measure of shared interest all the same. Eg, the Linux kernel is under the GPL and I don't see anybody really complaining about that. Pragmatism tells me that even if the philosophy isn't to your liking, the code works and you can often make use of it anyway.

throwaway22032 4y ago
Sure, Linux and BSD tools are used by people all of the time here, in the same way that like, a meat eater eats broccoli, but that doesn't make them vegetarian. It just doesn't stop where it would need to for people to be aligned with the FSF. People here, in the majority, whack on "ALLOW_UNFREE_PACKAGES" and just get on with it. Or install unfree OSes, or use unfree hardware. It's just not a focus at all.

hammyhavoc 4y ago

"pervasive bias"? Prior to the bubble popping, crypto was hot on HN, and people aggressively attacked anybody with anything negative to say about crypto as so many people were either HODLing or running something within the space.

throwaway22032 4y ago
You are describing exactly the same phenomenon as I. On here, it's all about the money, the exchanges, Gox, FTX, companies that scam, badcoins that scam, whatever the latest "crash" is, and not about the freedom to transact, which does not fluctuate with a chart line or the successes of a corporation.
vinceguidry 4y ago
I never remember crypto being hot on HN. People talked about it, sure, but there was as many people calling it a scam as there has been folks pumping it up. AI is treated better here than crypto ever was.
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  I actually stopped visiting HN for a time because of the hyping of crypto. There's a good chance that comments or posts got deleted over time, but I see most things as they happen because I'm terminally online.