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Several articles on the blog — https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=gabrielsieben.tech https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=gabrielsieben.tech — have been c

by clnq 3y ago

Several articles on the blog — https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=gabrielsieben.tech https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=gabrielsieben.tech — have been criticized for their quality. I must express my skepticism about this one as well. The article appears sensationalist, with numerous strong statements accompanied by qualifiers, such as "potentially illegally misleading" and "Ponzi scheme if the anecdotes are true." These claims, which rely heavily on anecdotes and hunches, lack factual substance. Some just seem wrong. For instance, the author incorrectly associates low liquidity of notes with fraud, when some financial instruments are simply less liquid. Furthermore, there seems to be a personal bias against Purism, as the investment returns are criticized, even though they are unrelated to the primary topic of questionable legality. The use of emotional language, such as "shady," "sketchy," and "icky," adds no factual value. Considering the blog's history on HN, my skepticism is heightened. While I'm open to the possibility of Purism's investment solicitation being suspicious — perhaps such a case can be made, I expect an investigative piece to provide more facts and less speculation. It would have been appreciated in this case.

gjsman-1000 3y ago
Hello, author here. I accept that, and will try to write better in the future. However, I also subscribe to the philosophy that if nobody talks, who will? And so if I have questions, I would rather raise them and be 25% wrong, than leave them undiscussed until they potentially hurt someone. At a minimum, everything gets clarified, I might look like an idiot, but there's still a clarity there that there wasn't previously. Though, as I will admit, my verbiage could be improved and I haven't resorted to having ChatGPT clean up my articles for me yet. > I expect an investigative piece to provide more facts and less speculation I can only speculate in the hopes that maybe someone, somewhere, will do a serious investigation. If you can, please do. Everything has to start somewhere though and it hurts to be first.
- newaccount74 3y ago
  I think your writing style is totally fine. If something feels icky and sounds like a fraud, it's fine to call it out, and use whatever words you want to do so.
  - clnq 3y ago
    I don’t want my criticism to be misinterpreted. The issue with the article is that it is lacking in factual substance compared to strong condemning language and speculation. This makes it seem less credible. The choice of language in an isolated sense is fine. Unique writing styles can be more interesting to read, overall.
  - fsckboy 3y ago
    > sounds like a fraud it doesn't sound like a fraud, unless you or OP have expertise or information that you're not sharing? Fraud is a crime, you should have a basis for declaring it. it might be a poor investment, it could be seen as signs of a shaky company, but accusing a people of fraud should have a basis. disclaimer: i have no relationship to this company whatsoever, including I'm not a customer. i just don't like seeing facially ill-informed piling on
    - newaccount74 3y ago
      > you should have a basis for declaring it This is not a court where we need to prove anything, it's just a discussion about a blog post. It's perfectly fine to say something sounds like a fraud based on limited knowledge. We shouldn't trust companies by default, just because they promise things that we want. If a company makes an investment offer that sounds a bit questionable, it's fine to say it sounds like fraud, even if we don't have any concrete evidence for it. It's on the company to provide information that makes them trustworthy. If their marketing materials are contradictive, or elude important info, that's more than enough to call them out for it. Did you read the Brydge story [1]? They started selling preorders for some product as recently as January, when they already ran out of cash. Judging from the "investor email", it sounds like Purism is doing the same thing, except they aren't selling preorders anymore, but just asking for cash instead. [1]: https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/04/brydge-keyboards-out-of-business-update/ https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/04/brydge-keyboards-out-of-busin...
      - clnq 3y ago
        By that definition of fraud (asking investors for cash repeatedly to not run out before turning a profit), many unicorn-status companies are fraud. It takes a long time to become profitable and I don’t see a problem if it’s not said that the company is.
- clnq 3y ago
  I appreciate your openness to feedback and encourage you to delve deeper into the subjects of your articles moving forward. Consider alternative perspectives, and attempt to steel-man the position opposite to the one you wish to present. As you mention ChatGPT, GPT can assist in providing counterarguments, helping you see the fuller picture. Keep in mind that condemning articles can have consequences. While Librem could hurt their investors — the risk is actually inevitable in most businesses, your blog can also harm those striving towards a noble cause. Best of luck with your future articles.
  - hitekker 3y ago
    [flagged]
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

by clnq 3y ago

gjsman-1000 3y ago

Hello, author here. I accept that, and will try to write better in the future. However, I also subscribe to the philosophy that if nobody talks, who will? And so if I have questions, I would rather raise them and be 25% wrong, than leave them undiscussed until they potentially hurt someone. At a minimum, everything gets clarified, I might look like an idiot, but there's still a clarity there that there wasn't previously. Though, as I will admit, my verbiage could be improved and I haven't resorted to having ChatGPT clean up my articles for me yet. > I expect an investigative piece to provide more facts and less speculation I can only speculate in the hopes that maybe someone, somewhere, will do a serious investigation. If you can, please do. Everything has to start somewhere though and it hurts to be first.

newaccount74 3y ago
I think your writing style is totally fine. If something feels icky and sounds like a fraud, it's fine to call it out, and use whatever words you want to do so.
- clnq 3y ago
  I don’t want my criticism to be misinterpreted. The issue with the article is that it is lacking in factual substance compared to strong condemning language and speculation. This makes it seem less credible. The choice of language in an isolated sense is fine. Unique writing styles can be more interesting to read, overall.
- fsckboy 3y ago
  > sounds like a fraud it doesn't sound like a fraud, unless you or OP have expertise or information that you're not sharing? Fraud is a crime, you should have a basis for declaring it. it might be a poor investment, it could be seen as signs of a shaky company, but accusing a people of fraud should have a basis. disclaimer: i have no relationship to this company whatsoever, including I'm not a customer. i just don't like seeing facially ill-informed piling on
  - newaccount74 3y ago
    > you should have a basis for declaring it This is not a court where we need to prove anything, it's just a discussion about a blog post. It's perfectly fine to say something sounds like a fraud based on limited knowledge. We shouldn't trust companies by default, just because they promise things that we want. If a company makes an investment offer that sounds a bit questionable, it's fine to say it sounds like fraud, even if we don't have any concrete evidence for it. It's on the company to provide information that makes them trustworthy. If their marketing materials are contradictive, or elude important info, that's more than enough to call them out for it. Did you read the Brydge story [1]? They started selling preorders for some product as recently as January, when they already ran out of cash. Judging from the "investor email", it sounds like Purism is doing the same thing, except they aren't selling preorders anymore, but just asking for cash instead. [1]: https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/04/brydge-keyboards-out-of-business-update/ https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/04/brydge-keyboards-out-of-busin...
    - clnq 3y ago
      By that definition of fraud (asking investors for cash repeatedly to not run out before turning a profit), many unicorn-status companies are fraud. It takes a long time to become profitable and I don’t see a problem if it’s not said that the company is.
clnq 3y ago
I appreciate your openness to feedback and encourage you to delve deeper into the subjects of your articles moving forward. Consider alternative perspectives, and attempt to steel-man the position opposite to the one you wish to present. As you mention ChatGPT, GPT can assist in providing counterarguments, helping you see the fuller picture. Keep in mind that condemning articles can have consequences. While Librem could hurt their investors — the risk is actually inevitable in most businesses, your blog can also harm those striving towards a noble cause. Best of luck with your future articles.
- hitekker 3y ago
  [flagged]
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]