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I'm going to sound like an elitist ahole but this all worked so much better when it was a small, self selecting group of users. But the most disenfranchising p
by _DeadFred_ 2y ago
I'm going to sound like an elitist ahole but this all worked so much better when it was a small, self selecting group of users.
But the most disenfranchising part of all this is how quickly/how willing tech people were to allow/promote/encourage awfulness and destructiveness for $$$. I had such a different view of that scene in the 90s/early 2000s. But the good news is we are self reflecting and not happy with the current status quo. Hopefully we don't settle for the 'hide in our gated community' discord model but come up with something better.
- throwiruriti 2y ago> how willing tech people I find it disgusting how "tech people" are blamed for this. It is like blaming plumbers in Pentagon for stuff in Iraq. Management takes billions, there are politicians, judges, all sorts of regulatory bodies... Everyone is happy to ignore monopoly, get rich, grab more power, and push their agenda. But we have to blame tech people!
- tmtvl 2y agoI'd say its more like blaming soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines,... for stuff in Iraq. If the plumbers in the Pentagon stopped working the war could simply roll merrily on, but if the cogs in the machine go on strike that's another story.
- _DeadFred_ 2y agoWe were told it would be different and world changing because tech people with their high ideals were liberating us from all these captured institutions. We literally know and are friends with the people that were working at all of these places. So yes, 'tech people'.
- nixpulvis 2y agoI used to think I'd be part of the solution, but I honestly don't know where to apply pressure anymore. Go into policy? Go into reporting? Wait decades to build my influence at a company like Google? It all feels untenable.
- toomuchtodo 2y agoYou have a sphere of influence which is a function of your resources (your resources being the aggregate of fiat, assets, your ability, your network, etc). Do good for those who can fit within your sphere. Attempt to grow your sphere. When you pass, you will have done what you can with what you have for those you could. That is the most we can ask of ourselves in the brief period in which we exist.
- nixpulvis 2y agoI don't want to just be an influencer. I want to put in the work actually fixing things. We don't have a shortage of outrage and opinion, we have a lack of productive outlets for these feelings.
- toomuchtodo 2y agoApologies, by influence I meant action or what you can control, things you can do (not social influencer or simply words). Helpful feedback, appreciate it. "Take action people around you need."
- nixpulvis 2y agoI get that, but I'm looking for more tangible advice. No offense; what you're saying is generally good advice.
- hackable_sand 2y agoYou could make a large dinner for your friends.
- Clubber 2y agoI would suggest writing a FOSS solution to a proprietary software system. FOSS is the great equalizer. It's hard to compete with free. EDIT: For concrete examples, see what the author complained about, there are some good pain points to attack.
- dogline 2y agoIsn't this is same lament as "Eternal September" when AOL joined Usenet? Not saying that you're wrong, but I'm not sure how to leverage this fact for an improvement. Hacker News is good because it's also a "self selecting group", and it won't be pretty if that ever changes.
- ericmcer 2y agoEngineers have lost almost all our leverage. Even if you are a top 20% engineer (which would make you very talented by 1990s standards) you have limited employment opportunities. The education system completely revamped itself and has been cranking out CS grads. Engineers are no longer calling the shots, big corps have the situation under their thumb again.