4 ms·

Could we avoid politics on the tech scene? I think we're all better than that, and we know the tech scene thrives through collaboration, not isolationism.

dailykoder 2y ago
No, because politics are essential. Yes, they are annoying. Yes, they are difficult at time, but they are important.
arkadiytehgraet 2y ago
Tech is partially, some would say even mostly, responsible for the current political atmosphere and climate, so no, neither we are any better than this, nor should it be avoided.
coffeeaddict1 2y ago
> Could we avoid politics on the tech scene? In the situation we are in currently? It's almost impossible unfortunately due to our political leaders.
wk_end 2y ago
Could you tell that to Peter Thiel or Elon Musk, please?
inductive_magic 2y ago
Startup CEO from Europe here. How am I supposed to turn a blind eye to the risk that the dependency from the US has become lately?
- nc 2y ago
  How is US dependency a risk?
  - inductive_magic 2y ago
    How are you not aware that the US painted "we are no longer a reliable partner" all above the sky?
    - kreetx 2y ago
      If your startup is selling to US government, sure, but otherwise I don't think there is much unreliability in selling SaaS, courses, or whatever gadget to US residents?
      - surgical_fire 2y ago
        [flagged]
        apwell23 2y ago
        > Were you in a coma until a couple of hours ago and just read this thread without any prior context? lol whats with you and personal insults. maybe step away from the screen, take a breather, drink some tea or something.
        surgical_fire 2y ago
        [flagged]
        apwell23 2y ago
        too mental to see who you are responding to ? maybe worry about your own health first.
        AlecSchueler 2y ago
        I agree there's no need for personal insults here, it's not nice to see especially on HN where one comes to expect better, but I think you can understand the place of exasperation it was coming from. The American government has become vociferously hostile in a very pronounced way recently and for the people on the receiving end of the hostility it feels like an attack in itself to hear "what's the problem, why are you worried?"
  - n4r9 2y ago
    From a UK perspective (and I'm not a CEO or anything) it looks pretty volatile over there. Tariffs, radical changes to government funding, widespread corporate overhauls... . Predictability is surely desirable when considering dependencies.
  - torlok 2y ago
    Tariffs, threatening the sovereignty of its neighbours, etc.
  - xxs 2y ago
    We will get Greenland one way or another. That's a horrid statement if you are Danish (and worse if you live on that island). Realistically it's a horrid statement, anyways.
  - jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
    If you depend on the US for defense, and the USA says that the victim should just surrender, there's a risk the same might happen to you. It's quite black and white in this case.
philipwhiuk 2y ago
Is avoiding politics what Zuckerberg did when he rolled back fact-checking? Since when has the hypercapitalist Silicon Valley ever avoided politics?
masa331 2y ago
Buying from local vendors doesn't have to do anything with politics. From groceries to software it makes perfect sense to me to buying locally. The money i spend in my town or country will have much bigger effect here again than when i spend it in a different country or even a continent
netsharc 2y ago
I remember hearing a talk of a tech guy who say why do techies like to talk about politics so much, and he said it's because tech-inclined people can see what the technology can do, and how it can be abused, and some want to warn the rest of the public. Imagine if East Germany's state security service have the surveillance tech of China. Aha oops, I guess you don't need to imagine, you just have to look at China.
gizzlon 2y ago
Only up to a point. At some point "politics" becomes real and life changing, and ignoring it just becomes naive and spineless.
thegrim33 2y ago
It's up to us, the users, to flag the political content. It seems like we're losing the battle, there's more and more political stuff allowed on the front page every month. As it keeps increasing, people like me will give up on the site and go elsewhere, and then there's fewer users flagging political stuff, and it takes over. Either we nip it in the bud now or it's all downhill from here.
- zo1 2y ago
  As much as I agree that this forum shouldn't turn political, it's hard to ignore the metaphorical war that is happening on the internet at the moment. It's a revolutionary war for people to take back the narrative that's been imposed on them by the (what I would argue) trans-national, powerful and unelected monarchs.
- AlecSchueler 2y ago
  There's often a cross-over between tech and politics, though. As more and more important tech news (DOGE in server rooms, the government crypto scams, even this list of European tech alternatives etc.) gets flagged here then people like myself will give up on the site and go elsewhere.
Etheryte 2y ago
All software is inherently political, whether it's possible to ignore this fact or not is up for debate and your personal situation. Much like a gun, if you look at it in complete isolation from everything else in existence, you might be able to make the case that it's just an object with no meaning attached. But just like guns, software does not live in isolation. In the same way that producing guns, access to guns, buying and selling guns, etc is deeply political, so is software. Pretending that it isn't is only hiding your head under the sand in the hopes that the world won't come knocking. We need to accept this fact as an industry and take responsibility for our work. Whether it's tracking people online, facial recognition at protests, aggregate cellular data used to deanonymize or etc, all of this software was built by people and claiming it's just a tool with no harm no foul is trying to shed responsibility we should bear.
fergie 2y ago
"Not talking about politics" is one of the most profoundly political things you can do.
surgical_fire 2y ago
Is it avoidable? Tech is directly affected by policy. Hell, any mention of OSS is eminently political by definition. The imminent trade wars that the current US administration is set to start will dramatically affect the tech sector. Discussion of region-based alternatives are not only relevant, but important in the current moment.
AlecSchueler 2y ago
> Could we avoid politics on the tech scene? We can't avoid politics in any sphere of life, that's what makes it so important. > I think we're all better than that, and we know the tech scene thrives through collaboration, not isolationism. And there you go, it doesn't matter what we know because the US government is going over our heads and taking isolationist measures. Even when we're "better than that" the reality is that our lives are shaped by the world around us as much as by our own initiatives.
jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
"avoiding politics" favours the most aggressively dishonest party.

dailykoder 2y ago

No, because politics are essential. Yes, they are annoying. Yes, they are difficult at time, but they are important.

arkadiytehgraet 2y ago

Tech is partially, some would say even mostly, responsible for the current political atmosphere and climate, so no, neither we are any better than this, nor should it be avoided.

coffeeaddict1 2y ago

> Could we avoid politics on the tech scene? In the situation we are in currently? It's almost impossible unfortunately due to our political leaders.

wk_end 2y ago

Could you tell that to Peter Thiel or Elon Musk, please?

inductive_magic 2y ago

Startup CEO from Europe here. How am I supposed to turn a blind eye to the risk that the dependency from the US has become lately?

nc 2y ago
How is US dependency a risk?
- inductive_magic 2y ago
  How are you not aware that the US painted "we are no longer a reliable partner" all above the sky?
  - kreetx 2y ago
    If your startup is selling to US government, sure, but otherwise I don't think there is much unreliability in selling SaaS, courses, or whatever gadget to US residents?
    - surgical_fire 2y ago
      [flagged]
      - apwell23 2y ago
        > Were you in a coma until a couple of hours ago and just read this thread without any prior context? lol whats with you and personal insults. maybe step away from the screen, take a breather, drink some tea or something.
        surgical_fire 2y ago
        [flagged]
        apwell23 2y ago
        too mental to see who you are responding to ? maybe worry about your own health first.
        AlecSchueler 2y ago
        I agree there's no need for personal insults here, it's not nice to see especially on HN where one comes to expect better, but I think you can understand the place of exasperation it was coming from. The American government has become vociferously hostile in a very pronounced way recently and for the people on the receiving end of the hostility it feels like an attack in itself to hear "what's the problem, why are you worried?"
- n4r9 2y ago
  From a UK perspective (and I'm not a CEO or anything) it looks pretty volatile over there. Tariffs, radical changes to government funding, widespread corporate overhauls... . Predictability is surely desirable when considering dependencies.
- torlok 2y ago
  Tariffs, threatening the sovereignty of its neighbours, etc.
- xxs 2y ago
  We will get Greenland one way or another. That's a horrid statement if you are Danish (and worse if you live on that island). Realistically it's a horrid statement, anyways.
- jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
  If you depend on the US for defense, and the USA says that the victim should just surrender, there's a risk the same might happen to you. It's quite black and white in this case.

philipwhiuk 2y ago

Is avoiding politics what Zuckerberg did when he rolled back fact-checking? Since when has the hypercapitalist Silicon Valley ever avoided politics?

masa331 2y ago

Buying from local vendors doesn't have to do anything with politics. From groceries to software it makes perfect sense to me to buying locally. The money i spend in my town or country will have much bigger effect here again than when i spend it in a different country or even a continent

netsharc 2y ago

I remember hearing a talk of a tech guy who say why do techies like to talk about politics so much, and he said it's because tech-inclined people can see what the technology can do, and how it can be abused, and some want to warn the rest of the public. Imagine if East Germany's state security service have the surveillance tech of China. Aha oops, I guess you don't need to imagine, you just have to look at China.

gizzlon 2y ago

Only up to a point. At some point "politics" becomes real and life changing, and ignoring it just becomes naive and spineless.

thegrim33 2y ago

It's up to us, the users, to flag the political content. It seems like we're losing the battle, there's more and more political stuff allowed on the front page every month. As it keeps increasing, people like me will give up on the site and go elsewhere, and then there's fewer users flagging political stuff, and it takes over. Either we nip it in the bud now or it's all downhill from here.

zo1 2y ago
As much as I agree that this forum shouldn't turn political, it's hard to ignore the metaphorical war that is happening on the internet at the moment. It's a revolutionary war for people to take back the narrative that's been imposed on them by the (what I would argue) trans-national, powerful and unelected monarchs.
AlecSchueler 2y ago
There's often a cross-over between tech and politics, though. As more and more important tech news (DOGE in server rooms, the government crypto scams, even this list of European tech alternatives etc.) gets flagged here then people like myself will give up on the site and go elsewhere.

Etheryte 2y ago

All software is inherently political, whether it's possible to ignore this fact or not is up for debate and your personal situation. Much like a gun, if you look at it in complete isolation from everything else in existence, you might be able to make the case that it's just an object with no meaning attached. But just like guns, software does not live in isolation. In the same way that producing guns, access to guns, buying and selling guns, etc is deeply political, so is software. Pretending that it isn't is only hiding your head under the sand in the hopes that the world won't come knocking. We need to accept this fact as an industry and take responsibility for our work. Whether it's tracking people online, facial recognition at protests, aggregate cellular data used to deanonymize or etc, all of this software was built by people and claiming it's just a tool with no harm no foul is trying to shed responsibility we should bear.

fergie 2y ago

"Not talking about politics" is one of the most profoundly political things you can do.

surgical_fire 2y ago

Is it avoidable? Tech is directly affected by policy. Hell, any mention of OSS is eminently political by definition. The imminent trade wars that the current US administration is set to start will dramatically affect the tech sector. Discussion of region-based alternatives are not only relevant, but important in the current moment.

AlecSchueler 2y ago

> Could we avoid politics on the tech scene? We can't avoid politics in any sphere of life, that's what makes it so important. > I think we're all better than that, and we know the tech scene thrives through collaboration, not isolationism. And there you go, it doesn't matter what we know because the US government is going over our heads and taking isolationist measures. Even when we're "better than that" the reality is that our lives are shaped by the world around us as much as by our own initiatives.

jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago

"avoiding politics" favours the most aggressively dishonest party.