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Yes, Facebook is a benefit. Among other things, it gave me React which much of the modern web is built on, and React Native, PyTorch, GraphQL, Cassandra, Presto

by bko 1y ago

Yes, Facebook is a benefit. Among other things, it gave me React which much of the modern web is built on, and React Native, PyTorch, GraphQL, Cassandra, Presto, and RocksDB just to name a few. The question is, what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? I don't know. My daycare sends me updates, my barbershop tells me when they're closing and I used it to sell my fridge. This hole Facebook irrational hate is ridiculously overblown. It's an app, and compared to things like TikTok that is essentially a Chinese psy-op, it's really a great product.

danielheath 1y ago
> The question is, what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? Perhaps _you_ don’t know. It’s quite notorious for being the place to organise the genocide over in Myanmar. IMO, that should disqualify every executive or engineer who knew (and did nothing) from ever again being involved with widely-used infrastructure.
uncomputation 1y ago
> what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? I don't know. This is extremely naive and akin to asking "why do people drink if it’s bad for you then??" Popular != healthy
- rafaelero 1y ago
  Tbh, it's not clear that if we all stopped drinking the world would be better.
  - gtowey 1y ago
    Yeah, and maybe it would be better still if we all tried heroin!
    - Foxhuls 1y ago
      Are you legitimately trying to compare alcohol to heroin?
      - DangitBobby 1y ago
        I think they are legitimately mocking the notion that we wouldn't all be better off without alcohol.
      - gloosx 1y ago
        I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but ethanol is actually a very reactive molecule — and in some ways, it acts similarly to opioids like heroin. It, among other things, stimulates endogenous opioid pathways, leading to the release of β-endorphins and activation of mu-opioid receptors. So, alcohol works indirectly, heroin directly – but both enhance opioid signalling. If you’re curious, this study explains it really well: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3728478/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3728478/
        rafaelero 1y ago
        Food can also indirectly enhance opioid signaling. What's your point?
        gloosx 1y ago
        Food activates it within normal biological limits, alcohol and heroin artificially push the same system far beyond normal range, forcing the brain to compensate by downregulating receptors or reducing endogenous opioid production, so it's totally legit to compare alcohol to heroin
  - tbossanova 1y ago
    Oh it definitely would
    - keanb 1y ago
      Hard disagree.
- bko 1y ago
  I think it's incredibly naive and arrogant to tell billions of people who use a product through their own free will "ackchyually its really bad and you should stop". Almost everyone would give you a response similar to mine. They use it because its easy way to plan events since so many people are on it, or a small business can easily create a website, sell something or just kill some time on the can. Give it a rest.
  - piva00 1y ago
    Would you say the same about cigarettes? Billions of people used to smoke it as well, it was (and still is) quite popular, is it arrogant and patronising to tell them: this is unhealthy for you, and affects society in harmful ways?
kovac 1y ago
> My daycare sends me updates, my barbershop tells me when they're closing and I used it to sell my fridge. To consider the other side of this, read "The age of surveillance capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff (really read it though, not chatgpt the summary :). All the benefits you mentioned are real. But, at what cost and could we have reaped the same benefits without surrendering all agency to those who can't be held accountable?
- bko 1y ago
  What are the costs? Seems like a huge benefit to me considering the alternative would be... I don't know. No updates? Maybe some shitty custom app that would 100% for sure have worse data security and privacy rights than something like Facebook? Everyone's talking vaguely about the costs but no one actually makes a concrete case, where I made a concrete case of the benefits.
an0malous 1y ago
> Yes, Facebook is a benefit. Among other things, it gave me React No, this is peak HN
amrocha 1y ago
It’s hard to believe this is not a rage bait AI comment given the last paragraph. Both are terrible for society but I use facebook tools so Chinese app bad, USA app good i guess? Is that what you’re trying to say?
weregiraffe 1y ago
>much of the modern web is built on, Was modern web a benefit?
weregiraffe 1y ago
>The question is, what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? Why do everyone get sick and eventually die if it's harmful?
- bko 1y ago
  It's amazing how much leftist discourse is just them pretending not to understand things, thus making discourse impossible.

by bko 1y ago

danielheath 1y ago

> The question is, what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? Perhaps _you_ don’t know. It’s quite notorious for being the place to organise the genocide over in Myanmar. IMO, that should disqualify every executive or engineer who knew (and did nothing) from ever again being involved with widely-used infrastructure.

uncomputation 1y ago

> what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? I don't know. This is extremely naive and akin to asking "why do people drink if it’s bad for you then??" Popular != healthy

rafaelero 1y ago
Tbh, it's not clear that if we all stopped drinking the world would be better.
- gtowey 1y ago
  Yeah, and maybe it would be better still if we all tried heroin!
  - Foxhuls 1y ago
    Are you legitimately trying to compare alcohol to heroin?
    - DangitBobby 1y ago
      I think they are legitimately mocking the notion that we wouldn't all be better off without alcohol.
    - gloosx 1y ago
      I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but ethanol is actually a very reactive molecule — and in some ways, it acts similarly to opioids like heroin. It, among other things, stimulates endogenous opioid pathways, leading to the release of β-endorphins and activation of mu-opioid receptors. So, alcohol works indirectly, heroin directly – but both enhance opioid signalling. If you’re curious, this study explains it really well: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3728478/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3728478/
      - rafaelero 1y ago
        Food can also indirectly enhance opioid signaling. What's your point?
        gloosx 1y ago
        Food activates it within normal biological limits, alcohol and heroin artificially push the same system far beyond normal range, forcing the brain to compensate by downregulating receptors or reducing endogenous opioid production, so it's totally legit to compare alcohol to heroin
- tbossanova 1y ago
  Oh it definitely would
  - keanb 1y ago
    Hard disagree.
bko 1y ago
I think it's incredibly naive and arrogant to tell billions of people who use a product through their own free will "ackchyually its really bad and you should stop". Almost everyone would give you a response similar to mine. They use it because its easy way to plan events since so many people are on it, or a small business can easily create a website, sell something or just kill some time on the can. Give it a rest.
- piva00 1y ago
  Would you say the same about cigarettes? Billions of people used to smoke it as well, it was (and still is) quite popular, is it arrogant and patronising to tell them: this is unhealthy for you, and affects society in harmful ways?

kovac 1y ago

> My daycare sends me updates, my barbershop tells me when they're closing and I used it to sell my fridge. To consider the other side of this, read "The age of surveillance capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff (really read it though, not chatgpt the summary :). All the benefits you mentioned are real. But, at what cost and could we have reaped the same benefits without surrendering all agency to those who can't be held accountable?

bko 1y ago
What are the costs? Seems like a huge benefit to me considering the alternative would be... I don't know. No updates? Maybe some shitty custom app that would 100% for sure have worse data security and privacy rights than something like Facebook? Everyone's talking vaguely about the costs but no one actually makes a concrete case, where I made a concrete case of the benefits.

an0malous 1y ago

> Yes, Facebook is a benefit. Among other things, it gave me React No, this is peak HN

amrocha 1y ago

It’s hard to believe this is not a rage bait AI comment given the last paragraph. Both are terrible for society but I use facebook tools so Chinese app bad, USA app good i guess? Is that what you’re trying to say?

weregiraffe 1y ago

>much of the modern web is built on, Was modern web a benefit?

weregiraffe 1y ago

>The question is, what are billions of people doing on Facebook if it's harmful? Why do everyone get sick and eventually die if it's harmful?

bko 1y ago
It's amazing how much leftist discourse is just them pretending not to understand things, thus making discourse impossible.