3 ms·

Are they really that funny though? While I appreciate that it is subjective, they are often only vaguely funny. More often or not a lot of the supposed humour

Are they really that funny though? While I appreciate that it is subjective, they are often only vaguely funny. More often or not a lot of the supposed humour is a thin veneer over some sort of political or quasi-political messaging. You can even see in the screenshots that most of it is either political, product placement or their tech stack.

portaouflop 11mo ago
Political messaging is good and important especially nowadays
- SparkBomb 11mo ago
  Political messaging I am completely fed up with and I am sure I am not the only person fed up with it. I go out of my way now to make sure that I see almost none of it. When I see overt political messaging outside of someone that works for a particular organisation or political party, I steer clear. I've found that most people (doesn't matter what political persuasion) have a very poor understanding of what they are actually supporting if they understand it at all. Often they simply parroting what they've elsewhere.
  - neoromantique 11mo ago
    Oddly enough I have a pretty good guess of your political affiliations from these comments.
    - SparkBomb 11mo ago
      Go on then, What are they? Since you can read my mind.
    - whatamidoingyo 11mo ago
      How so? I agree with them. Political messaging is incredibly annoying, no matter which "side" is doing it.
      - 4ggr0 11mo ago
        why is it surprising that people feel like showing their own politics with stickers when the government they live under currently deports random people, blows up boats based on vague accusations, tries to reform the country with Project2025, ..., do i have to go on? nice for you that you're able to ignore politics - you should maybe be aware that this is a privilege. lots of people would probably want to ignore politics, but instead they have to fear for their existence, dignity or way of life. "but not everyone on HN is american", well, other countries also have their fair share of political issues. and if you don't see them as issues, then again, you're just showing your own privilege. high-wage, male, (often times white) tech-workers wonder why people are upset. "i'm fine, what's the problem?"
        SparkBomb 11mo ago
        > why is it surprising that people feel like showing their own politics with stickers when the government they live under currently deports random people, blows up boats based on vague accusations, tries to reform the country with Project2025, ..., do i have to go on? I am in my early-40s. I remember when Obama was droning people abroad based on iffy intel. I remember when George Bush/Dick Cheney started a war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which killed possibly millions (I heard all sorts of different numbers). If I put a sticker on my laptop, it doesn't stop any of that happening. It doesn't bring back the people that killed in those wars. All it is trying to do is signal to other people that you have the "right opinions". It is a form of slacktivism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism > nice for you that you're able to ignore politics - you should maybe be aware that this is a privilege. lots of people would probably want to ignore politics, but instead they have to fear for their existence, dignity or way of life. I am mature enough to understand that in the vast majority of circumstances I cannot affect in the outcome in any meaningful way. Whether I ignore politics or not will have no effect on the outcome. I suggest you go back and watch old TV programs and documentaries. People were having the same discussions 20, 30 and some 50 years ago on the exact topics and making the same arguments, often they were word for word the same. > "but not everyone on HN is american", well, other countries also have their fair share of political issues. and if you don't see them as issues, then again, you're just showing your own ignorance, privilege or both. I choose to ignore the political issues in my country (the UK) as well. I can't do anything to solve the problems in the country.
Vinnl 11mo ago
As a JS developer, I once had a sticker in the npm font, but it said "left-pad". I liked that one. Just a pretty one is fine too though. I had a cool one at some point that was the logo of a small local meetup with friendly organisers, and the logo was essentially a drawing of a local landmark. It fit perfectly over the OEM logo. I miss that one.
- SparkBomb 11mo ago
  > As a JS developer, I once had a sticker in the npm font, but it said "left-pad". I liked that one. I wouldn't even put this in the "somewhat amusing" category. This is really in the 16 pieces of allowed flair category as far as I am concerned.
  - dxdm 11mo ago
    > I wouldn't even put this in the "somewhat amusing" category. This is really in the 16 pieces of allowed flair category as far as I am concerned. There you are, the perfect quote for you to print out and stick on your laptop! Turns out you were just waiting for the right one all along. And you thought you just dropped in here to be grumpy. Oh, no, we have stickers here for everyone. =)
    - SparkBomb 11mo ago
      It isn't grumpiness. I am allowed to complain about cringe and slacktivism which is rife in the tech land, which is what laptop stickers are. It is a symptom of a bigger problem.
      - dxdm 11mo ago
        > It isn't grumpiness. I am allowed to complain I was actually not sure which word to use before: "grumpy" or "complain". I went with the former, because somewhere above, you told somebody off for their innocent little left-pad sticker. This whole thread reads to me like some guy yelling about how lawns used to be greener and had fewer balls on them. But that's okay, I think you are right, and of course you're allowed to do that. We all have our things that tick us off. One of mine is, I recently realized, people who casually believe in astrology. You know, they're a libra, they tell me, and of course I would think astrology is stupid because I'm a candelabra with Jupiter ascending or whatever, and these are always sceptical all the time. I got super annoyed when someone suggested to me that astrological signs were a great topic for small talk. I disagree. Babbling about astrology as if its tenets were true is a symptom of a bigger problem, a growing problem, and I will not take part in it. > about cringe and slacktivism which is rife in the tech land, which is what laptop stickers are. It is a symptom of a bigger problem. I understand what you're getting at. I'm not sure I agree fully, I'm more reminded of the stupid fad when I was in high school when all the kids put stickers on their backpacks, often political ones. I also happen to think these laptop stickers are often empty, cheap gestures resulting in ugly laptops. But in the end, it's just people being people, expressing themselves, some of them trying to have a little fun or meaning or levity in their lives, whether we share it or not. And if people like you and me show up and do nothing but complain about them, and I tell them they're stupid for thinking they "are" a "libra", and you tell them how their sticker isn't even funny, then at that point, we have not only not accomplished anything (I wouldn't even feel better myself), and it's entirely fitting to call us grumpy.and maybe even make a little fun of us. A lot of things suck, and I'm sorry these stickers reminded you of some of them. I hope you can find something nicer to think about, and smile. :)

portaouflop 11mo ago

Political messaging is good and important especially nowadays

SparkBomb 11mo ago
Political messaging I am completely fed up with and I am sure I am not the only person fed up with it. I go out of my way now to make sure that I see almost none of it. When I see overt political messaging outside of someone that works for a particular organisation or political party, I steer clear. I've found that most people (doesn't matter what political persuasion) have a very poor understanding of what they are actually supporting if they understand it at all. Often they simply parroting what they've elsewhere.
- neoromantique 11mo ago
  Oddly enough I have a pretty good guess of your political affiliations from these comments.
  - SparkBomb 11mo ago
    Go on then, What are they? Since you can read my mind.
  - whatamidoingyo 11mo ago
    How so? I agree with them. Political messaging is incredibly annoying, no matter which "side" is doing it.
    - 4ggr0 11mo ago
      why is it surprising that people feel like showing their own politics with stickers when the government they live under currently deports random people, blows up boats based on vague accusations, tries to reform the country with Project2025, ..., do i have to go on? nice for you that you're able to ignore politics - you should maybe be aware that this is a privilege. lots of people would probably want to ignore politics, but instead they have to fear for their existence, dignity or way of life. "but not everyone on HN is american", well, other countries also have their fair share of political issues. and if you don't see them as issues, then again, you're just showing your own privilege. high-wage, male, (often times white) tech-workers wonder why people are upset. "i'm fine, what's the problem?"
      - SparkBomb 11mo ago
        > why is it surprising that people feel like showing their own politics with stickers when the government they live under currently deports random people, blows up boats based on vague accusations, tries to reform the country with Project2025, ..., do i have to go on? I am in my early-40s. I remember when Obama was droning people abroad based on iffy intel. I remember when George Bush/Dick Cheney started a war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which killed possibly millions (I heard all sorts of different numbers). If I put a sticker on my laptop, it doesn't stop any of that happening. It doesn't bring back the people that killed in those wars. All it is trying to do is signal to other people that you have the "right opinions". It is a form of slacktivism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism > nice for you that you're able to ignore politics - you should maybe be aware that this is a privilege. lots of people would probably want to ignore politics, but instead they have to fear for their existence, dignity or way of life. I am mature enough to understand that in the vast majority of circumstances I cannot affect in the outcome in any meaningful way. Whether I ignore politics or not will have no effect on the outcome. I suggest you go back and watch old TV programs and documentaries. People were having the same discussions 20, 30 and some 50 years ago on the exact topics and making the same arguments, often they were word for word the same. > "but not everyone on HN is american", well, other countries also have their fair share of political issues. and if you don't see them as issues, then again, you're just showing your own ignorance, privilege or both. I choose to ignore the political issues in my country (the UK) as well. I can't do anything to solve the problems in the country.

Vinnl 11mo ago

As a JS developer, I once had a sticker in the npm font, but it said "left-pad". I liked that one. Just a pretty one is fine too though. I had a cool one at some point that was the logo of a small local meetup with friendly organisers, and the logo was essentially a drawing of a local landmark. It fit perfectly over the OEM logo. I miss that one.

SparkBomb 11mo ago
> As a JS developer, I once had a sticker in the npm font, but it said "left-pad". I liked that one. I wouldn't even put this in the "somewhat amusing" category. This is really in the 16 pieces of allowed flair category as far as I am concerned.
- dxdm 11mo ago
  > I wouldn't even put this in the "somewhat amusing" category. This is really in the 16 pieces of allowed flair category as far as I am concerned. There you are, the perfect quote for you to print out and stick on your laptop! Turns out you were just waiting for the right one all along. And you thought you just dropped in here to be grumpy. Oh, no, we have stickers here for everyone. =)
  - SparkBomb 11mo ago
    It isn't grumpiness. I am allowed to complain about cringe and slacktivism which is rife in the tech land, which is what laptop stickers are. It is a symptom of a bigger problem.
    - dxdm 11mo ago
      > It isn't grumpiness. I am allowed to complain I was actually not sure which word to use before: "grumpy" or "complain". I went with the former, because somewhere above, you told somebody off for their innocent little left-pad sticker. This whole thread reads to me like some guy yelling about how lawns used to be greener and had fewer balls on them. But that's okay, I think you are right, and of course you're allowed to do that. We all have our things that tick us off. One of mine is, I recently realized, people who casually believe in astrology. You know, they're a libra, they tell me, and of course I would think astrology is stupid because I'm a candelabra with Jupiter ascending or whatever, and these are always sceptical all the time. I got super annoyed when someone suggested to me that astrological signs were a great topic for small talk. I disagree. Babbling about astrology as if its tenets were true is a symptom of a bigger problem, a growing problem, and I will not take part in it. > about cringe and slacktivism which is rife in the tech land, which is what laptop stickers are. It is a symptom of a bigger problem. I understand what you're getting at. I'm not sure I agree fully, I'm more reminded of the stupid fad when I was in high school when all the kids put stickers on their backpacks, often political ones. I also happen to think these laptop stickers are often empty, cheap gestures resulting in ugly laptops. But in the end, it's just people being people, expressing themselves, some of them trying to have a little fun or meaning or levity in their lives, whether we share it or not. And if people like you and me show up and do nothing but complain about them, and I tell them they're stupid for thinking they "are" a "libra", and you tell them how their sticker isn't even funny, then at that point, we have not only not accomplished anything (I wouldn't even feel better myself), and it's entirely fitting to call us grumpy.and maybe even make a little fun of us. A lot of things suck, and I'm sorry these stickers reminded you of some of them. I hope you can find something nicer to think about, and smile. :)