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[flagged] I work in Big Tech. A name you would know and have probably used before (googleusercontent.com)
24 points by lettergram on Jan 18, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 20 comments



>and then a (((lady engineer))) literally proposed

Yeah, I'm not going to listen to someone who unironically uses triple parentheses. This also is a huge hint that this is actually a /pol/ troll.


Didn't know the triple quotes were anything other than weird individual stylistic quirk. Good to know for future troll spotting.

That said... regardless of the person's individual viewpoint... The idea that anyone would suggest that "we should not be allowed to answer the question positively" when the question is "How is everyone doing?" reinforces my worry that the world really is sliding into the dumpster while we grumble on placated by just enough bread and circuses that the pitchforks stay in the barn.

The worst thing is I can imagine this happening, 5 or 10 years ago, the idea that someone would suggest something as crazy as everyone should be saying (or making up, got to remember you have the option to just lie) something they feel bad about at the start of a work meeting would have been ridiculous. It sounds more like a group therapy session than a work meeting, and I don't expect they have a trained councillor in the meeting to guide that sort of emotional processing in a positive direction.

I hope its just exaggeration, part of the disaffected, borderline-trolling tone (possibly actual trolling) that reminds me of mid-life crises and the movie Office Space. I'm just worried by the idea that its not.


I’m not the original poster, but...

I’ve sat through hours of meetings discussing the appropriate ratios based on criteria being described in this thread.

I called it out at the time (but this was years ago). The number of times I’ve witnessed this personally and other have shared stories with me ... even if this is trolling, the reality is there, it’s “true enough”.


It's amazing to me, with what little expertise I have in psychology (but no formal training) its obvious how damaging this kind of group negativity can be. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222829420_Mood_and_... has links/citations to lots of the relevant, more in depth research on specific aspects, from mood contagion, to the effects of mood on judgment and decision making.

I do wonder what percentage, if any, of the "great resignation" is due to individuals reaching the bottom of a slow negative spiral of emotions connected to their work environment, these kinds of things happening at the office would likely profoundly accelerate/tighten that spiral...


> Yeah, I'm not going to listen to

I had to look up what that meant, I'm not sure the original poster intended that way or not -- good to know though!

That said, not sure I've ever covered my ears and said "I wont listen" to anybody. Innately curious, I guess.


> I'm not sure the original poster intended that way or not -- good to know though!

Interesting, what do you think the original poster meant by it? Do you think perhaps their finger slipped or something?

> not sure I've ever covered my ears and said "I wont listen" to anybody

When you come across a street preacher complaining that American is going to burn for allowing whatever their pet list of sins is, do you sit there and listen to their entire spiel? Or do you dismiss them as a crank and walk on, because you've got better things to do with your time?


> Interesting, what do you think the original poster meant by it? Do you think perhaps their finger slipped or something?

I think they were probably referring to this person as some kind of person who is awful to be around. Particularly, in this case, this person seemed to tell them they couldn’t be positive and say “good” or other comments... (per the Twitter thread). I don’t want to attribute specific meaning, but my that was my initial impression. Idk what this person meant, and it’s good to know the other meanings.

In terms of the preacher analogy; I think it’s a bit of a poor analogy. It’s more like, someone reporting something immoral or not working and us walking away covering our ears.

I have listened to preachers on the street. I do actually try to understand their world view. Once I do, I’m less likely to stop, perhaps. But rarely is that preacher discussing working conditions in my field. If they were, I’d be more likely to actively listen.


> triple parentheses

Wow TIL. First I thought, weird formatting. Then I thought, probably a pedantic comment on HN. Then I looked it up on Wikipedia and thought WTFFFFFF!

It's insane to me how many ways the human mind can devise to denigrade others. I was semi-sympathetic to the point of view until I looked this up.


I would say that there are nuggets of truth behind the rhetorics, but this kind of take is fundamentally flawed:

> They are fundamentally weak, often with no social support outside of work.

> They're the people with no children, no spouse. Only a dog or cat for emotional support.

I work for a moderately Big Tech (a name you definitely would know and have probably used before) and the people suffering are not only the ones with no children, no spouse. Or queers, non-binaries, and so on (as the thread implies).

Several of my colleagues have families, they have kids and spouses and pets. And several are suffering for the past couple of years.

It's easy to look at people performing, being professional and believe they are hanging together pretty well. Lots are simply playing the façade of being professionals, when I talk privately I uncover that the anxiety and depression is felt across the board.

Singling out a specific group as "fundamentally weak" is, to me, trolling. It's meant to inflame instead of starting a healthy discussion...

I believe this type of thread could start some discussion but the presentation done the way it has seems to be targeted to start some kind of flaming. Unsure why, there is some valid stuff in there that even I, as a pretty leftist individual, would agree deserves some discussion. I just don't believe that being reactionary will bring meaningful and healthy change.


There might be a slight correlation between religion and political views, HN seems to be on the liberal spectrum

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8088478 (2010)

Update here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29976500

[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/23/u-s-religio...

So while this post might not seem legitimate, it could also be an insider shouting for attention over a hidden issue, for fear of being attacked, crowded and cancelled by a biased tech audience. Healthy skepticism is HN's strength.

Note: Woke extremism has been called out before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29951406&


Previous attention attempt here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29949249


Interesting, didn't see this here

I shared because I thought it was an interesting take.

I know a lot of people who feel the same way, but it's not really shared opening; dialog is rarely allowed: flagged, derided, etc (which further enforces the feelings).

Felt HN would potentially discuss.


It reads as a greentext and gets posted everywhere. As far as I can tell it's a troll like any other, no evidence for it's claims, and vocabulary designed to bait people into arguing against it.


Lol well, I’ve witness almost ~100% of this personally and I know many other have. Someone sent me it and said “is someone talking about Xxxx?”

So, I suspect it has more merit than people would like to believe.

Still could be a troll. That’s the art lol

I suspect a lot of people posted it for the same reason this got decent upvotes — people legitimately feel that way.



They will probably ban you with something like I got today:

> Anyone using terms like "SJW," "cancel culture," "virtue signal" etc is an absolute ass, so, goodbye. Banned!

> Edit: my bad, it wasn't all you, gotta ban the other person too. You only said some of the stuff, but like, nope. Still not okay.

Anyway, just wanted you to know that even though you'll likely get censored by some high school kid, you are not alone. One day the tables will turn


> Anyway, just wanted you to know that even though you'll likely get censored by some high school kid, you are not alone. One day the tables will turn

That's what this all is—the tables turning.


Looks like someone LARPing as a Big Tech worker


Is there any other way?


Just a sad story. I'm a big believer in the power of the market. If these actions lead to deterioration of the service provided, these ideologies will cause Big Tech to become less "big."




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