Yeesh, that article is just the worst. āPeople around me say really dumb and arrogant stuff, but Iām not going to give any examples at all because I know you know exactly what Iām talking about.ā Thatās pretty meta, you know?
People ā really smart people ā saying some of the most vacuous things. Words that if they were able to take a step outside of their own heads and hear, theyād be embarrassed by.
I wonāt name names or give examples because Iām not an asshole.
I actually wish he did give some examples because I donāt know what heās talking about. Obviously, I can think of a few techbro statements that I thought were dumb, but I donāt know if he would agree with those choices. I canāt assign any value to his post because I have no ideas what heās specifically objecting to.
Yeah, the total lack of examples was pretty annoying there. =/
What the fuck did I just read? It was this vague complaint aboutā¦ somethingā¦ and then the article ends.
Out of touch? Great! In what way? How is this out of touch-ness being manifested? How is it a problem? How does tech need to address it?
He was so busy trying not to be an asshole he saidā¦ nothing.
Based on the title, I was ready to roll my eyes so hard theyād probably come out of my head, butā¦ this article makes some very solid points.
Canāt say enough great things about that Halt and Catch Fire speech, which ends the article. So deeply true.
Sheesh! Does that article writer work for the Fun Police? I didnāt even like the book much, but damn.
The writer is not exactly wrong though, but isnāt that book considered juvenile fiction?
I guess the counter argument is that at the end of Ready Player One he gets the choice to destroy the game at the end, doesnāt he? And destroying the game could maybe be the right choice?
Just because some guys with keyboards thought if you took a racist asshole and gave him a way to spread his hatred while remaining anonymous that somehow he would become a different if not better person just showed how naive some of these creators are, doesnāt mean the answer is shut it all down.
But in the specific case of Facebook, they are recalcitrant. Itās not that they are naive, it is that they fundamentally donāt believe in the necessary changes.
This memo is from 2016!
Connecting human beings is good, period, no matter what.
I agree with the general point of the article, about the public at large not being ready for the lack of barriers and free flow of (somewhat) anonymous communication that the Internet - specifically, the social media infrastructure - provides. But Iām not entirely sure that it would be possible for us to be ready without experiencing it. We have the benefit of a several years worth of experience with heavily-used social media systems now, and I still havenāt seen much in the way of suggestions for making it safe - at least, not without killing the benefit along with the risks. Yes, the current system has its problems, but I donāt know if thereās actually a better way to have created a system of social connection. And there are a lot of benefits of that system that Iām not willing to throw out because of the negatives.
Also, Iām pretty tired of people ripping on Ready Player One for things like this:
The book is a fairy tale (in a near-future urban setting). Quit reading it as a āGreat American Novelā-style social commentary. Complaining about how the Oasis is a terrible example of game economics, or that the book doesnāt address the pitfalls of social media, or the lack of respect for the various original pop culture works that are referenced is like bitching about Ursula being insensitive to heavy-set people in The Little Mermaid, or how Cinderella doesnāt properly address the concerns of domestic labor. Stop trying to make the book into something itās not.
Yeah, I agree. The author put a whole lot of meaning into the book, then ripped the book for the meaning that he himself projected onto it. It was just light entertainment with some 80ās nostalgia.
I mean, itās cool if he wished the book was about that sort of commentary on society. Iād even enjoy a book like that. But I never got the impression Ready Player One was trying to do any of that.
Thatās one persons view, and that person doesnāt seem like someone who would be locked in a room full of say racists and not walk out of it alive.
I love Disney. Disney has plenty of room and should be able to take criticism. Itās fine to criticize and hold fairy tales to standards because they teach us something, and they teach young minds somethingā¦ we just have to keep in mind that itās fantasy but that doesnāt make it is immune against critique.
Disney is not your friend when it comes to things we should not criticize.
Yeah, but racists arenāt blocked from using the telephone system, are they?
Itās unclear where Facebook sits on the line between ākinda nice to haveā and āessential underlying communication infrastructure necessary for all human beingsā. Certainly different than before.
Personally I fall on the š„ blow it all up side of the continuum.
You think the telephone and the internet are somehowā¦ the same.
What do you think happens, you get a black person who suddenly calls into a KKK conference line, or like 50 of them just start calling anonymously from pay phones we donāt have anymore?
Oh wait, hold on, Iām getting a call, probably some random white supremacist guy harassing me endless like they do on social media and in gaming forums orā¦ you know, not.
No, but if Facebook un-persons someone for being a racist on their platform (and Iām not saying they shouldnāt, mind you), they can no longer use Facebook at all. They canāt even log in.
Is Facebook required for normal functioning as a human being, to get a job, to communicate with family and peers, etcetera? Thatās the open question in my mind.
Isis recruiting American youth from safe houses in other countries? Nazis having their own forums? To specifically plan to harm others? Iām sure you cab think of others like, kids planing to shoot up or bomb their schools.
Answering my own question, because I was curious (I personally donāt ever plan to have a Facebook account)