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GeneralRe: Hunting a unicorn Pin
CodeWraith17-May-22 14:25
CodeWraith17-May-22 14:25 
GeneralRe: Hunting a unicorn Pin
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter17-May-22 3:56
professionalKornfeld Eliyahu Peter17-May-22 3:56 
GeneralI'm refactoring my codebase... Pin
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 2:36
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 2:36 
GeneralRe: I'm refactoring my codebase... Pin
OriginalGriff17-May-22 3:41
mveOriginalGriff17-May-22 3:41 
GeneralRe: I'm refactoring my codebase... Pin
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 5:04
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 5:04 
GeneralRe: I'm refactoring my codebase... Pin
OriginalGriff17-May-22 5:35
mveOriginalGriff17-May-22 5:35 
GeneralRe: I'm refactoring my codebase... Pin
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 9:40
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 9:40 
GeneralPsychic drain PinPopular
honey the codewitch17-May-22 1:20
mvahoney the codewitch17-May-22 1:20 
Is a moral or ethical discussion about coding too spicy for this forum? Here goes nothing.

I've checked out of platforms that boost posts based on "engagement"

I rarely visit, and no longer participate. I don't have a usable facebook or twitter account.

I do it for the same reason I've cut most advertisements and branding out of my life - to the degree that is possible in the consumer-centric society in which I live.

It's mind pollution. It's a psychic vampire. It eats joy. It makes you angry. That's the point. Anger keeps you "engaged" more than just about anything, so these platforms boost those posts.

It's promoting toxicity algorithmically. I think its messing up our social cohesion and our ability to be rational, at least as a whole if not specifically in the individual sense.

It's one of the darker sides of modern innovation in software development. Sometimes I feel like we're in the same moral or perhaps ethical predicament as say, physicists, who can use their knowledge to create things like weaponized nuclear fission, or they can use it to improve our lives. I don't think anyone involved at that level with something like the Manhattan Project did so without deep reservations about what it meant for our collective future.

Is it the same thing? Perhaps not, but can you really measure the damage we're doing with some of things we help create?

I think about this stuff when it comes to the projects I'm willing to take on. I try - at least by my estimation - to avoid projects that aren't socially responsible.

I think given the social landscape, at least in the divided country in which I find myself, after understanding some of the reasons we're in that situation, I don't want to be part of the problem. I won't be, at least deliberately.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
Marc Clifton17-May-22 1:41
mvaMarc Clifton17-May-22 1:41 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
Craig Robbins17-May-22 2:04
Craig Robbins17-May-22 2:04 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
megaadam17-May-22 2:15
professionalmegaadam17-May-22 2:15 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
TNCaver17-May-22 3:27
TNCaver17-May-22 3:27 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
honey the codewitch17-May-22 4:53
mvahoney the codewitch17-May-22 4:53 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
MadGerbil17-May-22 3:29
MadGerbil17-May-22 3:29 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
obermd17-May-22 4:00
obermd17-May-22 4:00 
GeneralRe: Psychic drain Pin
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 5:13
Paul Sanders (the other one)17-May-22 5:13 
GeneralHow it goes when I play IoT Pin
lmoelleb17-May-22 0:15
lmoelleb17-May-22 0:15 
GeneralRe: How it goes when I play IoT Pin
charlieg17-May-22 0:30
charlieg17-May-22 0:30 
GeneralRe: How it goes when I play IoT Pin
honey the codewitch17-May-22 0:46
mvahoney the codewitch17-May-22 0:46 
GeneralRe: How it goes when I play IoT Pin
lmoelleb17-May-22 4:06
lmoelleb17-May-22 4:06 
GeneralRe: How it goes when I play IoT Pin
honey the codewitch17-May-22 4:56
mvahoney the codewitch17-May-22 4:56 
GeneralRe: How it goes when I play IoT Pin
CPallini17-May-22 1:00
mveCPallini17-May-22 1:00 
GeneralWSO CCC OTD 2022-05-17 Pin
OriginalGriff16-May-22 21:44
mveOriginalGriff16-May-22 21:44 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2022-05-17 Pin
Greg Utas17-May-22 0:22
professionalGreg Utas17-May-22 0:22 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2022-05-17 - we have a winner! Pin
OriginalGriff17-May-22 0:49
mveOriginalGriff17-May-22 0:49 

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