Re:We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google
by machinelabo on Saturday December 05, 2020 @12:24PM
(#25316296)
This is one of the most illuminating assessments of Twitter. It’s virtue signaling , as cliche as it sounds to use that term - that’s what Twitter has become. No fault of Twitter, we’ve created a culture in our society where persons with their open identity cannot easily voice dissenting opinions and going against the grain without getting cancelled.
What a fucked up world we live in.
Re:We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google
by 495636483 on Saturday December 05, 2020 @12:43PM
(#25316481)
I am not on twitter. What's with this canceling? Who got cancelled? What does that mean for them? Could you illustrate some examples?
Re:We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google
by npteljes on Monday December 07, 2020 @04:07PM
(#25337547)
In case you're still curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancel_culture#Examples
Re:We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google
by 495636483 on Saturday December 05, 2020 @12:34PM
(#25316386)
This is not true. HN very much behaves like the rest. The hive mind here just keeps repeating the mantra while still downvoting dissenting opinions. Look at the other dead comment. Was that really bad enough to kill it? And from my experience, if you really challenge the powerful crowd you get vengeance killed all over the thread.
Also accounts here are not like on reddit. You gain power with accepted comments. That's the most echo'y power dynamic imaginable. If you don't play the old boy's game, you can't participate and shape the conversation.
So, HN, are you gonna give me voting rights or will you kill me, too?
Jumping in on a bandwagon to signal group membership in an in group can help brand-building. Going against the in group is potentially fatal to your brand. The risk/reward balance does not favor genuine discussion of a controversial topic.
On HN most comments are up/down voted based on their content. The post authorship usually matters little. There is little benefit for the author to announce support of a popular position and little risk for the author to express an unpopular one. So discussion here can be more about substance and less about signaling.