Comment by the_af

> Nobody's asking you to force them

If you're not forcing them, and you want to keep in touch with them, aren't we back where we started? "It's not so easy".

> It took no haranguing on my part, I just let them know how to say hey if they wanted to.

Perfect, it worked for you. It doesn't work for others. Let's say it with me: "it's not so easy".

> It is! I genuinely think you'd be surprised at how many people would go along with it.

It's not! There are many groups out there for which your experience doesn't apply. It's a bubble. And it's a bit presumptuous to assume your interlocutor has no experience trying to change things. At one point, some things are not worth the effort and one has to pick their battles.

> Except that it's not. What is "HN" about walking away from tech?

The HN bubble I refer to is the one where they (we actually, of course I'm not immune) think their microcosm of experiences, very principled and nerd- or tech-focused, and often for specific cultures or nations, applies to the rest of the world. It's typical of some HN'ers to announce to the world that they have LEFT FACEBOOK FOR GOOD and that they aren't missing anything important. Great for them!

It's helpful to always remember: not everyone is like you/me/us, and... wait for it... "it's not that easy".