Comment by defrost
1 day ago
and when did you stop beating your wife?
> is the pay good enough to justify the atrocities you help to perpetrate?
C'mon, not every ad jockey is flogging fossil fuels, and even some that do repent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcrekESgFQI
Given that the parent comment literally stated that they worked in adtech, this is not "begging the question" in the way that you're implying.
You might disagree with the assertion that adtech is immoral, but that's a difference of opinion, not evidence of a logical fallacy.
It gets old linking to the HN comment guidelines whenever one user goes at another user in a direct and personal way. Loaded accusations are exactly that, not questions being begged, nor logical fallacy or mere differences of opinion.
Ergo sometimes I opt for not just quoting and linking to
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
That's a fair criticism; it's just not the same one you initially gave. I can understand being frustrated having to link the guidelines, but like, that's what they're there for!
infinite_spin - you are dead. Which is quite the spin for an advertiser- one could say even infinite_spin
Oh, I consider ads-driven economy an atrocity.
Of possible interest, Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition is themed abut mass media intrusion into private mind spaces, Carey's Bliss about an ad exec whose heart stops, re-awakening convinced he is in hell (but merely life with the scales fallen from his eyes).
Such things are still not reason to dis other HN commentators - there's always reddit for that.
> Such things are still not reason to dis other HN commentators - there's always reddit for that.
Mmm, this I disagree with particularly. I view HN as a forum dedicated to the technology professions, and as such, it’s an extremely appropriate place to shame those in the profession who refuse to consider the second-order effects of their work.
We (those in the technology profession) have no union through which we can encourage professional standards and ethics and codes of conduct. Shame is pretty much the only and last bastion for those of us who care about how we make our money, and not just the amount written on the paycheck.
I know there are some people, both in this forum, and who I’ve met in person - (“Raytheon? How do you feel about the moral dilemma of working for a weapons manufacturer?” … “We manufacture weapons? I just work in HR.”) - who will never lose an ounce of sleep considering their line of work due to an underdeveloped sense of ethics.
But there are some people who are in the middle ground who can still be won over. Every year that passes it becomes more important that technologists are aware of the ethical implications of their work - no matter how much capital incentivizes the opposite. Don’t let a paycheck delude you.
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