Comment by newspaper1
5 hours ago
I'm going to say that deforesting without a permit is quite a bit worse than not releasing vaporware.
This isn't about a "slip up", it's the modus operandi for Google since it was young. Press releases instead of real releases. I can't count the number of times I've clicked on a "launch" story from Google on HN only to end up on a blog post with an embedded youtube video, and nothing else. Google just doesn't get it, and this is one of the many ways that manifests.
> deforesting without a permit
> man made logging forest
This isn't an old growth forest, these are trees planted specifically to be cut down.
They cut down part of a forest without a permit. That is a factual statement. It doesn't matter what kind of trees they were.
The point is that if the local commercial developer cleared the forest without the permit, it probably would not have even caught the ear of the local news. They pay the fine and move on. Happens all the time in bureaucratic systems.
Clearing the forest and failing to get the permit are two distinct events here. Google is in trouble for failing to get the permit. Not for clearing the trees. Everyone on both sides was aware the trees were coming down. Think of it like camping at a campsite without getting a permit first.
Failure to get a permit is non-news for almost every entity on Earth. Except when you are megacorp, hence my comment.
1 reply →
It is a factual but actively misleading statement.
The forest was put up specifically to be cut down. The default state for these trees was to be cut down.
If you can’t see the difference between this and clear cutting of something like an old growth forest, then there’s nothing left worth saying to you.
Absurd mental gymnastics here - of course it matters (and on wholly-owned, non-public land as well).
2 replies →
Disagree. 1.5 sq miles of forest is miniscule. Shouldn't even be local news where it happened.
I'm very, very glad it was news. We need to know when Google is breaking the law. Now let's hold them responsible.
If, as a society, we wanted to publicly shame every major corporation when a violation of this magnitude occured then each headline would be up for a minute or two.
There is limited public attention. Wasting it on such a minor infraction is unwise. Much better to focus on more egregious examples of corporate wrongdoing.