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Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

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Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#181

Post by astoor »

vasco wrote: post #24

> soon most work will be done pseudonymously Eyebrow raised very high 81 days this article was discussed in HN: https://www.sofuckingagile.com/blog/mourning-loss-as-a-remot... In it, among other things, we learn a team member who was not even anonymous passed away, and the company only found out when the person's wife created a support ticket because they didn't know basic facts about them. If after reading that arti…

Also, how do you trust anonymous employees not to steal?

Pretty extreme example, but just look at the cryptocurrency space which is filled with stories of theft by anonymous founders or employees, e.g. "Sifu" of DeFi protocol Wonderland was actually Michael Patryn of Quadriga infamy[0] (who in turn was actually Omar Dhanani who had previously served 18 months for identity theft[1]), the "UmbralUpsilon" contributor to Indexed Finance used inside information to "steal" $11.9M in tokens[2], etc. etc.

Now if it were charities doing good work with no money involved (either received from donors or paid to employees), then I can just about imagine a case for anonymous philanthropy or whatever, but money and anonymous individuals do not safely mix. Even if they don't initially set out to steal, they might be tempted if they find they can get away with it - opportunity makes a thief.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30120762

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30346251

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31478795

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#182

Post by jkaplan »

somenameforme wrote: post #155
jkaplan wrote: post #92

It’s interesting to see all these ideas built around the idea that “more anonymity is better.” I think the opposite is usually (not always) true, and that many of the issues we see in today’s internet stem from the fact that we have completely lost a human connection to the people on the other end of our interactions. (You can even go further and connect this to the larger loss-of-community trends across modern socie…

You can observe plenty of people acting like the worst imaginable human being on Facebook or Twitter - all under their own name. I think you're spot on about the issue, but I'd argue the reason is simply scale. When you have only 5 people in your vicinity you're going to form deep relationships with them, whether or not you want to - or whether or not you like them. It will simply happen due to the fact you're going…

Oh for sure! I’m not saying using real names automatically creates real relationships and trust, just that it helps. I just generally want to see the internet moving toward deeper, more meaningful interactions, which, like you say, is a big challenge, and almost certainly means some form of making things “smaller.” But making things more anonymous strikes me as the wrong direction.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#183

Post by shortstuffsushi »

bee_rider wrote: post #174
nightpool wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most jurisdictions, it is illegal to contract with someone for goods or services over a certain amount if you don't have their tax information. Otherwise, tax avoidance would be trivial. In the US specifically, you're required to file Form 1099 for any contracts over $600, which requires the other party's SSN, EIN, or another foreign tax identifier.

Wouldn't it still be possible to do contracts for $599, but like... one for each jira ticket/github issue or something? You could hypothetically set things up to not know who was resolving tickets, right? I mean it seems like a ridiculous way of getting work done, but fundamentally possible.

No, if you (as a contractor or employee) make more than $600 from the same person/business, you'd be obligated to report it, which would in turn make them obligated to report it, even if they didn't realize you had done more than a single contract for them. For this to work, you'd have to have independent shell corps make each chunk of work as well, which .. is probably also illegal.

What could work is a middle man (ala upwork), but then you'd have to accept the middle man knowing you.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#184

Post by throwaway892238 »

> using your legal identity at work is unnecessary, and puts your safety, security, and privacy, at risk.

Yes. And that's a good thing. You are at risk of being fired if you are a white supremacist neo-nazi gay-bashing woman-hating trans-denying animal-abusing child-molesting felonious douchebag in your private life. And you're more likely to be caught doing insider trading or some other illegal/anti-competitive act. An identity is part of regulating a culture and maintaining the law. The risk is a feature, not a bug.

The really funny thing is that this whole website is now an easy way to find people who are looking to be pseudonymous and any employers that are skirting laws. Should've kept it on the dark web.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#185

Post by soared »

Stevvo wrote: post #152
gorbachev wrote: post #113

The first time one of these companies hire someone from Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba or any of the other countries under sanctions practically everywhere and et hit by multi-million dollar penalties and severe restrictions on how they can operate in the future, this thing will stop being a thing. How would they even know, if a competitor got hired to work for them? This might possibly be a good thing for workers, b…

One of the hiring entities is not a company, at-least in the legal sense. How would one hope to enforce "multi-million dollar penalties" on an organisation whose members are all anonymous and manifest only as code and Blockchain transactions?

I hope 100% of the people in the org have flawless infosec that’s not vulnerable to nation states.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#186

Post by jackson1442 »

bee_rider wrote: post #174
nightpool wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most jurisdictions, it is illegal to contract with someone for goods or services over a certain amount if you don't have their tax information. Otherwise, tax avoidance would be trivial. In the US specifically, you're required to file Form 1099 for any contracts over $600, which requires the other party's SSN, EIN, or another foreign tax identifier.

Wouldn't it still be possible to do contracts for $599, but like... one for each jira ticket/github issue or something? You could hypothetically set things up to not know who was resolving tickets, right? I mean it seems like a ridiculous way of getting work done, but fundamentally possible.

you'd have to spin up an LLC for each engagement to do this, 1099 forms are based on your entire (contractor) relationship with the company for the tax year.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#187

Post by samstave »

happyopossum wrote: post #95
rgbrgb wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd guess that interaction is very common and not illegal anywhere I'm aware of.

You're explicitly contracting to rip off another app, and doing so by paying under the table with no taxes paid/collected on either end, and you think that's totally legit?

This is exactly what I was describing, you did a better job.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#188

Post by towaway15463 »

jjice wrote: post #128
vasco wrote: post #24

> soon most work will be done pseudonymously Eyebrow raised very high 81 days this article was discussed in HN: https://www.sofuckingagile.com/blog/mourning-loss-as-a-remot... In it, among other things, we learn a team member who was not even anonymous passed away, and the company only found out when the person's wife created a support ticket because they didn't know basic facts about them. If after reading that arti…

I feel like HN has split crowds on this. I personally enjoy having a connection with my coworkers. I spend a lot of time in my week with them, and if I enjoy being around them, I consider that a win. Other people want as little to do with their coworkers as possible. Not saying either of these is bad or the "right mindset", but there is a difference in preferences here.

I have a lot of pseudonymous friends that I speak to on a regular basis. Anonymity doesn’t preclude friendship.

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#189

Post by harikb »

astoor wrote: post #181
vasco wrote: post #24

> soon most work will be done pseudonymously Eyebrow raised very high 81 days this article was discussed in HN: https://www.sofuckingagile.com/blog/mourning-loss-as-a-remot... In it, among other things, we learn a team member who was not even anonymous passed away, and the company only found out when the person's wife created a support ticket because they didn't know basic facts about them. If after reading that arti…

Also, how do you trust anonymous employees not to steal? Pretty extreme example, but just look at the cryptocurrency space which is filled with stories of theft by anonymous founders or employees, e.g. "Sifu" of DeFi protocol Wonderland was actually Michael Patryn of Quadriga infamy[0] (who in turn was actually Omar Dhanani who had previously served 18 months for identity theft[1]), the "UmbralUpsilon" contributor to…

+1

Not only nefarious entities, but the "social/twitter world" has shown us that people tend to be careless and at their worst behavior when anonymous.

If one could program ones code to brick the phones/computers of those they consider political enemies, and could get away with it anonymously and start a new job under a "new identity", who wouldn't be tempted?

Re: Show HN: I made a site that shows jobs where you can work pseudonymously

#190

Post by samstave »

ghaff wrote: post #167
nightpool wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Business registration is a matter of public record, as far as I'm aware. Any entity you might set up for tax purposes would need at least to have a registered public agent, and probably a public list of directors and shareholders. However, it would mean that the business you're contracting with to no longer needs to file a 1099, at least.

Yes. Having a business entity doesn't necessarily keep someone from tracking down your identity. But, depending upon how complex you want to make things (and presumably how much money you're willing to spend), you can probably obfuscate your identity from being casually revealed to everyone. Really depends what you're trying to accomplish.

A very interesting market for such is the Elderly Fraud call industry out of Tel_aviv...

Its a BILLION dollar industry calling elderly US population from call centers in Tel Aviv, which may or may not have also ties to Niger.

its BIG.

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