My Time at Snap • Hacker News Board

Re: My Time at Snap

#141

Post by squeaky-clean » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:05 PM UTC

oblio wrote: post #121

DoreenMichele wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it make sense to spend 1% of GDP on something that helps 0.5% of the population (I'm making up numbers here)? Some not made up numbers for you: Roughly 15-20% of people self-identify as handicapped. At least one study suggests that up to 60% of the population has some degree of impairment and would benefit from more accessible design in the world generally. This fits with my observations. Most people who are onl…

More than that, we all become disabled. It's just a matter of time. And some are more aware of that than others, based on the comments I see in this thread :-)

The lead of UX at my company likes to say that everyone becomes disabled temporarily once in a while. You ever want to watch a video in public but forgot your headphones? Ever lose your glasses and have to go a few days before your replacements come in? Ever try to open a door while also pulling a cart with heavy items?

Accessible design ends up helping anyone who isn't at optimal ability at that very moment.

Re: My Time at Snap

#142

Post by zrobotics » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:06 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #123

zrobotics wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So did you fully read the lengthy Medium TOS when reading the article? Because it sounds like this accessibility document is also a fairly similar piece of boilerplate.

If I was reading Medium as part of my employment then yes, I would have read the ToS. If you're saying that Berkeley was paying lip-service to accessibility by having boiler-plate that faculty didn't really need to comply with, well, that makes the situation worse, not better. "We tried but we didn't account for human factors so we failed" is much better than "we didn't really try, we just pretended, because we wante…

Fair enough, I do read every license for any code I use at work.

However, I would certainly think that "we wanted to give a good impression without actually making any changes" is probably closer to the truth. I doubt Berkeley as an institution really cares about accessibility; it sounded like a good thing and policies were enacted without a lot of thought given to the ramifications. If multiple professors signed off that their courses were accessible, then it certainly strikes me that this was a low priority that was largely ignored.

Re: My Time at Snap

#143

Post by fhbdukfrh » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:08 PM UTC

neuronic wrote: post #84

huhtenberg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This actually sounds like a near-perfect setup to me. Get it, program, get out. If I want to socialize, I'll do it outside of work.

What a horrible working style. You can be very productive while being social as well. In fact, the shittiest projects have consistently been those where people don't communicate and communication includes a human factor, starting at the most basic level. Why? Because fundamentally we are social animals and opening up to this circumstance will allow meaningful, project-related communication at a much more useful level…

I agree with you, but it's unlikely to convince the other camp. How about purely selfish reasons though? There is a finite limit on what a single developer can accomplish. By definition a high performing team requires excellent communication , and you don't just shrug and say that's managements problem. Team output will dwarf anything a single rockstar could ever hope to produce. Developers should Read mythical man month about the requirements of scaling up; the challenges are not technical, they're all about communication and visibility.

Re: My Time at Snap

#144

Post by sethammons » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:09 PM UTC

_pmf_ wrote: post #93

cntlzw wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, maybe it is just me, but that does sound like a good work environment. I do not call myself socially awkward, but at work, I want to work! Getting stuff done.

Agreed. It's a sign of functioning project management. Excessive team decisions and discussions are a sign of dysfunctional project management.

Decentralized decision making is key to reducing coats of delays on getting things shipped. Teams should be part of the project management, have an understanding of business priorities, and be having discussions and making decisions. This is functioning project management.

Re: My Time at Snap

#145

Post by mlvljr » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:13 PM UTC

yannis7 wrote: post #85

> keeping an eye out for John like an awkward combination of James Bond and Pac Man. instant classic

Agreed, marking with a (hell-banned ) comment.

- dang, that's handy!

Re: My Time at Snap

#146

Post by fhbdukfrh » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:14 PM UTC

golergka wrote: post #86

neuronic wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a horrible working style. You can be very productive while being social as well. In fact, the shittiest projects have consistently been those where people don't communicate and communication includes a human factor, starting at the most basic level. Why? Because fundamentally we are social animals and opening up to this circumstance will allow meaningful, project-related communication at a much more useful level…

I'm on the same team as you - that's why I can't really work remotely - but let's acknowledge that it's a personal preference. People are different, much more than we can usually imagine. You can't tell another person, whom you really don't know that well, what she can or cannot do; and different projects require different people and different models of communication.

Keep in mind remote work doesn't mean isolated, individual developer unless it's a very small project or you're doing it wrong. I object to the characterization in this thread of all casual coworker interaction a being social and meaningless to the work. This view is just plain wrong. I know many here will disagree and say they are on big projects with remote teams that don't socialize; if that's true and you're delivering work than I've got to believe someone behind the scenes is doing extra work to hold it together.

Re: My Time at Snap

#147

Post by jdm2212 » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:15 PM UTC

elbrian wrote: post #140

somishere wrote: post #130

Wow, nothing like a massive whinge to start the day! Don't take a lot of pleasure in saying it, but am highly suspicious of the author's role in all this. While there's no doubt John plagued our friend's life (as are Johns' wont); how said friend played everything else, the relationship handling, the motivation (!) ... culminating in this ego-driven, embittered rant. I mean, the situation definitely sucks. But my big…

I'm just amazed that developers have the confidence to lambaste former employers in such a public, toxic and hostile manner. If I was hiring for a developer position and Google'd Marko Tupper's name, I wouldn't even agree to meet with him based on this article alone. Why would I want someone so ego and drama-driven on my team? I won't even leave negative reviews on Yelp or Google Maps out of fear of reprisal or futur…

"Marko Tupper" is a pseudonym, per the Medium user's profile.

Re: My Time at Snap

#148

Post by astura » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:17 PM UTC

eps wrote: post #132

dagw wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several people in this thread clearly are. "Work colleagues suck", "I want 0 colleagues" etc. Some people apparently do want literally zero human interaction in their work.

Few will argue against having work-related interaction. That's fully expected. It's the socializing part that's not everyone's cup o' tea.

Exactly, thank you.

Re: My Time at Snap

#149

Post by spurdoman77 » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:17 PM UTC

somishere wrote: post #130

Wow, nothing like a massive whinge to start the day! Don't take a lot of pleasure in saying it, but am highly suspicious of the author's role in all this. While there's no doubt John plagued our friend's life (as are Johns' wont); how said friend played everything else, the relationship handling, the motivation (!) ... culminating in this ego-driven, embittered rant. I mean, the situation definitely sucks. But my big…

In my experience there can be employees who will always whine no matter of the circumstances. Also always blame others and the leadership.

Re: My Time at Snap

#150

Post by fhbdukfrh » Tue, Oct 01, 2019, 1:19 PM UTC

eps wrote: post #132

dagw wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several people in this thread clearly are. "Work colleagues suck", "I want 0 colleagues" etc. Some people apparently do want literally zero human interaction in their work.

Few will argue against having work-related interaction. That's fully expected. It's the socializing part that's not everyone's cup o' tea.

You don't get to have one without the other though. That same conversation with Bob at the end of the day when you talked about crappy 90's VR in movies is when you find out Bob is writing an emulation library at home for the turbo graphics console and knows everything about low level graphics. That sticks with you when 3 months later you hear in the hallway about a new visualization project that needs skillet people. This happens thousands of times over.