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An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

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Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#11
GMail's mark as spam feature has become "report spam". Meaning, you just report something as spam to Google. They decide what it actually is.

And indeed, it works perfectly. I've marked Twitter/Facebook/Amazon/Freelancer/YouTube as spam and they always come back to the Inbox.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#12
I wonder how that code managed to stay secret so many years.

How did they keep all the mass of data, the tickets, the user stories and pitch decks from being spilled online and get publicly dressed down?

I guess that’s the one single major threat to effectively WHF: the need for maximum security secrecy and infrastructure control.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#13

I remember when google was the shining light of “be nice company” that we all dreamed of working for, at odds with the evil that was M$crosoft. And, from reading all the “why I left google” posts and hearing about them leaving China, the old google of 20 or even just 10 years ago was the good or even just a better google. With how google went from “do no evil” to this, with how Facebook has always been profits over e…

I wonder if the behavior of the largest tech companies is a cause or an effect of their size. Is unethical behavior pushing companies to the top of the food chain? Or is it that other companies feel more ethical simply because they don't have as many chances to engage in unethical behavior? If it's the latter, all the push to split the companies is for nothing and we should just consider "ethics at scale" to be an un…

Perhaps when they are large enough to have significant power, they attract more employees with looser morals who see them as places where they can profit.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#15
post #12

I wonder how that code managed to stay secret so many years. How did they keep all the mass of data, the tickets, the user stories and pitch decks from being spilled online and get publicly dressed down? I guess that’s the one single major threat to effectively WHF: the need for maximum security secrecy and infrastructure control.

Because the code itself is much simpler than you would think.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#16

I remember when google was the shining light of “be nice company” that we all dreamed of working for, at odds with the evil that was M$crosoft. And, from reading all the “why I left google” posts and hearing about them leaving China, the old google of 20 or even just 10 years ago was the good or even just a better google. With how google went from “do no evil” to this, with how Facebook has always been profits over e…

I wonder if the behavior of the largest tech companies is a cause or an effect of their size. Is unethical behavior pushing companies to the top of the food chain? Or is it that other companies feel more ethical simply because they don't have as many chances to engage in unethical behavior? If it's the latter, all the push to split the companies is for nothing and we should just consider "ethics at scale" to be an un…

I suspect its less size then being at or near the top.

If you're up and coming, the best strategy is to just make a better product. You know whose at the top and you can adapt your product to where they are weak.

If you're at the top, i suspect the optimal strategy is to try and cut your competition off at the knees before its a threat.

I think we see this across many things. Just look at all the messed up things states do when they're super powers vs middle power states.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#17
post #12

I wonder how that code managed to stay secret so many years. How did they keep all the mass of data, the tickets, the user stories and pitch decks from being spilled online and get publicly dressed down? I guess that’s the one single major threat to effectively WHF: the need for maximum security secrecy and infrastructure control.

> How did they keep all the mass of data, the tickets, the user stories and pitch decks from being spilled online and get publicly dressed down?

Legal agreements and extremely valuable employment contracts, most likely.

My understanding is that some (most?) of the developers out there today are in it for the money. If someone promised you enough income to retire by age 31, and all you had to do was keep your mouth shut for the interim, I think you may comply and even go out of your way a bit to protect your employer. This all explains it in my head. Its not that there is some vast, elaborate conspiracy, its that everyone involved is being heavily-incentivized to do the wrong thing.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#19
post #11

GMail's mark as spam feature has become "report spam". Meaning, you just report something as spam to Google. They decide what it actually is. And indeed, it works perfectly. I've marked Twitter/Facebook/Amazon/Freelancer/YouTube as spam and they always come back to the Inbox.

Or you know you could just undubscribe from those. Its not like major tech companies are ignoring unsubscribe requests.

Re: An enormous thread on alleged Google Facebook collusion

#20

I remember when google was the shining light of “be nice company” that we all dreamed of working for, at odds with the evil that was M$crosoft. And, from reading all the “why I left google” posts and hearing about them leaving China, the old google of 20 or even just 10 years ago was the good or even just a better google. With how google went from “do no evil” to this, with how Facebook has always been profits over e…

None of them, I am quite old to have learned in a capitalist society it is always about the money.

Company mottos, cultural values, we are family, and all the marketing garbage that they sell for new hires to feel good is just that, plain marketing.

When things get though, the "values" hardly matter to get deals or fire people.

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