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Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

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Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fuck offffff seriously. The hardships aren't self-imposed, our justice system is specifically and intentionally retributive , imposing punishment for its own sake rather than imposing consequences with the goal of rehabilitation. And we're talking here of additional ad-hoc social punishments beyond the terms of the sentence that make finding a job harder. The level of personal discipline it takes to get released and…

> The hardships aren't self-imposed, our justice system is specifically and intentionally retributive If you want to know why this is, I would recommend Discipline and Punish by Foucault. Our present systems of justice go back hundreds of years, when a crime was considered an attack on the sovereign, aka the King, or the Prince. Back then crimes were punished by Hanging, or Torture, and it was done as an exercise of…

>it's why crimes that happen exclusively between two people are prosecuted as Person v. State

That's to eliminate the inter-generational blood feud's that were previously common when it wasn't the case that violent crimes were crimes against the state.

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#182
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well funny you should say that, I have some expertise in this area. > For instance, what happens when growth fails? C level purge, or outright shuttering the business. This is more of a question of, when will my benefactors tire of gambling on this concept I am building. > Do you lose ownership of the business? Usually, in most cases, you give up part of the business to attain the funding, sometimes a board seat. Whe…

> The only true safety is being a solo founder, which is why solo founders are encouraged to find a cofounder. Aha, that's a mystery solved. Luckily no one would be crazy enough to cofound. And I've heard the same thing about games not receiving VC money. There's the metaverse pitch, but that's just a stampede. Thank you for taking the time to detail your advice here! That was tremendously helpful. Great point about…

As cliche as it sounds, don't beat yourself up about taking time to make the product that most accurately matches the one in your heart. The best games are the ones that had a vision and went for it without compromising on their ideals along the way for money.

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#183
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of these are bad advice. First, flying on credit isn't nearly as easy as you make it out to be. Yes, a bunch of companies are buy now, pay later. They fall into two groups. The first does it based on your credit. The second is a layaway plan - by the time you get on the plane you've managed to pay in full. Ex-cons struggling to get a job usually have neither. Nobody wants to give money to a person who looks like…

If you simply look for ways to fail, you'll never succeed. My statement is direct towards goal oriented people who want to succeed and are willing to iteratively test their options until something works. Not failures who are unwilling to take a risk or work for a reward. If you can't get a credit card, then hitchhike and/or volunteer on a yacht or just be homeless and work day labor that doesn't check your record unt…

No post body was provided.

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a conversation with an HR friend of mine recently. According to her, she is inundated with fake requests for unemployment from people that never worked at her employer. Or people join, then quit promptly and apply for unemployment. This is in California. I would think the state would have protections against this type of thing, but maybe not.

You have to be "unemployed through no fault of your own" to be eligible for unemployment. https://edd.ca.gov/en/unemployment/eligibility/

That's what I thought. Turns out constructive dismissal, choosing to quit due to poor conditions or breach of contract, qualifies for unemployment. I'd have quit a couple jobs way sooner if I'd been aware.

My claim in CA was approved in 2020; I don't recall if that language was on the page or not at the time. Although I never got paid anything due to ID verification failure later in the process (clogged phone lines meant I never learned the reason, I gave up after a few weeks and a couple snail mails).

I was also fired in 2016 and paid out at that time, having told the UI interviewer that the employer didn't follow their dispute resolution process (breach of contract, in retrospect).

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#185
For anyone in the thread wondering how a felon might get ahead...

Im a formerly incarcerated software engineer. I now run a non-profit org called Underdog Devs dedicated to getting formerly incarcerated people into software engineering jobs.

We have over 450 members. We experienced engineers from all over the industry that will guide you. We also have a program called Project Underdog where we offer a stipend to pay their bills and have them pair program all week long with various mentors. Its led by the brilliant Jessica McKellar and has proven to be better than any bootcamp or CS program ive experienced.

Reach out if you would like some support.

https://www.underdogdevs.org

and on Twitter @UnderdogDevs

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#186
post #31

This really bums me out. I was a convicted felon at 18 years old, poor, living on the street. It wasn't any government re-integration program that helped me, it was a random person I met in highschool. I worked my way through everything -> college -> jobs -> startups -> lucky windfalls -> owning my own company. I've immigrated to Europe (3 times in the last 10 years technically), beating the legal issues each time. A…

I really hope you, or someone else, takes another stab at this project when the economic winds shift. It's a worthwhile endeavor.

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fuck offffff seriously. The hardships aren't self-imposed, our justice system is specifically and intentionally retributive , imposing punishment for its own sake rather than imposing consequences with the goal of rehabilitation. And we're talking here of additional ad-hoc social punishments beyond the terms of the sentence that make finding a job harder. The level of personal discipline it takes to get released and…

> The hardships aren't self-imposed, our justice system is specifically and intentionally retributive If you want to know why this is, I would recommend Discipline and Punish by Foucault. Our present systems of justice go back hundreds of years, when a crime was considered an attack on the sovereign, aka the King, or the Prince. Back then crimes were punished by Hanging, or Torture, and it was done as an exercise of…

That's a very interesting historical viewpoint of the justice system. I've often wondered what in our culture (in the US at least) lead to such a draconian system. I think the thing I take issue with most isn't even the system proper itself as much as the culture around it: stripping felons of voting rights (in a country billing itself as the "Land of the Free"), using prisoners as slave labor (we have protected slavery in the bill of rghts!), and treating them almost like lepers after they have served their sentence/punishment. It's sickening.

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#189
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you simply look for ways to fail, you'll never succeed. My statement is direct towards goal oriented people who want to succeed and are willing to iteratively test their options until something works. Not failures who are unwilling to take a risk or work for a reward. If you can't get a credit card, then hitchhike and/or volunteer on a yacht or just be homeless and work day labor that doesn't check your record unt…

Quoted post unavailable.

[deleted]

Re: Tell HN: I'm Afraid We're Shutting Down

#190

“These are some of the most sincere, honest, and heroic people I’ve ever met.” Yeah, I think we’re too hard as a nation on ex-cons. But they’re not heroes because they went through self-imposed hardships (and almost always at the expense of someone innocent). And they’re certainly among the lower rungs of honesty by categorization. Nowhere near the top. If this sounds harsh, just act their victims.

fuck offffff seriously. The hardships aren't self-imposed, our justice system is specifically and intentionally retributive , imposing punishment for its own sake rather than imposing consequences with the goal of rehabilitation. And we're talking here of additional ad-hoc social punishments beyond the terms of the sentence that make finding a job harder. The level of personal discipline it takes to get released and…

we are always looking for folks such as yourself to help with underdog devs.

https://www.underdogdevs.org

and on Twitter @UnderdogDevs

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