You won't believe how nice Notch's office is • Hacker News Board

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#81

Post by king_jester » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 3:50 PM UTC

seanalltogether wrote: post #75

king_jester wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Incidentally, I don't mean to call you out in particular, but when you call grownup female programmers "girls," lots of very cool women will decide to hang out somewhere else -- sort of for the same reason black men in the US aren't going to love it if someone calls them "boys." I agree with you that calling female programmers and coworkers as girls is demeaning, but it IS NOT the same as calling a black man a boy,…

The easiest way to insult any male is to refer to him as a boy. For males it carries the sting of naiveté and inadequacy. Females on the other have a very positive attachment with youth and "girls" and clearly spend a lot of energy continuing to identify themselves that way.

I wasn't really getting at this. Calling a black man "boy" is extremely racist and doesn't have to do with gender identity. It has to due with systematic culture destruction and oppression as a result of slavery in the United States and conditions in which black folks were placed post slavery.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#82

Post by mongol » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 3:54 PM UTC

mhomde wrote: post #43

thingie wrote: post #16

No, what I admire most isn't the office itself, though it's quite nice, it's the location. I can imagine that you can, for example, get some nice restaurants and few other option to get a real food within a walking distance. From my window, I can see just three freeways tightly surrounding this place-less office park from each side. And I am hungry, right now, there are just two ugly canteens that close by 2 PM anywa…

Söder is Stockholms "Harlem" ;) While being pretty central it's not located in the most central part of the city, and the only decent lunch place around here just closed last week, ack! :)

Which was?

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#83

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 3:56 PM UTC

stevesearer wrote: post #79

minimax wrote: post #2

Where are the computers?

In the wide shot above the pool table, the workstations are in the background.

[deleted]

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#84

Post by lucasdailey » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 3:57 PM UTC

bluthru wrote: post #80

lucasdailey wrote: post #71

As a (steel & glass) architect I'm certain this is not an expensive office when compared to other tech companies. I think most people are being fooled by the "high-class americana" style, but really this does not cost more than a high-end minimalist office. Question the style choices, sure, but the assumption that is in anyway more expensive than average is completely false.

Same here. It seems as if the color palette is throwing people off.

Agreed, though I think the dramatic lighting is responsible for most of it.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#85

Post by pnathan » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 4:00 PM UTC

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #7

Nice is clearly a matter of opinion. The space is great, the facilities and the culture they're obviously trying to create through them but let's just say it's not to my taste. Which is a polite way of saying that to me at least the place looks foul.

Wow.

I think this place looks amazing. Leather and books and dimmer lighting are exactly my personal sweet spot.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#86

Post by trotsky » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 4:02 PM UTC

citricsquid wrote: post #33

zerostar07 wrote: post #24

No light No light This is some kind of ultimate mancave, I can't imagine a girl working in there.

They have a couple of female employees, their finance manager is female and has worked there for about a year, their "director of fun" (manages events, media relations) is also female and has worked there for about 8 months. They both talk highly of the office so I guess it's more than just a "man cave".

I'm sure they could love it, but honestly - what else would anyone say when asked publicly about their famous bosses' big money decorator binge?

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#87

Post by kscaldef » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 4:06 PM UTC

constant_change wrote: post #26

I appreciate seeing an office for a successful indie company that doesn't consist of brick facades, exposed ventilation and a big open room filled with people, computers, video game consoles and foosball tables. I just appreciate the slightly more mature look than I'm used to seeing glorified in office pictorials for tech companies. That being said, I don't see ANY computers there, so maybe they just didn't picture t…

Maybe they have private offices.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#88

Post by warfangle » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 4:07 PM UTC

nutjob123 wrote: post #28

thingie wrote: post #16

No, what I admire most isn't the office itself, though it's quite nice, it's the location. I can imagine that you can, for example, get some nice restaurants and few other option to get a real food within a walking distance. From my window, I can see just three freeways tightly surrounding this place-less office park from each side. And I am hungry, right now, there are just two ugly canteens that close by 2 PM anywa…

Not to brag, but the midtown Manhattan food selection is outstanding. http://midtownlunch.com/lunch-by-food-type/

For quality, I'd say Soho is a bit better for the price.. Midtown tends to be mediocre-affordable, awesome-superexpensive; Soho tends to be prettygood-affordable, awesome-superexpensive.

Unless midtown food options have radically changed since I last worked up there five years ago.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#89

Post by Tyrannosaurs » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 4:11 PM UTC

k-mcgrady wrote: post #20

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #7

Nice is clearly a matter of opinion. The space is great, the facilities and the culture they're obviously trying to create through them but let's just say it's not to my taste. Which is a polite way of saying that to me at least the place looks foul.

Foul? What about it do you not like? It seems a bit over the top to me (it's an office not a private club) but interested as to why you dislike it so much.

So the main things:

1) It's dark. Dark is nice for atmospheric, not so nice for avoiding eye strain, plus overall light is just more pleasing - ask an estate agent (realtor in the US?) what sells property - space and light is the answer. I know we're not selling the office here but it's a good measure of what people really like - what they're willing to pay for.

2) It does look more like a private club, but not just that, it manages to look like a private club without being high end. Look at that carpet - it looks like something you'd find in a budget hotel or conference center.

3) From a design perspective it just clashes - you've got at least three wood tones in there (including very dark and really pretty light), at least two different basic styles (the old world globe and leather chairs, the ornate candle stick and taps against the clean lines of the bar, the exposed ceiling, the light wooden floor).

The more I look at it the more horrible I find it.

And I should be clear, I have nothing against the more "traditional" look. I once worked for a major global law firm where the office decor was in places very conservative (think wood panels, ornate dark wood furniture in reception, thick carpets) and it was beautiful, and I live in a house that's about the same age as Texas which is obviously not modern in it's appearance.

As I say, it's very much personal taste but whether you like it or not, I think it's hard to say that that the aesthetic is not all over the place.

I'm sure someone who knows way more than me about such things can come along and tell me why it's all great from an interior design perspective but to me at least, it's a mess.

Re: You won't believe how nice Notch's office is

#90

Post by peterwwillis » Tue, Oct 02, 2012, 4:28 PM UTC

paulhauggis wrote: post #47

JackC wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, I don't know why you assume Mojang doesn't employ women. They totally have ... uh ... two female employees out of 28? http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Mojang_AB#Current_employee... Oh, so that's why. Incidentally, I don't mean to call you out in particular, but when you call grownup female programmers "girls," lots of very cool women will decide to hang out somewhere else -- sort of for the same reason black me…

"sort of for the same reason black men in the US aren't going to love it if someone calls them "boys." Why oh why do you need to point this out? I use the words girls and guys all the time and it doesn't mean anything racist or sexist.

I use the words girls and guys

Boy, not guy. If you used 'boy' for a black male, it would be pretty racist.

Know how today it's popular to call to someone by saying "Hey man", "Yo man", etc? That was a trend started by black men in response to racist white people calling them "boy" as a way to insult or demean. The stigma still exists throughout most of black culture because believe it or not, there's still parts of the south where full grown black men are called "boy" by ignorant/racist whites.

Using "girl" is not in the same ballpark, so I can see how this may have slipped your mind, but some full-grown women don't like being called a "girl". It's demeaning in a similar way, though I don't believe it was intended to oppress the entire female sex, so it's not nearly as bad.

If it's a professional setting, don't call people "girls" or "boys". It's just not respectful. If someone is over the age of 21, just use "woman" or "man", or whatever they prefer to be called. They will appreciate it.