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I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

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Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#61

Post by dylangs1030 »

dmhdlr wrote: post #44
perry5000 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Larry Ellison has put virtually all of his assets into a trust with the intent of giving away 95% of his money to charitable causes when he dies.

And without pretending that he can fix the world. Which is fatuous and provides a cover for business to continue as usual. Ellison is satisfied with being destructive in one domain of affairs. Gates isn't happy with just screwing up computing. He has to poop other people's parties, too. Give me Ellison over Gates any day.

I don't believe the children who would have died from diseases the Western world doesn't even have anymore would call it "screwing up" their lives.

He's trying to eradicate disease and help people who don't have billions of dollars, or even millions...or even hundreds of dollars to their name.

Bill Gates didn't screw up computing. The Microsoft that exists today is an entirely different animal than it was when it was just a startup, just as Google and Apple are different.

This isn't cynicism about startups' growth trends; this is a point that Bill Gates has revolutionized the entire industry multiple times over. How he chooses to spend his wealth is what most people would call generous and altruistic.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#62

Post by sliverstorm »

smackfu wrote: post #43
perry5000 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Larry Ellison has put virtually all of his assets into a trust with the intent of giving away 95% of his money to charitable causes when he dies.

What's he using to buy all his boy's toys, like yachts and plans and sports cars? Or is that just a meaningless percentage of his wealth?

The man has a net worth of $41B. 5% of his wealth is still $2B.

I don't know about you, but I don't begrudge a man worth $41B who plans to give away nearly all his wealth, a yacht or two.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#63

Post by cooldeal »

Why in the name of sweet Jeebus would someone flag this post on HN?

http://i.imgur.com/ao8qgdG.png

This is ridiculous, and proves that HN is filled with closed minded fanboys and hater zealots instead of technology lovers who otherwise have good karma.

Can anyone who flagged this post tell us why they did so?

If this is not moderator abuse, I don't know what is.

Reminds me of the Germany jury system that had to be abolished: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury#Germany

>Trial by jury was introduced in most German states after the revolutionary events of 1848; however, it remained controversial and early in the 20th century there were moves to abolish it.[34] The Emminger Reform of January 4, 1924, during an Article 48 state of emergency, abolished the jury system and replaced it with a mixed system including bench trials and lay judges. In 1925 the Social Democrats called for the reinstitution of the jury, and a special meeting of the German Bar demanded revocation of the decrees, but "on the whole the abolition of the jury caused little commotion".[35] Their verdicts were widely perceived as unjust and inconsistent.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#64

Post by recoiledsnake »

bcoates wrote: post #34

Bill Gates showing off his baller touchscreen is priceless: http://i.imgur.com/1JqrLVc.jpg

Fanboys and haters flagging this HN article is more priceless to me.

Grow up guys, you can upvote your Apple and Google posts all you want, you don't need to go out of your way to flag this post out of spite and abuse your moderator privileges.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#65

Post by zem »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #64
bcoates wrote: post #34

Bill Gates showing off his baller touchscreen is priceless: http://i.imgur.com/1JqrLVc.jpg

Fanboys and haters flagging this HN article is more priceless to me. Grow up guys, you can upvote your Apple and Google posts all you want, you don't need to go out of your way to flag this post out of spite and abuse your moderator privileges.

how do you know it was flagged?

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#66

Post by [deleted] »

georgemcbay wrote: post #45
grimlck wrote: post #12

I really wish reddit had a better interface to see the questions and Bill's answers all at once without scrolling through random comments. Why hasn't reddit's AMA been surpassed by a dedicated AMA site with a user interface designed for AMA?

The same reason craigslist classified haven't been surpassed by a more modern system -- it is much easier for everyone to live with the shortcomings (which really aren't that bad) than it would be to recreate an equivalently large, diverse and vibrant community on another site. Especially since any focused site that came up to do this would almost certainly put way more barriers to entry into the community than reddi…

[deleted]

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#67

Post by caffeinewriter »

dylangs1030 wrote: post #61
dmhdlr wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And without pretending that he can fix the world. Which is fatuous and provides a cover for business to continue as usual. Ellison is satisfied with being destructive in one domain of affairs. Gates isn't happy with just screwing up computing. He has to poop other people's parties, too. Give me Ellison over Gates any day.

I don't believe the children who would have died from diseases the Western world doesn't even have anymore would call it "screwing up" their lives. He's trying to eradicate disease and help people who don't have billions of dollars, or even millions...or even hundreds of dollars to their name. Bill Gates didn't screw up computing. The Microsoft that exists today is an entirely different animal than it was when it was…

Wow. That was amazingly insightful. However, comparing Microsoft to Linux or Macintoshes is like comparing Sushi to French Fries or Pork. Each one has its draws and vehement opponents. So yes, they are all different, even Microsoft today and Microsoft circa 1994.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#68

Post by recoiledsnake »

zem wrote: post #65
recoiledsnake wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fanboys and haters flagging this HN article is more priceless to me. Grow up guys, you can upvote your Apple and Google posts all you want, you don't need to go out of your way to flag this post out of spite and abuse your moderator privileges.

how do you know it was flagged?

It has 222 points and is at #17, far below other posts posted longer ago and with less points. This is an indication of heavy flagging.

http://i.imgur.com/hFFueFf.png

This isn't the first time anyway. Pretty much any post mentioning Microsoft in a not bad light seems to get flagged by people with good karma abusing it.

Edit: It's at 325 points(posted 4 hours ago) right now and stuck at #14. Has to break some record for the most upvoted and flagged story.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#69

Post by dylangs1030 »

cooldeal wrote: post #63

Why in the name of sweet Jeebus would someone flag this post on HN? http://i.imgur.com/ao8qgdG.png This is ridiculous, and proves that HN is filled with closed minded fanboys and hater zealots instead of technology lovers who otherwise have good karma. Can anyone who flagged this post tell us why they did so? If this is not moderator abuse, I don't know what is. Reminds me of the Germany jury system that had to be ab…

Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but this isn't really the place to hash it out with moderators, or draw parallels with any part of Germany's less reputable history.

You should email them if you're convinced it's flagged and you have an issue with it.

Re: I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMA

#70

Post by cooldeal »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #68
zem wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how do you know it was flagged?

It has 222 points and is at #17, far below other posts posted longer ago and with less points. This is an indication of heavy flagging. http://i.imgur.com/hFFueFf.png This isn't the first time anyway. Pretty much any post mentioning Microsoft in a not bad light seems to get flagged by people with good karma abusing it. Edit: It's at 325 points(posted 4 hours ago) right now and stuck at #14. Has to break some record f…

Looks like even mentioning the flagging is taboo. My top level comment on this story[1] calling out the flagging is sitting at the bottom of the comment pile, very grayed out.

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5203191

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