Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?" • Hacker News Board

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#81

Post by lightcatcher » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 3:09 PM UTC

300bps wrote: post #42

timmyelliot wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are joking, right? Government jobs seriously underpay. On the NSA careers website looks like "Computer Scientists" make between $42,209 to $97,333. I'm sure most of the pay is in the lower range. http://www.nsa.gov/careers/opportunities_4_u/professionals/i...

Government jobs seriously underpay. This was true in the past, it hasn't been true for a very long time however. It used to be true that government jobs paid less in wages but more than made up for it in greater benefits. Now they are equal in wages and still have the cushy benefits. http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/31/news/economy/federal_worker_... http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921 There are of course studies that c…

Can you point me to any government jobs that will pay you $100k right out of college? That's the sort of salary available in SF/bay area, and the sort of numbers that graduating students are looking at when considering getting a government job.

Also, from a sibling comment:

>No one accepts a lower paying job just because.

Some people accept lower paying jobs because they think the work is more interesting or that it is helping their country. Anecdotally, I've heard a good number of employees are leaving NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) to get (higher paying, faster moving) jobs at Google or SpaceX.

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#82

Post by pionar » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 3:26 PM UTC

kintamanimatt wrote: post #80

to3m wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's perfectly plausible. Such cycles are the way of things.

I'm not going to make predictions for the future because you know as little as me, but I'd be shocked and horrified if they did unless there were sweeping changes that made the NSA and its foreign equivalents more acceptable.

I think your view of history is just as myopic. The NSA has been around since the 50s and the original FISA of 1978 was written specifically because it was revealed that the NSA was spying on domestic targets at the request of Nixon.

Everything old is new again.

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#83

Post by leokun » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 3:31 PM UTC

rdl wrote: post #72

leokun wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd be just as likely to say "I like black people, but hurts the public image of black people and the cause of civil rights", sure. Wow, I think you are hurting the cause that is your credibility.

Do you really think a member of a visible group acting badly doesn't hurt the overall image of that group? I agree individuals have every right to act as they please, but if you are the only e.g. Sikh in a Midwestern town, and no one there has ever met a Sikh, and you are a good person, people will generalize and believe Sikhs are good people. (This is why I as a white American in the Middle East would tip really wel…

There is something very important that you do not understand about people. I don't know why some people can't understand this easily. Maybe someday you'll have that moment when it clicks, and when you do, I think you may find yourself with lots of regret for your past ignorance. In the meantime maybe learn to see things from other people's perspectives instead of thinking what individuals who are different from you should act like.

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#84

Post by kintamanimatt » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:09 PM UTC

pionar wrote: post #82

kintamanimatt wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to make predictions for the future because you know as little as me, but I'd be shocked and horrified if they did unless there were sweeping changes that made the NSA and its foreign equivalents more acceptable.

I think your view of history is just as myopic. The NSA has been around since the 50s and the original FISA of 1978 was written specifically because it was revealed that the NSA was spying on domestic targets at the request of Nixon. Everything old is new again.

Fair point!

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#85

Post by dimitar » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:14 PM UTC

downandout wrote: post #31

I'm a little bit curious why the operator wanted his contact info, and repeatedly asked for it, knowing full well that it was a ridiculous call. It makes me wonder if taxpayer dollars would have actually been spent investigating him.

There is an easy answer - the operator is trained to ask for names and contact information on every call; all tech support, operators and customer service representatives do. If she doesn't there is a chance her call will be monitored and points will be destructed from her call score, affecting her employment. No, QA might be cool and ignore this obviously prank cool, but do you think QA at the NSA will be cool, laid-back people when it comes to procedure?

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#86

Post by alimbada » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:27 PM UTC

hawkharris wrote: post #12

When one of my friends in college landed a math-related internship with the NSA years ago, I was very impressed and proud of her. If a friend were to land a similar job or internship now, my gut reaction would be vert different. As illustrated by this video, the agency's prestige among the public seems to have degraded considerably. I wonder how this has affected its ability to recruit bright young people.

Relevant - https://soundcloud.com/madiha-1/students-question-the-nsa-at

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#87

Post by hisham_hm » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:30 PM UTC

raldu wrote: post #26

- "Soo you don't keep track of e-mail and internet data?" (A long pause) - "Not the way you're saying. OK?"

He got what he wanted, right there.

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#88

Post by fnordfnordfnord » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:45 PM UTC

cenhyperion wrote: post #69

hawkharris wrote: post #12

When one of my friends in college landed a math-related internship with the NSA years ago, I was very impressed and proud of her. If a friend were to land a similar job or internship now, my gut reaction would be vert different. As illustrated by this video, the agency's prestige among the public seems to have degraded considerably. I wonder how this has affected its ability to recruit bright young people.

There are plenty of people that desire money more than following their ethics.

Like it or not, there are also plenty of people who have no ethical dilemma with NSA's conduct.

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#89

Post by epo » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:46 PM UTC

afterburner wrote: post #73

kalms wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And NSA is where the money is? Always thought federal institutions payed less than private initiatives.

I always assumed the NSA was one of the notable exceptions since they would have to attract the smartest people. That said, how smart can they be if they got way too enamoured of just collecting everything rather than analyzing it properly...

Yes, that's right, they just collect everything and don't analyze it properly. And you know this, how? Of course they do analysis, it's just of the "needle in a haystack" variety because of the sheer volume they collect. The most intelectually demanding type of analysis.

On the basis of that contribution alone, you've proved you're not smart enough to work for the NSA.

Re: Calling the NSA: "I accidentally deleted an e-mail, can you help me recover it?"

#90

Post by selfexperiments » Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 4:51 PM UTC

zybler wrote: post #30

hawkharris wrote: post #12

When one of my friends in college landed a math-related internship with the NSA years ago, I was very impressed and proud of her. If a friend were to land a similar job or internship now, my gut reaction would be vert different. As illustrated by this video, the agency's prestige among the public seems to have degraded considerably. I wonder how this has affected its ability to recruit bright young people.

You are obviously saying that because you are pissed. And deep down inside you are hoping that they won't be able to recruit bright young people. But the truth is, economy is a bitch, unemployment rate is high, if they actually pays well, I'm pretty sure bright people will still join them, whether they are young or old.

Only people with no ethics or morals would take an NSA job now, no matter how bad the economy is.