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What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

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Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#41
post #29
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should try to broaden your arsenal of social interactions. Sure, tattling and beating people to death have their place, but there are one or two other methods for resolving conflicts as well.

Such as what? Also, hilarious that you call it "tattling." If I stole your wallet, I'm sure you'd "tattle" on me.

  if arnor.knows(a_hole, stole_wallet) and (a_hole not instanceof psychopath or a_hole.physical_strength 

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#42
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, this advice might be helpful in the context of "you're in prison, the person that slighted you is also in prison," but outside of that, it's advice that only serves to aid the aggressor. Also, why are you suggesting that my position is "middle class privilege" when you're suggesting that you understand ad-hoc prison justice systems?

It's helpful in most contexts outside of white/middle class privilege. But I don't really understand your question?

In your opinion, why do you believe that reporting crimes is a "white/middle class privilege" decision?

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#43
post #36
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need for the edit quip. Not everyone has the faith in the man that you do, and for good reason. This, among other reasons that others have covered already.

The edit quip was necessary. I thought that hackernews would be safe from the "internet tough guy" syndrome, but I guess not. I mean, I-get-it. The poor tend to go to jail at a higher rate than their more well-off counterparts for various reasons, but the "don't snitch" bullshit just keeps criminals safe to keep hurting their communities.

That "don't snitch" thing holds true in most prison cultures, the same as it does in many military, and business settings.

You're new to a surrounding situation about which you know very little, and your peers, be they inmates, soldiers, or executives, could be engaged in illegal matters which are connected to larger, more organized criminal ventures.

You "rat" on someone you see doing wrong, but the people you just "ratted" to are involved in the larger criminal endeavor, so the people you "ratted" on are the first to know that you did so...

Prison is not the same as your community.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#44
post #41
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such as what? Also, hilarious that you call it "tattling." If I stole your wallet, I'm sure you'd "tattle" on me.

if arnor.knows(a_hole, stole_wallet) and (a_hole not instanceof psychopath or a_hole.physical_strength

Cute, but when you're confronting someone, the situation can always turn violent. Let's say that you confront someone and end up punching him/her in the mouth and get a cut on your hand. You could get a serious infection or a disease, even though you "won."

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#45
post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

>> "This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day"

It seemed to me he meant if you have an issue with someone go to them and work it out before taking further action. e.g. you hear word someone has a problem with you. Go to them directly and try to resolve the situation. It could be a simple misunderstanding. If you go the authorities straight away you will make an enemy for yourself for sure.

I doubt people are stealing each others bicycles in prison.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#46
post #35
post #20

I have a far off request. I remember reading a good long read quite some time ago. It was of a hacker that was sent to prison, I think federal prison. He goes into a lot of detail about how life is inside there and how you have to behave, I remember him advising to fight for your stuff even though you're going to lose since if not you'll become "their bitches" or something of the sort. If I remember correctly (might…

Might be this one: http://phrack.org/issues.html?issue=67&id=5#article if that's not the one you meant still definitely worth reading

Yes! Yes! Yes! I don't even have to read it! That's the orange and black I was talking about! You can't imagine for how long I actually thought about it without no many ways of actually looking for it.

Thanks a bunch!

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#47
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but there are second order effects. You've heard the terms "tattletale" and "snitch". They developed in reaction to a police force that is seen as outsiders, and as violent and arbitrary. If you invoke the "authorities," you're punished by your peer group, because the authorities tend to make the whole group's life more difficult. Instead of invoking "the authorities" you're left with direct confrontation, or o…

Sure, this advice might be helpful in the context of "you're in prison, the person that slighted you is also in prison," but outside of that, it's advice that only serves to aid the aggressor. Also, why are you suggesting that my position is "middle class privilege" when you're suggesting that you understand ad-hoc prison justice systems?

> Sure, this advice might be helpful in the context of "you're in prison, the person that slighted you is also in prison," but outside of that, it's advice that only serves to aid the aggressor.

I've actually found "deal directly with the person with whom you have the issue" is a good default rule in most areas of life (work, social, etc.) even where the issue is the kind of thing for which there is an available authority.

Recourse to authority when that fails, or when there is a specific reason in the immediate case to believe that dealing directly will be ineffective or involve intolerable risks is still part of the equation, but not the default action.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#48
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's helpful in most contexts outside of white/middle class privilege. But I don't really understand your question?

In your opinion, why do you believe that reporting crimes is a "white/middle class privilege" decision?

There are portions of society that believe, sometimes with good cause, that bringing police into an interaction will result in a negative outcome for all involved, not just for the perpetrators.

That said, please stop perpetuating a strawman argument. You've taken the most extreme interpretation of the original statement, propped it up and vilified it. Considering all the possible ways you could have interpreted the statement, I think you are doing the writer a disservice.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#49
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Quora doesn't disable pinchzoom like Slate does

Why would you disable pinchzoom?

it makes the page less sluggish. it's impossible to disable double tap zoom without disabling pinch zoom, and while double tap is enabled, browsers have to insert a tap delay. this is because every single tsp could be the beginning of a double tap, so the browser waits until 300ms after a single tap to respond to it. this delay isn't perceptible as a delay, but it does make the entire page feel less responsive. disabling zooming disables the delay and makes the page feel quick again.

also disabling zooming makes it feel more like a native app, which some people like.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#50
post #44
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if arnor.knows(a_hole, stole_wallet) and (a_hole not instanceof psychopath or a_hole.physical_strength

Cute, but when you're confronting someone, the situation can always turn violent. Let's say that you confront someone and end up punching him/her in the mouth and get a cut on your hand. You could get a serious infection or a disease, even though you "won."

Kidding aside, I would be extremely unlikely to resort to a violent act in the case of a stolen wallet. If a_hole won't give it back, it's really not that big of a deal. Reprint photos of wife and kids, Visit ATM, Cancel some credit cards, register a hold with a credit bureau, and move on with your life.
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