Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#1

Post by adpirz » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 5:10 PM UTC

Another day, another story of Facebook's reach overextending, breaching privacy unnecessarily, and generally acting in some form of bad faith.

But business is clearly still good and it seems like they're still able to recruit plenty of talent. So what's the other side here? Internally, are there feelings of consternation about all the negative press or is there a bigger piece that is missed by it?

I'm really curious what the other side is here, especially given FB hasn't slowed down at all despite all the press.

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#2

Post by taytus » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:17 PM UTC

I don't see the complexity here. They pay competitive salaries and people don't give a fuck about what FB does and accept the gig. Simple.

Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#3

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:18 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#4

Post by JeremyBanks » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:20 PM UTC

taytus wrote: post #2

I don't see the complexity here. They pay competitive salaries and people don't give a fuck about what FB does and accept the gig. Simple. Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

99% of their engineers could afford to do the right thing. They have plenty of alternatives that pay very well, but they'd rather sell their soul for a few more luxuries.

They are choosing to be bad people.

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#5

Post by the_cat_kittles » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:22 PM UTC

JeremyBanks wrote: post #4

taytus wrote: post #2

I don't see the complexity here. They pay competitive salaries and people don't give a fuck about what FB does and accept the gig. Simple. Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

99% of their engineers could afford to do the right thing. They have plenty of alternatives that pay very well, but they'd rather sell their soul for a few more luxuries. They are choosing to be bad people.

this is right. to think you have no choice means you are part of the problem

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#6

Post by untog » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:24 PM UTC

taytus wrote: post #2

I don't see the complexity here. They pay competitive salaries and people don't give a fuck about what FB does and accept the gig. Simple. Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

> Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

I'd question that. FB undoubtedly pays very well and probably better than almost all competitors, but at the same time most FB engineers could almost certainly take work somewhere else with a slightly lower (but objectively still fantastic) salary and still continue to live a very comfortable life.

I'd be interested to hear other reasons why people continue to work at FB, but "I can't afford not to" feels dubious to me.

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#7

Post by weej » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:24 PM UTC

JeremyBanks wrote: post #4

taytus wrote: post #2

I don't see the complexity here. They pay competitive salaries and people don't give a fuck about what FB does and accept the gig. Simple. Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

99% of their engineers could afford to do the right thing. They have plenty of alternatives that pay very well, but they'd rather sell their soul for a few more luxuries. They are choosing to be bad people.

"Bad people" feels a little trite. What about individuals who feel they are truly joining to try to make a difference for the better in improving the culture, security, data privacy, or overall business? Too altruistic or is that part of the story?

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#8

Post by docker_up » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:26 PM UTC

Most of what the press reports is a distortion of the truth, or making something sound worse than it really is.

Sure there are issues but all companies have them, just like Google, Amazon, etc. There are a lot of good people doing good work here, and connecting the world for the better. You don't hear about the 99.99% of the good things because that won't encourage clicks for the news rags.

If the press took an interest in your company, or even you personally, no one would look good from their constant digging to make you look as bad as possible. Imagine if your worst moments in your life were publicized for everyone to see, without seeing all the good things you've done? People would think you're an asshole as well.

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#9

Post by ascendantlogic » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:26 PM UTC

JeremyBanks wrote: post #4

taytus wrote: post #2

I don't see the complexity here. They pay competitive salaries and people don't give a fuck about what FB does and accept the gig. Simple. Being able to say: "No, I don't work here because of principles" is something really nice but not everyone can afford to do.

99% of their engineers could afford to do the right thing. They have plenty of alternatives that pay very well, but they'd rather sell their soul for a few more luxuries. They are choosing to be bad people.

You're discovering the dirty secret that a lot of people generally don't care about doing the right thing when doing the wrong thing is so lucrative. People will talk a big game but shove a pile of cash in their face and things get complicated fast.

Re: Ask HN: Current and former FB employees, what's the other side to the story?

#10

Post by sxp » Wed, Mar 06, 2019, 6:26 PM UTC

Disclaimer: I work for a competitor of FB. Opinions are my own, etc.

There is an aspect of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Mann_amnesia_effect when hearing stories about FB. I've heard similar stories about various tech companies from major press outlets and the facts & opinions in the stories directly contradict my own first hand knowledge.

Given this data, why should I trust press articles about FB when they're written by the same journalists who are focused on maximizing revenue for their own companies? Most articles I see are ~10% cited sources and ~90% speculation.

Two examples of press stories that most technical people know are false are https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto#Dorian_Nakamo... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermicro#Allegations_of_comp... . People with technical knowledge can evaluate those stories and realize that they're incorrect, but others without technical knowledge probably believe the newspapers. Similarly, people at FB with insider knowledge probably realize that most of the press articles about FB are 90% incorrect and that FB is in the same moral league as all the other major tech companies.