Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

theregister.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 1001 posts

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#111

Post by JDiculous »

jmchuster wrote: post #78
JDiculous wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't the discussion of politics, it's the fact that that would even matter or influence your job in any negative way.

I would normally consider that part of the human condition, not a problem that a company needs to solve. Trying to minimize the negative impact of it (like they are doing) seems about all they can do.

I do think that Americans in general tend to be oversensitive when it comes to politics, and this mindset bleeds into the workplace. And I say this as an American. I've heard that discussing things like politics isn't as big a deal in say Europe or Israel.

Personally I wish the discussion of things like politics wasn't considered taboo because I think it makes for a more boring work environment, but I'm also the type who loves to debate with people who have opposing viewpoints and don't get offended easily. Unfortunately American culture has moved in the opposite direction revolving around appeasing to the most sensitive "victim".

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#112

Post by claudeganon »

malvosenior wrote: post #10

I'm sure everyone who has to earn a living to support their family will appreciate this move. Nothing is worse than politics at work, where you may lose your paycheck if you don't align with the correct factions.

If wage labor, “work,” is the condition of surviving in society, how could it avoid being political? Who is included in it, privileged by it, how it is organized, etc all have serious consequences that determine, again, one’s, baseline survival.

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#113

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

dvt wrote: post #21

GitLab are being hypocritical[1][2]. Let's not pretend the "women in tech" and LGBT movements aren't political. Frankly, I think more women in tech and LGBT representation are probably good things, but GitLab is being profoundly disingenuous with their guidelines. To clarify my point: if you open the gates to the marketplace of ideas, make sure it's an actual marketplace . [1] https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2018/10/08…

I think it's fair to call women in tech initiatives nonpolitical. There's no significant political opposition to them; things like the INSPIRE Women Act (the women in tech initiative for NASA) regularly get passed with no real debate.

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#114

Post by download13 »

baalimago wrote: post #13

Reminds me of Peter Handke's recent Nobel prize in literature, where the committee were/are heavily criticized for judging only by literature, and not by Handke's political viewpoints. Maybe politics doesn't need to be involved in every single part of society, only the political aspects of it.

Giving someone public recognition also gives recognition to anything that person might say. If they are known for believing that killing certain groups of people is okay, then giving them recognition is inherently political.

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#115

Post by ergothus »

I have a pet theory that we (that is, the culture I'm familiar with, so I don't really know how widespread it is, but at least the white U.S.) have spent too long saying "don't discuss politics, sex, religion, and politics".

We literally have no practice handling differences regarding the very items people are passionate about.

The answer isn't to get into massive drama-filled flame wars, nor to drive people with minority opinions into hiding, but at the same time I don't think continuing the "enforced silence until it's considered common knowledge" is the right way to handle it.

See another comment pointing out that issues like gender equality, cognitive diversity, and workplace rights regardless of sexual preferences are ALL "political", but also directly impact the workplace. How do we decide workplace issues if not at the workplace?

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#116

Post by darawk »

sonotathrowaway wrote: post #72
baalimago wrote: post #13

Reminds me of Peter Handke's recent Nobel prize in literature, where the committee were/are heavily criticized for judging only by literature, and not by Handke's political viewpoints. Maybe politics doesn't need to be involved in every single part of society, only the political aspects of it.

Can you expound upon which aspects of society are political and which are nonpolitical? The Supreme Court is currently considering whether or not companies can discriminate on sexual orientation, just as it had done for race and religion. What do you say to such people whose identities are inherently political?

I think his point is that any aspect of a person not directly related to the question at hand should be off-limits. In his example, that would mean that the literature should be judged on its own merits, without any reference to the character or activities of its author.

Which seems to me like a reasonable and consistent ethical position. However, it does have some consequences that might be hard to stomach. Such as, that selling computers to the Nazis would be an acceptable activity, even knowing what they intended to use them for.

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#117

Post by travmatt »

mosselman wrote: post #41
dvt wrote: post #21

GitLab are being hypocritical[1][2]. Let's not pretend the "women in tech" and LGBT movements aren't political. Frankly, I think more women in tech and LGBT representation are probably good things, but GitLab is being profoundly disingenuous with their guidelines. To clarify my point: if you open the gates to the marketplace of ideas, make sure it's an actual marketplace . [1] https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2018/10/08…

What do you mean? I am honestly asking, not flaming or anything. What is the point you are making?

That most of human society is inherently political, and that trying to pretend there is some arbitrary line dividing political and nonpolitical is disingenuous.

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#119

Post by benjohnson »

lordCarbonFiber wrote: post #59
JohnFen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nearly every place I've worked at (in the US) over the last 20 years has had an explicit prohibition against discussing politics or religion in the workplace. I'm not saying if it's OK or not as a philosophical matter, but it does help make the workplace more pleasant.

Which is great, right up until you work with people that aren't straight cis white men. Nonaction is and always will be political; it's just the politics of upholding the status quo. When a regular political talking point is whether it's ok to fire you for existing the hypocrisy of the "don't put politics in my " becomes painful (and certainly less than pleasant). Companies should be free to declare they support the…

>>Which is great, right up until you work with people that aren't straight cis white men.

My company has a "no drama" policy. Our team could be a poster for diversity and inclusion from all across the spectrum and it works really really well. We all appreciate each other.

Re: Gitlab: don't discuss politics at work

#120

Post by x86_64Ubuntu »

vowelless wrote: post #18

I am glad Dang changed the title as the original one was unnecessarily inflammatory. I don’t understand why it’s encouraged (in some companies) to discuss politics at work in a way that leads to internal issues. Purely from a commercial stance, team cohesion has a positive impact on people and product. Why do anything to disturb that? > Such a declaration could run afoul of legal boundaries in some circumstances. Whi…

Why do titles have to be sanitized for this audience? I can't remember of too many other sites whereby the admins have to essentially scrub the original titles. That makes me question the userbase more than it does the writers of said article.
Post reply on HN