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I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

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141–150 of 493 posts

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#141

The engineer describes Facebook as being on the "wrong side of History." I take this opportunity to remind my fellow readers that History is not an infallible goddess to be worshipped. The moral arc of the past several hundred years has bent towards liberty and tolerance, but this has not been consistent and was not inevitable. It is precisely when your values are on the "wrong side of History" that you should be def…

> It is precisely when your values are on the "wrong side of History" that you should be defending them the most strongly.

Not sure what you mean, people who supported slavery were on the wrong side of history, are you saying they should have defended it strongly because they were "right" according to them?

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#142
post #49

I don't understand why doesn't Facebook just: -Allow all posts -Allow users to customize what they want to see (e.g. "dont show me posts that glorify violence" or "only allow covid posts that match WHO guidelines" or "allow exceptions from political figures or of historical significance") and allow users to ban hide posts that are found untruthful by third parties (snopes, etc). To me effectively everyone wins. Faceb…

Very simply, the biggest threat to Facebook and other tech companies is the legacy media they're replacing. Censorship is a complex issue. So any solution will get them eaten alive for not suiting literally everyone. Then you'll be pilloried for failing to appease the one nano-segment of society that thinks you went too far or not far enough.

For your solution, the NY Times will run stories about Facebook censoring us on Monday then stories about Facebook letting Nazis eat babies on Tuesday.

That's the issue Facebook faces here: not minimising social damage or maximising freedom, it's protecting share price and avoiding legislation due to economically motivated attacks.

Fyi, I actually really like your answer.

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#143
post #96
post #49

I don't understand why doesn't Facebook just: -Allow all posts -Allow users to customize what they want to see (e.g. "dont show me posts that glorify violence" or "only allow covid posts that match WHO guidelines" or "allow exceptions from political figures or of historical significance") and allow users to ban hide posts that are found untruthful by third parties (snopes, etc). To me effectively everyone wins. Faceb…

See you have a healthy respect for the idea of free expression, as do I Unfortunately we are in the minority, the majority wants SOMEONE ELSE to choose what they can see, what is the "good speech" and what is the "bad speech" They want someone else to tell them what the "good things" are they should be supporting, and what the "bad things" are that they need to oppose In short, people no longer want to think critical…

We simultaneously hate and fear Mark Zuckerberg and we want him to be the ultimate censor on everything we see and read. Somehow, we've decided that we want to demand that he take even more power.

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#144
post #39

Social media is fast food. If you eat it all the time it makes you feel awful and will destroy your mental and physical health. But its cheap, easy to get and tastes really good... So stupid people love it.

You're on social media

https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#145

this dude is just being an attention grabber now. yesterday he posted to linkedin and now today facebook. what's next? a frontpage ad in the nyt or a billboard in times square? great... you quit your job on your beliefs, who really gives a sh*t.

A big chunk of any protest is getting your voice heard. So yeah, he's trying to grab attention. That is entirely the point here.

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#148
post #128

To those trying to minimize his stance by saying he is in a privileged position to do that: Please check your own privileges, and ask yourself when was the last time you gave up comfort for yourself and your family for a principle that you believe in.

I imagine the large majority of people throwing stones never really gave up any of their own life comforts for a principle

("oh, but I can't give X, Y or Z up, because I absolutely need those things")

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#149
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whilst his stance is to be applauded, it lessens the value of the stance given that he’s not sacrificing much and won’t suffer for his cause. Doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do, just that it would carry more weight if he was leaving to go work at Burger King. Then you’d say “man that guy stands tall”. Edit: Ok reasonable criticism, I’ll withdraw.

So it would be more valuable if a janitor quit their job at Facebook than if a developer quit?

Only if the janitor was clearing 250k at Facebook. OP’s idea is sacrificing a high paying job that isn’t easy for you to replace.

Re: I'm resigning from my job at Facebook

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a highly privileged position to be in to make a personal stand and leave your $250,000 job for another $250,000 job. Not judging this way or that, just saying.

It's not that simple or easy. Many of these guys are giving up tends of thousands of dollars in benefits (stock options/ bonuses). Also, the assumption that everyone with a good paying job at Facebook is going to be able to quickly pick up a comparable job in a short amount of time is a huge stretch. Ultimately developers leaving and people refusing to work for Facebook, drive up Facebook's costs and speaks to their…

It's not really a huge stretch, his post on LinkedIn [0] has 200K+ reactions, and it's an understatement to say he'll have no trouble _at all_ getting a job within a few weeks.

[0]: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timothy-j-aveni_blacklivesmat...

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