Why the white male bashing? That is a very narrow minded view and I really hope that you can grow and see beyond race and gender. It is a big world out there and I recommend you go out and explore.
App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
21–27 of 27 posts
Re: App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
#22The bottom line here is that almost everything has a cost. You can pay with money (App.net) or you can pay with freedom (Facebook / Twitter). Is there a third way besides pure charity?
I was about to say the same thing. I also don't understand some of the direction of the complaint. The people she knows who signed up were male, and that's unfortunate because? Her female friends were not being dicouraged from signing up, were they? I have no idea why the anecdotal self-selection would be bad. Would it be disappointing if most of her readers were female? Or would it be unfortunate if most poeople visiting substance-abuse support communities were substance abusers?
Ok, so it's unfortunate that as far as she knows males signed up. But then, it's also bad that there is a $50 cost to entry. It's a qualitatively bad site (it's all these self-selecting guys), but I'd like it to be easier (dollar-free) to join a site I thought was the wrong direction in social?
If app.net is successful, what would prevent others from creating their own interest-driven sites? It's not as if reddit, flickr, etc. have unified users sharing and seeing everything anyway. People who go to those sites generally spend their time in/with specific groups. Just because "it's open" and there is free access does not ensure that people from disparate groups within those sites interact and share ideas. People in many sites tend to gravitate towards like-minded people or at least similarly-interested people.
Diversity of thought is a great goal, but in practice, people seldom look for people to genuinely question their beliefs.
Re: App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. I think that there are a lot of situations where homogeneous interests/views can preclude interesting conversations, but I don't think HN is a place where this applies. The reason is, while HN may be filled with all people who like startups--in fact, it may be primarily white males--so many people know so many different things, and have so many different perspectives, that I consistently fin conversations of…
While this adds nothing to the conversation, I would like to think there is a strong contingent of Indian males at HN as well.
I think you're probably right, and I'd venture a guess that HN is not in fact majority white male. I was simply using that to accentuate my point. :D
Re: App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. I think that there are a lot of situations where homogeneous interests/views can preclude interesting conversations, but I don't think HN is a place where this applies. The reason is, while HN may be filled with all people who like startups--in fact, it may be primarily white males--so many people know so many different things, and have so many different perspectives, that I consistently fin conversations of…
The reason is, while HN may be filled with all people who like startups--in fact, it may be primarily white males--so many people know so many different things, and have so many different perspectives, that I consistently fin conversations of a higher quality than anywhere else on the Internet. I think this is true only with regards to sort of the 'classic' elements of HN; discussions of technical matters, startups,…
Agreed, but increasingly I find that HN actually does a pretty great job of limiting the number of posts that involve any sort of fanboyism that you mention. Many may get submitted, but the community doesn't seem interested in bringing that many of those posts (compared to other news sites/communities) to the front page.
Re: App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
#25The bottom line here is that almost everything has a cost. You can pay with money (App.net) or you can pay with freedom (Facebook / Twitter). Is there a third way besides pure charity?
I was about to say the same thing. I also don't understand some of the direction of the complaint. The people she knows who signed up were male, and that's unfortunate because? Her female friends were not being dicouraged from signing up, were they? I have no idea why the anecdotal self-selection would be bad. Would it be disappointing if most of her readers were female? Or would it be unfortunate if most poeople vis…
I'm reading a little between the lines here. But I think this is what her answers would be:
> The people she knows who signed up were male, and that's unfortunate because?
A lack of diversity is a fundamental evil.
> Her female friends were not being di[s]couraged from signing up, were th[e]y?
Females must equal males in all things. Otherwise it's DISCRIMINATION by the GRAND EVIL SEXIST PIG CONSPIRACY.
> Would it be disappointing if most of her readers were female?
No. A mostly-female community is empowering. A mostly-male community is a sexist boys' club. THIS RULE HOLDS REGARDLESS OF ALL FACTS, REASONS, AND MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES.
> But then, it's also bad that there is a $50 cost to entry.
CAPITALISM AND MAKING MONEY are evil under all circumstances. In the future, everyone will work for the government, and all will be sweetness and light. Despite the fact that this was tried and failed miserably, as anyone who knows anything about the past 100 years of world history can tell you.
> I'd like it to be easier (dollar-free) to join a site I thought was the wrong direction in social?
The world owes me a handout. Obviously.
> If app.net is successful, what would prevent others from creating their own interest-driven sites?
OH NOES MORE CAPITALISTS IT'S SPREADING
Re: App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
#26> It’s [HN] also boring as hell. It’s an echo chamber, a bubble. Funny... the reason I like HN is because the comments are actually well-thought out and interesting. I honestly can't understand how Twitter, with it's character limit and lack of threads, can provide more "interesting" "discussion".
As someone who doesn't really fit into HN (not really interested in startups, but like web design/development), I'd have to agree with the overall assertion. It feels a lot like an echo chamber, and I find myself often thinking "the rest of the world is a lot different than HN" after reading comments here.
Re: App.net: The Country Club of the Internet?
#27> It’s [HN] also boring as hell. It’s an echo chamber, a bubble. Funny... the reason I like HN is because the comments are actually well-thought out and interesting. I honestly can't understand how Twitter, with it's character limit and lack of threads, can provide more "interesting" "discussion".
Also the irony of saying HN is an echo chamber, when the primary content on my Twitter feed are retweets. Twitter is useless to me as a communicator, as someone that thrives on discussions and not abbreviated tidbits. Despite following only people I trust and admire, my feed is garbage. The single time I had a lengthy direct message conversation, it was a mess and a pain to have to add "..." to the end of each and then write the next message fast enough so that next person doesn't respond without all of the information. It really couldn't be a worse place to try to have serious conversations.