The Woman in the Facebook Frat House

Once we learned how the software worked, he taught us, without batting an eye, the master password with which we could log in as any Facebook user and gain access to all messages and data.

Yikes!

Re: The Woman in the Facebook Frat House

#6

Post by te_chris » Sat, Jun 23, 2012, 4:11 AM UTC

aheilbut wrote: post #2

I'm hearing a tiny, sad violin.

And I'm seeing the problem with the tech industry's attitude towards women illustrated in your comment, not to mention that it's actually just one excerpt from an upcoming book (disclosed down the bottom of the article).

Re: The Woman in the Facebook Frat House

#7

Post by pnmahoney » Sat, Jun 23, 2012, 4:19 AM UTC

aheilbut wrote: post #2

I'm hearing a tiny, sad violin.

god. jesus. NO. you've already set the course for the "here comes another HN thread where people act/get pissy" thread, so we might as well. Here goes: You probably can't imagine what it's like

- for a female employee to be aggressively pursued by a supervisor for a sexual act, nor can you fathom

- the powerlessness of being one of those women who have all noticed this behavior and, worse,

- knowing that they can't do anything about it.

Nor, as your comment indicatese ... should anyone think it's important.

Some people might consider this worth discussion, even if they think that the issue's overblown (either this instance or generally 'women in tech'), but not you.

No, instead, you thought it would be fucking clever to do perhaps the stupidest, tritest 2003-era joke to convey your callous - in response to a pretty even-handed account, no less. It's beyond saving to be upset about the stupid shit which runs through this site, but what I am having trouble with is trying to decipher what the fucking point of your comment here is. Does mine have one either? Not really; guilty as charged. In any case - your stupid response deserves at least mine in kind, and probably also the revulsion of anyone who thinks things this-article-related should matter.

And, fuck, a tiny violin joke? Really? That's the icing on the human-shitstain cake.

Edited for emphasis, I am sorry that my infuriation has distracted you by way of cursing. But not apologizing for total derision - I'll stand by conveying how _completely fucked up_ this is. Let's take this seriously.

Re: The Woman in the Facebook Frat House

#8

Post by DanielBMarkham » Sat, Jun 23, 2012, 4:21 AM UTC

More than 50 employees and one master password. Awesome.

Most companies start silo-ing waaaaay too early, everybody breaking up into little "that's not my job" cliques. It's just much less painful that way. Sounds like FB actively resisted, whether through design or chance.

Re: The Woman in the Facebook Frat House

#9

Post by __float » Sat, Jun 23, 2012, 4:28 AM UTC

pnmahoney wrote: post #7

aheilbut wrote: post #2

I'm hearing a tiny, sad violin.

god. jesus. NO. you've already set the course for the "here comes another HN thread where people act/get pissy" thread, so we might as well. Here goes: You probably can't imagine what it's like - for a female employee to be aggressively pursued by a supervisor for a sexual act, nor can you fathom - the powerlessness of being one of those women who have all noticed this behavior and, worse, - knowing that they can't d…

Hm. I'm willing to bet your response would have been taken more seriously than his (hint: it wasn't) if you hadn't taken his tone and reduced it to the point of swearing so much.

If it is such an important issue, perhaps treat it a bit more professionally.

Re: The Woman in the Facebook Frat House

#10

Post by __float » Sat, Jun 23, 2012, 4:29 AM UTC

duck wrote: post #5

Once we learned how the software worked, he taught us, without batting an eye, the master password with which we could log in as any Facebook user and gain access to all messages and data. Yikes!

I think we learned of this master password probably several years ago. It's nothing new, but I keep seeing it repeated in various forms since.

Also, other discussion possibly going on here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4149731