
The ticking time bomb of old Slack posts - imartin2k
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/the-anxiety-inducing-peril-of-old-slack-posts.html
======
snagglegaggle
>“We’re colleagues, but we can also laugh as friends!”

It doesn't even take time. Statements like the above are invariably lies.
Seeing friends and acquantances or their friends and acquantances harassed or
fired for innocuous or misunderstood comments has reinforced to me that the
least amount of contact with your coworkers is desireable. I was told this
long ago but did not initially believe.

It has also changed how I see other cultures. Most are intolerant in their own
way. In particular the adage that Europeans are more open about politics is
not really true -- they're more willing to discuss policy not found elsewhere,
but react similarly poorly to other cultures to foreign ideas.

~~~
artsyca
You gotta ask yourself what are you actually doing if you invest such a large
portion of your daily life amongst people with whom you can't be intimately
vulnerable?

~~~
snagglegaggle
That is a good question. I guess it's kind of like making friends at school --
you socialize because you're in the same place, not because of some deep
inherent connection. Coupled with a lack of work it may be hard to move jobs.

I am surprised at how easily people in HN take on new jobs and negotiate for
better pay.

~~~
artsyca
What I mean is, writing software with other people is about as intimate as you
can get, you are literally combining your thoughts on paper and creating a
shared paradigm

If you believe that can be done while simulateously avoiding all intimacy on a
personal level, the irony will defeat you every time and your software will
fail

Being a true software dev means warts and all or not at all

~~~
meowface
I completely disagree. I can work closely with someone without being friends
with them, or sharing anything personal about myself. That's one reason I like
open source development. You can treat everyone, including yourself, as
formless brains in a vat, and just focus on the tasks at hand.

If it's something like co-founding a startup, that's different. But I don't
work a day job to form "intimate relationships". I've found the less intimate
and personal, the more productive and smooth things go. But maybe I'm
abnormal.

~~~
artsyca
I'm of the opinion that sharing code is the most intimate act that people can
engage in, it's like writing a story and you both have to agree on the plot,
the characters, the layout.. now you might say you can spend 8 - 10 hours a
day in isolation writing code but I'm telling you that's impossible -- even if
I allude to the old adage 'to go quickly go alone, to go far travel with
company' eventually you're going to need to know the person you're travelling
with because holding back is actually much harder than simply putting down
your defences

Admittedly, remote work is something different but being colocated for
extended periods of time even if you are an island, most people are not and
you ought to give a care to your fellow human beings because any one could be
going through some shit, as we are all wont to do -- look at TechLead for
example.. his wife left him!! did he even mention it to his cubicle mates or
did he just maintain a stiff upper lip?

------
ThrowawayR2
Interesting, I didn't know this:

> " _A lesser known fact about Slack is that its name is, according to the
> company’s founder Stewart Butterfield, an acronym. It stands for “Searchable
> Log of All Communication and Knowledge.” Not menacing at all._ "

~~~
snagglegaggle
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_SubGenius#Conspi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_SubGenius#Conspiracy_and_%22Slack%22)

------
dictum
I don't know if I should be reassured or concerned that the insularity and
provincial-but-seemingly-worldly spirit of journalism professionals is
apparently equal to that of technology professionals.

~~~
millerm
Yes, they are people too. :-)

------
jakeogh
Is there a popular open Slack alternative? I suppose it's just a IRC client
that inlines images? (havent tried slack so idk)

~~~
johntash
Matrix.org / Riot.im, Rocket.chat, and Mattersmost are all popular
alternatives.

Matrix is what I'm hoping will become more popular since it's more of a
decentralized system.

Other than inline images, having voice/video calls and screensharing are
becoming important as well.

