Not to argue with you or anything, but the guy is really not going to see if other people get upvoted more or something. And he recently got an ipad. He was not lucid enough to do stuff on the internet for a long time. He lost his house to his medical bills. The ipad he was probably given as a last wish is probably the coolest, most alive thing he has gotten to do in a long, long time. Talking to a jillion people at the same time when you have had no real social life in ages is like snorting cocaine or something -- woohoo! give me more of that shit! He said it was his best hour of 2011.
I hope your final days or hours are good enough that some of the concerns you have expressed will still be relevant for you. But I really don't see how any of them apply in this particular instance.
I think you're arguing with me, but that's fine. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel :)
It's not whether the person in question experiences one thing or another from their posting. The question is whether or not the tools that the community uses to rank tech gossip should be the same tools as it uses to process final words.
I find that a form of monetization of human life, and I'm not in favor of heading down that road. It leads to bad places. Not for the posters, but for the rest of the community.
I think your mistake, if you made one, was assuming that my concern was for the feelings of those posting. It is not. It is for the continuing devaluing of human life by technology. The commnenter said that this article reached out and touched him, and I think that's great. If we had 50 on here a week, it would not. And I think that is unacceptable.
If we had 50 on here a week, it would not. And I think that is unacceptable.
I am sure you are right about that. But what I have found personally is that a) I didn't learn how to live until I spent a lot of time at death's door and b) most people who speak with me are invigorated by exposure to ..whatever I got out of that experience. They get to get some perspective on their own lives and problems and sometimes decided that the concerns they are obsessing over are just stupid and not that important. I have terrible financial problems, which are a real issue. I would likely have them had I pursued conventional treatments as well only I wouldn't be getting well. But my creditors aren't going to come cut out my lungs or the lungs of my 23 year old son (who has the same diagnosis I have), which is basically what I would be facing otherwise (lung transplants are really common with my condition). So I just can't find it in me to be as upset about my financial situation as other people sometimes seem to think I should be.
Technology went a long way towards saving my life, both literally and figuratively. It gave me a social life when I as unable to leave my house. It gave me access to research when I was too sick to go to a library. It gave me a means to occupy my time when having nothing to do but go crazy from constant unrelieved pain was a fate worse than death.
I don't really see the issue with the post on Reddit. I would agree with you if someone posted here that they have a new startup idea and plan to make a site specifically to have exactly this kind of post as its sole purpose. I thought the community was very supportive and kind and humane in its treatment of the situation, suprisingly so given how much trash gets talked about Reddit on HN.
But then I am some feverish twit just hanging out here tonight because I can't sleep and can't focus to do anything more than shoot the breeze with strangers...etc...what the hell do I know?
Edit: And it's really not intended as argument. It's intended as conversation. Since I spent some time at death's door and spent a lot of time online during that time, I have this silly idea that my thoughts on this topic might be of interest to your soul-searching...or whatever.
I hope your final days or hours are good enough that some of the concerns you have expressed will still be relevant for you. But I really don't see how any of them apply in this particular instance.