I think your comments, in conjunction with enraged_camel's, might have given the impression that you were preparing to gang up on me.
I'm a little perplexed. Had this discussion been about the more normal HN fare, it would have been quite different. It's, as another user said, about the miilitary/industrial complex elephant. What would you have me do? You seem to be a decent enough person. Would you have me email you and let us have a discussion there, privately? Even then, you would still have no way of really knowing that anything I told you is true (although I would not lie to you, you have no way to verify, really).
I do tend to comment on aerospace matters. Primarily because that's what I do. I am a recreational programmer and do write some code at work...So my interests overlap a bit with what HN finds interesting. But I don't solely restrict myself to them...
>I think your comments, in conjunction with enraged_camel's
It wasn't coordinated, I can't even recall if I have ever replied to camel's posts before today.
>I'm a little perplexed. Had this discussion been about the more normal HN fare, it would have been quite different.
If it involves politics, surveillance, defense/aerospace, criminal or civil law, securities trading, feminism/women in tech, encryption, Linus Torvalds, etc, there is a likelihood of a spirited debate. I've probably forgotten a few subjects, but the F-35 is not the only issue that people get [perhaps too] excited about.
>Would you have me email you and let us have a discussion there, privately?
No thank you, I have no desire to have an argument in private about the F-35. I'm not even sure why I spend any time at all on the subject other than I like tech and flying, and in attempting to be an informed consumer of government. My email is easy to find if you need to for some reason but I really prefer having these discussions in public.
>It's, as another user said, about the military/industrial complex elephant.
There's more than one elephant. There are plenty who object to the fact that we put any effort into killing people. Various degrees of us who'd just like to kill a lot fewer people. And then those who don't mind killing people, but want it to be done efficiently. And, I think those who are indifferent to the killing of people, as long as they can get rich off of it (no, that's not meant to be a cheap-shot at salary-people who work in defense).
>What would you have me do?
As I said previously. I think you should disclose your association with the defense/aerospace industry, and you should do that when you join a discussion. I would feel the same if you were employed in most any other industry, and commenting in a similar manner. You don't need to reveal your location or employer or anything like that; and frankly, you need to tolerate or at least expect some skepticism about your motives.
>I do tend to comment on aerospace matters. Primarily because that's what I do.
Then you must no doubt be familiar with the fact that the F-35 project is controversial both inside and outside the .mil and the defense industry. The internet is lousy with these kinds of discussions; it's the greatest peanut gallery the world has ever known. In some of these discussions are a few people who'd apparently like to have us all believe that the F-35 is going to win all of the battles against any adversary anywhere, any time, at any place, ever; do it all for cheap, and then precision-airdrop hot-buttered toast and letters from mom to the ground troops on its way home. I'm glad that you've attempted to constrain your posts to facts which can be confirmed, but also remember that the facts are suspect where it involves next-get .mil-tech. The .mil may or may not [probably won't] release info that could damage the project, and they won't release full performance specs, either; under the naive notion/excuse that potential adversaries can't get that kind of information.
> As I said previously. I think you should disclose your association with the defense/aerospace industry, and you should do that when you join a discussion. I would feel the same if you were employed in most any other industry, and commenting in a similar manner. You don't need to reveal your location or employer or anything like that; and frankly, you need to tolerate or at least expect some skepticism about your motives.
Yes, I am an engineer in defense and aerospace. I haven't hidden that fact on HN (as you saw) but I didn't mention it explicitly in this thread because I didn't think it was necessarily relevant. I'm very conscious of "appeal to authority" and I don't want to make it seem as though I am saying that I must be right because of what I do for a living. And I thought I had been fairly tolerant.
Edit: I should clarify "necessarily relevant with respect to the facts". I link to public sources where appropriate. Anyone can do so, no matter who they are. Strictly in this context, my affiliation doesn't matter.
> The .mil may or may not [probably won't] release info that could damage the project, and they won't release full performance specs, either; under the naive notion/excuse that potential adversaries can't get that kind of information.
Why make it easy for them? And yes, I'm very very aware that the F-35 is very controversial. But I see so much misinformation that sometimes I feel compelled to point out where/how the correct information can be found.
I'm a little perplexed. Had this discussion been about the more normal HN fare, it would have been quite different. It's, as another user said, about the miilitary/industrial complex elephant. What would you have me do? You seem to be a decent enough person. Would you have me email you and let us have a discussion there, privately? Even then, you would still have no way of really knowing that anything I told you is true (although I would not lie to you, you have no way to verify, really).
I do tend to comment on aerospace matters. Primarily because that's what I do. I am a recreational programmer and do write some code at work...So my interests overlap a bit with what HN finds interesting. But I don't solely restrict myself to them...