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Comment by Fins | Hacker News Reader

> He is a decent person like any other

Except that his behavior over years seems to suggest that he isn't. Maybe that's why people don't like him much?

What behavior exactly are you referring to? Was he an asshole to his sister or cheated on his wife or something?

So maybe Facebook was careless with user data, hardly something to judge a person on. If Zuckerberg is bad, everyone at Facebook is bad. Everyone who invests in Facebook stock is also bad. Will you go that far?

People need to stop believing their data is precious and that having it used without limit is something approaching the equivalence of rape.

From when Zuckerberg was 19:

According to SAI sources, the following exchange is between a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg and a friend shortly after Mark launched The Facebook in his dorm room:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don't know why.

Zuck: They "trust me"

Zuck: Dumb fucks.

From when Zuckerberg was 19:

A normal person's prefrontal cortex (rational brain) is underdeveloped at that age, and is only fully developed at about 25 or even 30 [1].

I had more to say about this a few days ago [2], as did dang [3].

[1] https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/18/at-what-age-is-the-...

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16661868

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16616988

Things people say as a 19 year old kid is hardly the best way to judge them.

And he wasn’t even wrong.

Starting with that he invented (or stole, or something) FB? That he ran psychological experiments on unsuspecting users? That even before this election he did allow one side fart greater access than what would be allowed to the other? That he changes how your account can be found in direct contradiction to how you had it configured for years?

That he called somebody "dumb fucks" ages ago is quite a minor thing. Maybe only shows that getting into Harvard does not mean you are that smart.

And yes, one could argue that everyone at Facebook is bad. But Zuck is the one who has control over what FB does, not some peon toiling away at what he was told to toil away at.

So A/B testing on users is considered bad now? Getting Obama elected was down right despicable? People not keeping their settings up to date is his fault?

And everyone at Facebook is bad? Jesus

A/B testing of link colors if fine, of course. Manipulating users' emotions -- not so much. Interfering in elections, without proper disclosure, and providing data of people who did not agree to it to support just one side -- yes, quite despicable. And if it weren't, then what's the problem with Cambridge? It shouldn't really matter that that one time they've supported the candidate that, I make a guess, you liked.

And it's not like the give you a new setting that you need to update. They remove, completely, the capability that you had. You just can't keep it "up to date" with the same discoverability settings you had before just because Zuck decided that you shouldn't.

Of course, it's not like every FB employee is given an operatic villain's costume during their orientation. But if you work there, you're enabling it.

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