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Comment by mattbee | Hacker News Reader

My swag lesson: everyone likes bottle openers! But international travellers can't take pointy/blady things back in hand luggage. I had a lot of those things left over after that show.

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I certainly don't, and I would like them even less if multiple companies were sticking them in my hand at a trade show. I think generally the tech industry could do with less focus on alcohol. I don't drink, but I used to be okay with going to socialize with coworkers at a happy hour. But it doesn't take very long to tire of leadership talking about inclusivity, and then only planning alcohol-focused team events, when they all know I'm not into it. But more to the point: a lot of harmful stuff happens to your team when everyone is drunk. It's hard to work with someone who threw up in your Uber the night before. I don't know why some companies keep rolling those dice.

> a lot of harmful stuff happens to your team when everyone is drunk

As you've proven, having alcohol based events doesn't require anyone (and def not everyone) to get drunk.

> It's hard to work with someone who threw up in your Uber the night before

You clearly have some issues with people who drink to excess. That's your prerogative, so maybe you should work with different people.

And how many different companies should I work at before I conclude that the industry in general could use a change and that it's not me that needs to make changes?

Wait, what? I drink sometimes, I don’t mind events with drinking, but I would never think to drink the point of throwing up at a work event and would absolutely disapprove of anyone who does. Rather than asking people to filter companies based on the most noxious behavior from the most irresponsible team member, why not enforce a minimum bar for acceptable behavior? It’s not like puking is a job duty.

> You clearly have some issues with people who drink to excess. That's your prerogative, so maybe you should work with different people.

Wtf? That's definitely not on the poster. I don't have a problem with an (optional) work happy hour, but its still work and a base level of professionalism is expected. People drinking to excess at work events is a major red flag for the company.

Agreed! I stopped drinking at work event years ago in order to minimize the risk of bad stuff happening, and then stopped drinking entirely due to pregnancy/nursing, so I've no idea what I'd do with a bottle opener.

One of the nice things about remote-friendly companies these days is less pressure to be around alcohol-infused events.

In some countries non-alcoholic drinks also require a bottle opener (or some creative usage of a nearby straight edge) to open.

>everyone likes bottle openers

I have no use for one. Haven't opened a bottle in a few years now. And maybe have done so at most 30 times throughout my life. (Don't drink soda and rarely drink alcohol.)

Most of the alcohol these days has pull tabs or twist tops. There was a time when the companies tried to pretend that old bottles with old caps were somehow better but I think that urge has faded.

Untrue for bottled beer in the uk!

Not true in the Netherlands, which is why the average dutch person can open a bottle of beer with various objects, such as a lighter, keys, anything small and stiff, tabletop or teeth.

nokia will always have a special place in my heart

Do they really? I'd think everyone who drinks already has a couple. I've got two at all times (one that's part of a multitool, and a separate titanium one from a Kickstarter).

Yeah, this reminds me of one of the swag items at KubeCon a few years ago. Someone was giving out DevOps Magic 8 Balls. My first thought: “oh that’s fun!” My second thought: “wait this is annoying to get back home on the flight.”

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