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Comment by Aeolun | Hacker News Reader

If you have limited contact with coworkers outside of work, aren't they NPCs? For all intents and purposes they might be. You might still like them, but they don't really affect your life aside from giving you quests.

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Referring to anyone as an NPC is really insulting. People are not algorithms in a video game. They are real and they have lives and dreams and hopes and problems. Show some respect.

100% this. Calling others NPCs is the same type of psychology as the people you meet who complain about how everyone in their life - parents, spouse, friends, coworkers is a jerk...

Then complain that they are lonely. One common trait of I have seen in those with good people skills, even those who use them for bad like pushy salesmen, is that they know how to treat people as if they matter simply because they are people.

Yes, and I think the percentage of the population with these abilities is diminishing over time. People are too used to having their interactions intermediated by screens.

I couldn't agree more. Even tho I am in fact an NPC it is quite jarring to hear.

Given the context (him not wanting to stay with the acquiring company), I'm pretty sure he was referring to the large number of people at big companies who don't seem to do anything, but get in the way.

I think most people who work at Big Co's have their share of meetings where half a dozen people attend regularly, but have never said a word and you have no idea what they actually do. Those are the "NPCs" he's referring to.

> I think most people who work at Big Co's have their share of meetings where half a dozen people attend regularly, but have never said a word and you have no idea what they actually do. Those are the "NPCs" he's referring to.

Have you considered that those “NPCs” have no idea what you do..?

I wouldn't care if they know what I do, as long as they do something actually productive.

You may disagree, but the "NPC" comment comes from the widespread belief that it's easy for low-performers to stick around at big companies, versus at smaller companies that live and die by their burn rate.

Especially at Atlassian.

> … widespread belief that it's easy for low-performers…

The truth is that most high performers do menial busy work that doesn’t impact real bottom lines either. Everyone sits around doing things knowing that their job doesn’t need to exist and rather than call out the madness of a society focused on busywork for the appearance of “productivity” everyone just rips on each other instead… Society could use a lot more empathy and a lot less fear.

It's still pretty condescending. Don't know what someone's role is, but assume he doesn't do anything? Him calling other people "NPCs" is a pretty clear sign that he thinks he's the Main Character.

Not only that he's the main character but that they aren't actual humans who have their own experience and life and that it might even be ok to run them over with your car as long as you hide in the bushes for a few minutes after or get your car a new paint job.

I could say the same thing about the NPCs in a video game and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, because they wouldn't share any of their lives, hopes and dreams with you at any point.

Sure, people (probably) have their own lives; but believing this and being able to actually tell are two completely different things.

I dunno, there's something about the way you responded that rubs me entirely the wrong way. You seem to take my comment and then take the worst, instead of most generous interpretation of it. I posed a hypothetical, and it seems like you accuse me of considering every person in the world an NPC.

Calling even a single human being a NPC is completely dehumanizing and disgusting behavior. Think about the implications of the words!

Maybe instead of "the way you responded rubs me the wrong way", you could consider thinking "maybe I wrote my comment the wrong way".

What you said, both in your original comment and in this follow up, demonstrates a demented way of viewing other people.

I'd go a step further and say that I find it an extremely scary trend to call people NPCs. It's extremely dehumanizing and dehumanization always comes before acts of extreme violence. How many gamers treat actual NPCs in video games only furthers this.

I implement NPCs, and I treat them respectfully. Someday soon, they may be smarter or more powerful than I am.

One of my NPCs has a T-shirt that says "Trainee" on the front, and "Someday, we'll be in charge" on the back.

Calling people NPCs is a self-own and speaks to a persons inability to consider that everyone around them has some inner life, after work interests, etc. You don't need contact with coworkers outside of work to realize this. You just need to be a functioning decent human being able to make small talk.

While what you are saying is true, it’s a very unhealthy and inhuman way to view other people. I generally find this outlook is a sign of depression. It was for me at least

It’s not true at all, why in the world would you capitulate that?

Because you can't tell from the outside? You can only choose to believe everyone else is like you based on what you observe.

That’s an insane way to approach the world. I wish I didn’t know you thought that way.

Truth is subjective and perspective is reality. These views are technically correct when approached from fist principles. the side effect of actually internalizing them is viewing people as NPCs

First of all that’s not what the original comment said. You’re changing the nature of the statement to be something else, but neither what you said nor what he said is technically correct “when approached from fi[r]st principles.”

You are not the main character in some narrative. We are all individuals interacting with each other, and if you lose sight of that it’s very easy to make selfish and immoral choices.

No, they are people, because they are people.

I'm sorry, but quite frankly, what in the world are you talking about?

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