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Email sign-ups in front of technical content = modern day Class discrimination

3 points by chayesfss ↗ HN
Ever try and find out how that thing works, or start exploring a field to see if you have interest only to be confronted by the modern day Class gate? Asking you, or some 12 year old kid what your email is. We can put in our corporate email, we're privileged, or like me you can always use test@ibm.com but does that 12 year old know that? Why are we (mostly you more technical) okay with this gatekeeping, denying self-taught people and forcing them to fake something if they want access? They're not good enough as they are and we don't care. I don't know, can we do better?

7 comments

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SavageBeast
If you can't figure out how to make a free email account in 2022 then the information behind the so called "Class gate" isn't going to be of much use to you anyhow.

Besides - most of this give-me-your-email is just to get you into a marketing channel and drip emails on you anyhow. In my experience very little info is behind this crap that cant be found elsewhere.

https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?biz=f...

sweetbitter
For a moment I thought I was on Lainchan.

Anyway, does the set of people that never eventually learns how to anonymous email addresses meaningfully intersect with the set of people that will ever learn any meaningful amount of knowledge about any technical field?

nonrandomstring
Want to get into something new? Want to push yourself, open doors, find a new path in life?

Then why are you in a dark wood, knocking on the door of a witch's hovel, begging for candy?

Because that's what the corporate internet is, a tumble-down trash-heap, a sewer, filled with hucksters and peddlers. Any place that presents as an informational site but asks for your email address, just laugh and move on. There's no need for it. There's never been any need for it. It's a clear signal of ill intent. So why stay for the abuse?

The real internet is still there. Maybe you just stopped seeing it. It's on millions of small personal websites, on the internet archive, wikis, forums, via torrents, IPFS, Tor sites - but you won't find that through Google or other broken "search engines" - they just lead you back to the witch's cottage.

There is a world of immense value, kindness and reciprocity out there. But it's 2022, so you have to work extra, extra hard to find it.

chayesfss
You, myself, yes we can get around these but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't burn that barrier down when we see it. Make it easier for people who just want to understand in the hope of a better life.
nonrandomstring
Much as I hate "social media" I often wish this forum was better geared for longer exchanges and conversations, because I'd love to discuss with you how we do this. Just keep chipping away in every-day life is my only suggestion.
chayesfss
When I think about the problem statement I see some type of identity verification service which can be public and require higher level KYC before granting access.

Think if the tech sites allowed for student access like a Facebook social loving integration. Instead of directing to fb they could be directed to an IdP which contains validated age metadata that the sp would accept and then minimize privilege gates?

chayesfss
Some of you are missing the point entirely which is alright because the thoughts rush. Ever see a job for such and such, maybe it was something to do with data, or you heard SAP, IBM, Oracle, Cisco (special place in hell for this)...You want to learn how and what even is a router, you want to see the technical specs, the content so many of us want to see for ourselves. To find the guardrails and see how we might know it better. That is the first gate, yourkidsemail@gmail.com isn't enough to even see it, the filtering, qualification, discrimination has already started. Don't have a project going on, aren't in charge of a 7 figure budget or higher, screw. This is privileged information and you already have to be in the club to have access.