[dang]

> I think your mind is a little bit stuck in the SF bubble.

I'm sure you meant no harm, but please don't make unfounded personal comments like that. They have a high probability of being taken ill and provoking defensive reactions. And they add no information, except perhaps information about the commenter's assumptions.

[CydeWeys]

I don't think it's that personal. I've had people point out to me before that my thinking was a bit divorced from reality, and it was really helpful to be told that in no uncertain terms. Actually, some of the very best advice or information that anyone has ever given me. Yes, it was tough to be on the end of a blunt message like that in that moment, but over time I've realized that it was definitely worth it.

The reality of the situation is that there are at least thousands of different large-scale manufacturers worldwide across all possible industries that employ thousands of employees on up each. This is basically the history of the industrial/manufacturing revolution that we're talking about here. This should be common knowledge, and if it's not, the most helpful solution is to go learn more about it. NO OTHER industry is like software engineering, where all it can take is a dozen hackers to yield a billion dollar startup. Reacting in surprise that there exists a single manufacturing company of that scale in employee count, when in fact there are thousands, indicates that yes, you might be in a bubble.

[dang]

Indeed, I have too. But it's a far different operation on the internet, and if you're going to attempt it here, you need to provide clear differentiators from garden-variety personal abrasiveness, which is definitely going to be the default interpretation.

From a community point of view, if there's a nontrivial chance of generating an angry subthread, then the expected value of such a comment is negative. You can change that into a positive by putting more care into how you express your point. It's hard, but doable; there are users here who are good at it.