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by ClumsyPilot 1432 days ago
'They only happen because people like you and me agree to implement them.'

i am sorry, this is absurd line or reasoning. This logic has never worked in the history of business. It can only work in lisenced proffeshions like law and accounting where doing something nasty would loose you your lisence and your boss knows that, so literslly noone would agree to do it

secondly, captive portal at prague airport actually has a function - it provides you with up to date information about flights and dates.

1 comments

The market for software engineers is very good. Many companies can't just cut you loose because you push back against an anti-feature. If they do, you have no shortage of other companies to work for.

You can provide flight information without a captive portal, just stick it on a normal web server. Maybe stick QR codes around the airport to help guide people to it. Bonus: you can access it outside of the airport.

> The market for software engineers is very good. Many companies can't just cut you loose because you push back against an anti-feature.

they can and always do find someone else to do it. This line of reasoning literally has never worked

As a thought experiment, if we want to use voluntary inaction to prevent bad ends, we have to go the distance. Standing alone won’t work , because companies can raise their rates until someone takes up the offer or they can lower their standards and pick up a dev without good prospects.

In order for this scheme to work, unions are needed. A professional union which like doctors associations would enforce ethical standards on its members and use collective bargaining to freeze malefactors out of the industry.

It wouldn’t be as good as how doctors have it, with legal weight and governmental recognition, but it would be enough.

This has worked many times. I have personally said "no" several times and many of my colleagues have as well -- and none of us were fired and none of the anti-features were built.