Worldcoin gives off really similar vibes. The footer of their website reads:
> Worldcoin tokens are not intended to be available to people or companies who are residents of, or are located, incorporated or have a registered agent in, the United States or other restricted territories.
That doesn't sound very good! And then there's this critical review of Worldcoin's operations in Indonesia https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoi...
I really don't get good vibes from this whole thing...
But also Emil Cioran: "What makes bad [technologists] worse is that they [are steeped only in tech-centric thought] (just as bad philosophers read only philosophers), whereas they would benefit much more from a book of botany or geology. We are enriched [and gain a sensible sense of ethics] only by frequenting disciplines remote from our own. This is true, of course, only for realms where the ego is rampant."
Magical incantations and bad words are also the easiest things to avoid while still being very aggressive. Adhering to arbitrary pieties in form is actually a nice shield against people who are allergic to substance.
It's not hubris - it's called having a spine.
I hope people do read that, and the context. There's nothing banworthy there, at least from me. Not unless you're a big fan of tptacek running roughshod over people, as you yourself admit he often does.
You also claimed to have "asked me to stop" - which you didn't.
And when I asked you where you said that you didn't reply.
And when I emailed to ask nicely to be unbanned, as you requested, you ignored it.
So... Yeah.
You were breaking the site guidelines repeatedly in that thread.
> And when I asked you where you said that you didn't reply
Sorry — usually I do reply — I must not have seen https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34856255. FWIW in retrospect, here are some places where we asked you to stop (I don't remember why I used the word 'just' though, since these are older):
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30293928 (Feb 2022)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28699914 (Sept 2021)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28650525 (Sept 2021)
> when I emailed to ask nicely to be unbanned, as you requested, you ignored it
I can't find any email that references your username. When did you send it?