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[return to "Notepad++ hijacked by state-sponsored actors"]
1. simlev+S1[view] [source] 2026-02-02 02:18:44
>>myster+(OP)
Probably related to this: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v869-about-taiwan/
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2. icelan+72[view] [source] 2026-02-02 02:21:13
>>simlev+S1
Yeah, Notepad++ is known for political messaging in their updates. Taiwan, Ukraine, etc.
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3. LoganD+W3[view] [source] 2026-02-02 02:39:38
>>icelan+72
I can't help but feel there must some better venue for such messaging.

When I see politics in software updates or documentation, nothing happens because I'm not looking to use the software for political activism. Maybe I tell my adblocker to remove the messaging, and carry on with my task.

I can engage with politics in a social context, when political messaging isn't interrupting something else I'm doing; that's a better place for activism, IMHO.

I almost always see activists using the argument that if I don't like the messaging then I'm part of the problem. Somehow I doubt that, given I don't mind messaging at all, where it's appropriate.

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4. ryandr+K4[view] [source] 2026-02-02 02:49:36
>>LoganD+W3
Similar comments also come up in the [now regular] "I don't want to see political articles on HN" threads, and I think the response is similar: Asking for "no politics" is itself a strong political view: One in support/service of whatever the current status quo is. Trying to set oneself apart from (or above) politics is itself political. If you're lucky enough to be one of the fortunate people on earth who are not under attack by political forces or who benefit from status quo politics, I'd encourage you to simply reflect on that good luck and try to ignore the "politics" that others are deeply affected by and care about.
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5. getnor+57[view] [source] 2026-02-02 03:10:22
>>ryandr+K4
Nah, it doesn't mean they support the status quo. It just means some political tactics are pointless, incompetent, and counterproductive.

Political opinions about how things should be don't automatically dictate the actions that should be taken in support of those opinions. I can be mad about a law or a court decision and still have the good sense to, for example, not throw red paint on a lawmaker or judge.

Some behaviors just aren't helpful, and neither being right nor being upset changes that.

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6. popalc+W9[view] [source] 2026-02-02 03:43:13
>>getnor+57
It intrinsically does. Whatever stance changes nothing or prefers to change nothing is a vote for the status quo, by definition.
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7. direwo+aS[view] [source] 2026-02-02 11:46:47
>>popalc+W9
I wouldn't say that avoiding political discussion yourself because you can't handle it is a vote for the status quo, but telling others not to talk about politics is definitely a vote for the status quo.
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8. fc417f+rl3[view] [source] 2026-02-03 00:19:22
>>direwo+aS
Doesn't that depend entirely on the context? Telling the grocery store not to carry dairy products is an anti-dairy stance. Objecting to dairy products in the vegetable section is not anti-dairy it's pro-keeping-things-organized. Debating whether or not dairy ought to be allowed in the vegetable section is also not anti-dairy, at least in the general case.
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9. direwo+iI4[view] [source] 2026-02-03 11:36:10
>>fc417f+rl3
Unlike milk, politics pervades everything. It's not like keeping milk cartons out of the vegetable section, it's like keeping the letter "p" out of the vegetable section.
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10. fc417f+w45[view] [source] 2026-02-03 13:58:43
>>direwo+iI4
You've broken the analogy. The broad categories of food equate to the broad categories of discussion topics.

How attention works, whether training on scraped data is legal, and whether or not the latter should be permissible are three distinct topics. Only the third is inherently political. The second has a close relation to politics but is ultimately a legal question as opposed to a political contest. The first has absolutely nothing to do with politics in and of itself.

> politics pervades everything

That's exactly the problem. Sometimes I don't want it to. If I pull up a spec sheet for a microcontroller I don't want to be bombarded with propaganda pertaining to the political tug of war of the day.

The fact that mundane actions can have political impacts when considered en masse does not imply that we can't or shouldn't have spaces for discussions that are reasonably free of political topics. It isn't always appropriate (imo) to discuss the political impacts of the task at hand. It's okay to have a space in which only the task itself is permitted.

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