<rant>
The commentary mocking people for their poor English, followed by disparaging remarks about an entire country as if the email senders represent a typical sample from that nation, says more about the blog owner than about the email senders themselves.
The blog owner exudes elitist vibes in the commentary. A quick skim of the blog reveals a request for Bitcoin donations, suggesting $3 as the amount, without considering that a large portion of this donation will be eaten up by fees.
</rant>
There are many genuinely talented and accomplished computer scientists from and in India; however, if you are an internet personality and you are constantly bombarded with blatant requests, or even demands, which are indeed poorly written and come off as just trying to get something from you, it points to a possible culture difference. A lot of these requests come from students who are looking for shortcuts, or think that because you have code on GitHub, they are entitled to your personal support. India is a huge country, so even if a very small part of the population acts this way, it can be overwhelming and form some strong opinions on the receiving end - and this is not limited to India.
> however, if you are an internet personality and you are constantly bombarded with blatant requests, or even demands, which are indeed poorly written and come off as just trying to get something from you, it points to a possible culture difference
Since I backpacked for 5 years, I started to have a shallow understanding of culture differences but enough to make me think that people from two or three cultures aren't really great to interact with. I keep these to myself, voicing it would say more about me than them.
I can see why these racists come to the conclusion that all Indians speak a certain way. If they see something written with a few quirks common to Indian English they confirm their bias that all Indians speak and write that way. If they see text without that tell, their bias is still confirmed because they conclude this person must have grown up elsewhere.
For the racists at the back - language diverges over time. That’s perfectly normal. As the reader/listener it’s easier for us to make the effort to understand than it is for someone to change how they speak. If you’re ok with making an effort to understand unusual words and phrases used by Australian, Scottish, Irish, Kiwi people but you won’t do the same for Indian people, reflect on why you do that.
People from NZ change most “e” sounds to “i”, so they’d eat pincakes for breakfast for example. I find that quirk endearing. Or Australians using words like ute, jaffle etc. But somehow only white English speakers are given the benefit of the doubt when they do this? Why can’t Indians get the same thing when they’re speaking their second language?
"it’s easier for us to make the effort to understand than it is for someone to change how they speak"
Not just change how they speak, but learn entirely new concepts that do not exist in their language, and that they have no intuition for. I'm currently teaching German to somebody whose native language has no tenses, no cases, mostly no plurals, essentially no genders, different phonemes, and is written in a different script.
Having to not just learn these concepts, but be familiar enough with them to form an intuitive understanding and use them correctly in most instances, at a near-native level, is something that takes a decade or more for an adult. To be dismissive of somebody who makes that effort is pathetic.
Yeah I thought we have a universal consensus that we never make fun of the way people speak English because they’re trying their best in a second or third language. And they’re doing that despite the challenges you point out.
If someone does it, it means they’re racist. The act itself isn’t racist, but I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that they’d have other racist opinions and do racist things.
I totally agree with you. But I'm curious about one thing: how do most Indians react to Indians scamming people from all around the world? Is there a movement to push back against them or are we (the world) on our own? Same thing I wish to ask the Nigerians about the Nigeria princes.
I think no one, from any country, has any sympathy for scammers. FWIW, Indians suffer plenty from the same scammers because it's possible to target Indians much more easily. You don't need to figure out international payments, accents, international calling - just pick up the phone and go.
I would challenge the notion that a "movement" can push back against criminals. This is a law enforcement issue and a difficult one at that because law enforcement doesn't have real time insight into money transfers.
If it is any comfort, India is a democratic country and the government is somewhat receptive to the needs of the people. With Indian people suffering from financial crime and complaining about it the government could start to crack down on it.
People in India suffer from these same scams, too. They are pissed.
I haven't lived in India for decades, but saw an interesting TV show about a famous phone phishing operation run out of a small village in Bihar state. It's fiction, but based on a real news report.
But you do sign in to use an Android phone, or iPhone. Although, I agree with the point that someone would never want to sign in with their Facebook account there, with FB account holding so much personal information about them! For gaming, somebody would rather prefer to use an alias like dungeonmaster669 instead of their verified actual identity.
You don’t have to sign in to use an iPhone or Android phone, though you to have to sign in to use their app stores. Presumably with the advent of DMA though you can avoid creating an Apple ID or Google account if using a 3rd party store (though probably you’ll need some other account for that store, that’s how it always goes…).
Fe: gaming - yes, this is why Apple had separate IDs for gaming center.. and I think Microsoft does this too for Xbox vs Microsoft account?
I also basically have to have a smartphone, and smartphones are entirely self contained devices.
On a scale of trust for how companies are handling my data, Apple, and to a much lesser extent, Google, are still more trustworthy than Facebook, I feel.
This comment has so many factual inaccuracies.
1. Vote share for BJP in urban areas have been consistent with rural areas in the most recent national election of 2019. Source: Official website of election commission of India
2. There are multiple celebrity status people (including journalists, students, politicians) and common people openly complaining against government on Twitter and in public forums and they are all free and continue to do so without the fear of being arrested. Examples: Ravish Kumar, Barkha Dutt, Shehla Rashid, Shashi Tharoor, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Kanhaiya Kumar and countless more.
3. Ruling party has a very strong competition at state level. In India, police report to states (except Delhi) so in general, states have much more power to control law and order than central govt. BJP has lost recent assembly elections spectacularly in Delhi and some other states.
4. People always have reasons to be upset. When J&K was an independent state the people in Jammu and Ladakh were upset because of the corruption, lawlessness and rampant terrorism about which local govt. biased in favor of Kashmir region didn't do anything. Then, Kashmiris were holding Ladakh and Jammu folks hostage.
There is no way that anyone other than BJP will win the election on the national level anytime soon. Congress and Rahul Gandhi is a joke, they've fucked our nation over too much to win again.
AAP doesn't have a lot of support outside of Delhi and a couple other states, and the same can be said for all other regional parties. None of them can step up to and beat BJP. It's the unfortunate truth.
The Thoothukudi case is for the State Government Police to handle. How is Modi responsible for it? Just because you have an alliance partner doesn't mean that BJP becomes party to it or ordered it. This is what happens when you indulge in hyperbole. It just weakens your own arguments.
He did not even acknowledge the death of 13 people getting shot(including a higher secondary school girl) in the protest against a corporation. As a Prime Minister of a country this is the least expected .
No it's not expected. This is a State issue. If that was the case who acknowledged the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits? Who acknowledged the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots triggered by the Congress party? No one. So don't give your sob story. The Prime Minister is not responsible for the dereliction of duty by the State Government. Hold the State Government responsible! Modi is not responsible for everything under the Sun.
Forest Rights Act is now applicable to J and K as Union Territory yet people in Jammu are against implementing it as it would give Gujjars and Bakerwals harvesting rights. Whose dereliction of duty is that? I’ll bet they move faster on cow slaughter.
This comment is not full of factual inaccuracies. In-fact it doesn't cover the length and breadth of the atrocities happening in India. To cite some examples:
- Kanhaiya Kumar (cited above), hundreds of students and even 10 year olds have sedition cases against them.
- The competition has been decimated. BJP spends 3X more than all of the other parties combined together in Elections
- Section 144 (prohibiting assembly of 4 or more people) has been arbitrarily applied across India.
- Free press has been demolished and right wing mouthpieces are both propped up and given a free run. False cases against The Hindu, NDTV, Hostile takeover of CNN-IBN etc.. I can cite a dozen more examples
- BJP losing state elections mean noting. Modi's role model is Xi. He wants to be benovalent dictator of life.
It is factually inaccurate. VPNs are running all across India except in Kashmir. Stop this hyperbole. You can fool some people some of the time but not all people all the time.
> The competition has been decimated. BJP spends 3X more than all of the other parties combined together in Elections
How is this an atrocity? This is legitimate right of every party to spend how much ever it gets as donations from the public. The Congress held the ubiquitous position for 60 years. No one questioned political spending then. Why is BJP being questioned for the same now? Just because the public resonate with BJP's National policies and donate to the party? Now will this also be termed as an atrocity? Can't believe the nuts that exist in India.
> Section 144 (prohibiting assembly of 4 or more people) has been arbitrarily applied across India.
Section 144 cannot be arbitrarily applied. Section 144 is imposed by a Magistrate who is an Administrator not an elected official. And a Magistrate will never apply Section 144 arbitrarily without there being a valid cause. And Section 144 is better than riots. Prevention is better than cure. When it comes to choosing between disorder, damage to public property, rioting protestors, communal clashes and Section 144, I would choose Section 144 any day.
Modi is one of those individuals who has been vilified by one community for almost 20 odd years now. It's nothing new. And the amount of media bashing he gets every day even Manmohan Singh did not get the same treatment. No matter how much you lie that there is no freedom to express in India it is infact the exact opposite. Media that is anti-Modi and anti-BJP: NDTV, The Wire, Quint, The Hindu, Indian Express, Newslaundery, ABP News, Aaj Tak, India Today and countless other regional news channels and smaller outlets. The cases filed against some of the media houses are not "false". They are involved in money laundering and are being investigated for the same. No court has said that the cases are "false". This is again malicious propaganda. Show me on case which the Indian Courts have ruled as "fake". Not one.
Sedition cases are slapped against those who have called for break up of the country. It is a case. It is not a conviction. It is a legitimate right of the Government to file cases against those who indulge in Anti-India activities. If Modi was emulating Xi he would have gotten Kanhaiya Kumar killed not have some sedition case slapped on him. Why would he bother taking the legal route if he was a Dictator? Never heard of a Dictator filing legal cases. If this is what you call as "Modi emulating Xi" then I say it is a pathetic attempt at emulating Xi.
Your own arguments fall flat the moment you start dig into the facts instead of becoming emotional!
What is happening in Shaheen Bagh? A protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act that has been going on for more than 40 days where a public road has been blocked. Any other country you would have had riot police beat up the protestors and have them evacuated for causing nuisance to public. We can understand 1 or 2 days of protests but 40 days? This is ridiculous. 40 days of public road being blocked! Which Dictator will allow that? Have some shame.
> And Section 144 is better than riots. Prevention is better than cure.
To prevent riots government needs to produce better policies, so that there would be no need for a riot in the first place. Preventing peaceful assembly is not one of these policies.
> Preventing peaceful assembly is not one of these policies
No one prevented peaceful assembly. Shaheen Bagh is the best example where protestors have captured a public road illegally for 60+ days and neither the Government nor the Police are doing anything about it. Police and Administration only take action against rioters or those who indulge in vandalism of public property. The Deputy Commissioner of the local district gets first hand information on everything that happens in the district. The DC knows beyond doubt if the gathering is going to be peaceful or violent. We have highest levels of intelligence gathering and that has only increased and strengthened manifold after various terror attacks. Hence why the Supreme Court doesn't take the Centre to task neither does the High Court take the State to task over imposition of Section 144. The judges instead just give a rap on the fingers. That is because the administration has all details about the nature of protests and can provide adequate proof. If you really want to understand all this you should spend sometime with retired IAS officers and if they get to like you will tell you the workings of the system. You can't fool the administration into thinking that you can riot in the guise of "peaceful protests". The administration has various ways of intelligence gathering and knows exactly what the outcome of the gathering would be.
BitLocker would still ask for recovery key when attempting to boot Windows after Arch install is finished. This is because of the disk configuration change that it detects.
+1 for search engine with blacklist feature. There are some annoying sites (like GeeksForGeeks) with substandard content that come in top results of Google when I search for programming topics, for instance some language's specific API or method signature.
"Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions" by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths is an interesting listen on Audible. Surprised that nobody has mentioned it here yet.
It is a perfect candidate for an audiobook because of lack of code snippets and formulae.
The blog owner exudes elitist vibes in the commentary. A quick skim of the blog reveals a request for Bitcoin donations, suggesting $3 as the amount, without considering that a large portion of this donation will be eaten up by fees. </rant>