Post AqJfSbtm4NBnonCbPk by McPatrick@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by McPatrick@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AqIzQTHgviiaRoge80 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T11:25:00Z
2 likes, 3 repeats
If you work with a database and are asked to alter the table structure to comply in advance for citizenship or gender categorizations it's really important to NOT do it. "The governor is concerned about all this stuff they want us to update our record keeping so we store both gender AND biological sex.""We need fields to store the country of origin of people's parents."If you don't have the power to rebuff this yourself, ask for help. At minimum ask for help online anonymously.
(DIR) Post #AqIzpk8JQLIdwVLmYy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T11:29:34Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Depending on your job you probably have in the past made compromises. Maybe to keep your job. Maybe to survive. This is a bright line. If you are asked to be the one to update the table don't let it be your fingers typing those changes.If you can't just say "No I won't do that." Stall, run away, feign incompetence. Just don't let it happen.I suspect this might be where the rubber hits the road first for us around here.Nothing has changed. You do not have to do it. It is not even ordained.
(DIR) Post #AqJ0BPwPB6M9gm7Fb6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T11:33:32Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Do not help them to build any more of this machine.
(DIR) Post #AqJ0n0vGdzUB6GVkwq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T11:40:17Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
I know someone who rebuffed such a request. Boss was apologetic "it's what the higher ups want, oh *I* think it's a lot of nonsense, but I don't want us to be out of step ... blah blah"It was proposed to them in sheepish way. They said it would be a lot of work, not add anything of value, and most important they would not do it. It didn't come up again. Fascism can be the work of zealots, but there are also many sheepish middle management helping hands who "don't even believe in this really"
(DIR) Post #AqJ1EOMZbKehcNL1c0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T11:45:16Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
With the sheepish ones just letting them know you won't do it. That it crosses the bright line can make them back off some of the time. This can be very scary and if you are thinking "but I could be fired" I understand that. Ask for help. Talk about it outside of work or with people you trust. Don't go looking for an excuse to comply and not feel bad about it. If you do you should feel bad. Find a way to NOT do it instead.
(DIR) Post #AqJ1T9aMpGMm87pSe8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T11:47:57Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I'm honestly just psyching myself up for if I need to do this kind of thing again. I might. It's the whole "we're just doing it to go along with what's happening now" ethos that I think might hold the most little victories for us. So many terrible things happen because of people just going along with a bunch of little bad things that come together into a much more ugly and unstoppable bad thing.
(DIR) Post #AqJ1qzf5NGLIIlP6CO by paninid@mastodon.world
2025-01-21T11:52:12Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Malicious Compliance isn’t just a good name for a band.
(DIR) Post #AqJ26BIIPJpgirzCSW by LinuxAndYarn@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T11:54:58Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Trump's already threatening to take away my student loan cancellation in addition to my civil rights. I'm not afraid of a mere employer.(I've also been successful in the past here about refusing things that felt sketchy from an infosec, moral, or "that's where my grandfather died" perspective.)
(DIR) Post #AqJ315c8CLyVc2OrBY by andytiedye@sfba.social
2025-01-21T12:05:13Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
If you MUST add such fields, maybe you could "accidentally" set them up so those IN the database can change their own entries.@futurebird
(DIR) Post #AqJ3AdORycmsz2YI3E by simon_lucy@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T12:06:58Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird As this would require in most cases data to populate these fields this would seriously compromise the stability of the database. We need a study on how this data is to be collected and verified and all of the possible cases such as unknown data, refusal to provide data and insufficient verification.We will also need policies and procedures covering this and any liability we may incur in inadvertent incorrect data and its application in other systems.
(DIR) Post #AqJ3EUuHTJG5oyHaLY by scott@tams.tech
2025-01-21T11:54:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird is this a thing you've heard of??
(DIR) Post #AqJ3EWORwcz8QpPC0e by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T12:07:41Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@scott Yes unfortunately. Compliance in advance. Cowardice. Or lingering malice given the oxygen to flourish.
(DIR) Post #AqJ3s3GjeE9hgfe8lk by Gehennam@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T12:14:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird lol
(DIR) Post #AqJ79ocV9OsFKTzP60 by richpuchalsky@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T12:51:34Z
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@futurebird Yes. If anyone wants historical reading, this goes all the way back to punch cards:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust
(DIR) Post #AqJ8bnKJeWGtNfO9oG by gooba42@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T13:07:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird "It's so weird, every other day, it changes everybody's country of origin to USA."
(DIR) Post #AqJ8dRV9ljY8GpFFrs by Pineywoozle@masto.ai
2025-01-21T13:08:12Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird He didn’t want to be out of “goose step”
(DIR) Post #AqJ8ksLWMMlBYRHZLs by glowl@chaos.social
2025-01-21T13:09:32Z
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@futurebird at least take the judgement of "Ohhhh its such a big task and will take a year to inmplement. Its very complicated you know..." and months later "Woops we hadnt even started on that ticket, it was such low priority we first had to work on ticket # 14461 # 2357239 and # 359315 they were soooo much more important, and were required by law $Gibberish $SomethingEqualityAct and $FinancesBlergh. will take even more time now because the system got more complex and its harder to integrate."
(DIR) Post #AqJ9ogN0vaDdWZMN7o by gerbrand@fosstodon.org
2025-01-21T13:21:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird scary stuff to think about. Reminds me of a medical application that used a (literal) binary field to store gender.Best practice for any data is to use a single char field. Takes the same amount of space and saves you a lot of trouble later.
(DIR) Post #AqJCNn8vwDZAZddvHc by woo@fosstodon.org
2025-01-21T13:50:11Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I once told my manager I was not prepared to do something because it both defied the company values and my personal professional standards. He told me that as a professional my duty was to do as I was told. A little while later, my name appeared on a list of techies to be made redundant. It MAY have been a coincidence. They were all good people. My union fought to get me moved to another job. I liked it much more and how would I have felt if I hadn't stood up to him? #JoinAUnion
(DIR) Post #AqJCyCcOhPCk0bmp3g by mmdolbow@mapstodon.space
2025-01-21T13:56:46Z
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@futurebird same. I'm betting I won't be asked at the start, but... I'm not sure how long it's going to hold.
(DIR) Post #AqJD3rNIawgXrQQDku by woo@fosstodon.org
2025-01-21T13:57:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Corporates now promote people who are risk-adverse: "yes men". You don't get fired if you don't take chances. That's why startup culture is thriving and Google, Facebook, Amazon etc. are struggling to recruit. They used to be exciting (if exploitative) but they're now too scared to say "NO" to an invitation to a fascist's party in case they don't get even richer.
(DIR) Post #AqJDuppB5cHUOsir8y by SolInfoNat@syndicat.solidaires.org
2025-01-21T14:07:18Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird tech workers : unionize and fight back ✊
(DIR) Post #AqJEsSdeQIklrilLwu by chiraag@mastodon.online
2025-01-21T14:17:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I wish I were in such a position so that I could do this.
(DIR) Post #AqJEvegg5Ap46RhZ9k by GhostOnTheHalfShell@masto.ai
2025-01-21T14:18:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Drop Boss
(DIR) Post #AqJFAYsJyTA2Q8FuaW by eriner@noauthority.social
2025-01-21T14:21:31Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird “We need to store the date of their last COVID shot”
(DIR) Post #AqJFMCPDLCsUCwBrSS by w0rm@ryona.agency
2025-01-21T14:23:36.997127Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird Thank goodness for dead niggers.
(DIR) Post #AqJFowHMNXQcacDkcS by meldanor@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T14:28:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird “This change will cost around X, take a few month and will result in downtimes because of database migrations.”And then in the migration there will be an error resulting in a costly rollback and downtime and a few weeks of debugging.Do this a few times and no product manager will try it again.
(DIR) Post #AqJGc6cghzYarPdp20 by kennethb@mastodon.world
2025-01-21T14:37:33Z
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@futurebird Amen.
(DIR) Post #AqJH2ri2GWaEQPu1C4 by cobalt123@beige.party
2025-01-21T14:42:25Z
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@futurebird This morning I’ve been reading more than a few suggestions that would work. And I’m no longer doing anything with code. So good to see proactive hints here in Fedi.
(DIR) Post #AqJHnxXMPp3c6tMix6 by skonair@mastodonsweden.se
2025-01-21T14:50:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird These kind of lists always remind me of the so called "pink lists" containing names and addresses of homosexuals. These lists were gathered by the German police in the beginning of the last century. With the rise of the Nazis, these lists became a life-threatening burden for the women and men on them. The rise of the Nazis was paved above all by the fact that ordinary people turned a blind eye. So, ordinary people can prevent the rise of fascists.
(DIR) Post #AqJHwtCFvFLvFrkgyG by LUCA@masto.es
2025-01-21T14:52:29Z
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@futurebird han conseguido que nuestras necesidades sean cómplices de sus propósitos.
(DIR) Post #AqJJ3IF3okWYcggJdo by energisch_@troet.cafe
2025-01-21T15:04:54Z
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@futurebird and I do hope, European countries will offer asylum for those in danger
(DIR) Post #AqJJulCsrDUvnu9szA by rari_teh@meow.lgbt
2025-01-21T15:14:33Z
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@futurebird intentionally doing a really poor job also works
(DIR) Post #AqJKrtRrrHkyRzMcJE by RandomDamage@infosec.exchange
2025-01-21T15:25:17Z
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@futurebird as an old DB guy who cares very much about this, life can be much easier if you have European clients.Gender of any sort is one of those fields your company *does not need*, it's merely traditional to include it.So you can use that to note that under GDPR it's best if you don't collect it at all
(DIR) Post #AqJMTiGVz94Sj0eRMW by courtcan@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T15:43:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird "Just do it subtly wrong" seems like a good guideline for most of what they're going to ask us to be doing.
(DIR) Post #AqJOogiz6oM9w565aK by dogfox@kpop.social
2025-01-21T16:09:30Z
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We're here for you. We won't just LET each other be Eichman. @futurebird
(DIR) Post #AqJPKHPujm6aiEF1Ky by dogfox@kpop.social
2025-01-21T16:15:13Z
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There is a legendary problem in US government graph analytics/entity alignment circles called the "Maria Gomez Problem." When you have a bunch of records (e.g. financial transactions, phone calls, etc.) It's important to keep track people across them, even when. The records store slightly different information (that's entity alignment). So one DHS analyst, working on SA cartels, aligned everyone named "Maria Gomez." The system Palintir built for them had no way to undo it. @futurebird
(DIR) Post #AqJPXNTXWVTvGcBNiq by mcsquank@mastodon.online
2025-01-21T16:17:35Z
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@futurebird sabotage behind obfuscation too
(DIR) Post #AqJQ03CfyORsnBy1Hk by TerryHancock@realsocial.life
2025-01-21T16:22:45Z
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@futurebird Or, you know..."We can implement that, yeah, but it's more complicated than it first appears.""The field lengths aren't really clear, and we'll need to get those right before invest in migrating this entire database.""I've scheduled a meeting with a group of experts to outline how we can study the problem and get stakeholder input on the correct model to use in our database."Let it snow....
(DIR) Post #AqJSk3LzwiaaUJOI8O by StefanEJones@dice.camp
2025-01-21T16:53:30Z
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@futurebird You've probably seen the Simple Sabotage Manual by now, but just in case:https://www.gutenberg.org/files/26184/26184-h/26184-h.htmThere's a whole section on fucking up things through bureacracy.
(DIR) Post #AqJTWJzTOVxXzAs43c by jes5199@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T17:01:40Z
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@futurebird a problem that remains unsolved is that if you interface with the american healthcare system in any way, you have to know someone’s binary gender marker, or else insurance companies will not pay
(DIR) Post #AqJTgAJmDAeSsn3tOS by StarkRG@myside-yourside.net
2025-01-21T17:03:57Z
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@futurebird Counterargument: do it so badly the database becomes unusable.
(DIR) Post #AqJTvqHaTCRhNTVrvc by Powerfromspace1@mstdn.social
2025-01-21T17:06:49Z
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@futurebird what they tell you if u don't your fired 😳
(DIR) Post #AqJU6yAhTmvH1vb6zQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T17:08:52Z
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@Powerfromspace1 Read the responses to my post from everyone here, there are many exciting ideas for people with all levels of power in these situations. And really if you say "oh OK when I can get to that" then do a bunch of other things and never get to get can also work. They may just forget about it.
(DIR) Post #AqJXJzmx4w8dfjOOC8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-21T17:44:50Z
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@Pineywoozle That goose meme "what kind of 'step' do you 'not want to be out of'?""What Kind Of Step!!"
(DIR) Post #AqJXerku8lNAq6O1ei by futuresprog@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2025-01-21T17:48:27Z
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Also it’s a real good time for software engineers and DBAs to require:- full design documents- approval from the product owner - prioritisation at the next quarterly product meeting- (accidentally forget about the ticket)- user stories- test evidence- sign off from correct product owner- PR approval before merge- unit tests- full test coverage- approved change paperwork- (sorry missed the change window)- downstream sign offIt’ll take at least 5 years to add that.@futurebird
(DIR) Post #AqJYiuQyDvbYG7YQc4 by hosford42@techhub.social
2025-01-21T18:00:30Z
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@futurebird Don't become one of those who contributed to genocide because they were "just following orders".
(DIR) Post #AqJZjPu1KAIboLwqNU by rysiek@mstdn.social
2025-01-21T18:11:49Z
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@futurebird this!Also, if you are being forced to do this, ask for this request/order *on paper* (or at least in writing).I have been asked, at the eve of my IT career, to do a slightly unethical thing. I refused, but was told I have to do this anyway. I said: fine, but I would like this on paper, including the acknowledgement of my concerns.It was never spoken of again, and never implemented. I kept my job, never had any grief from the higher ups about it either.Paper trail is power.
(DIR) Post #AqJZkn88Rx5y8kCogC by rysiek@mstdn.social
2025-01-21T18:12:00Z
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@futurebird this!Also, if you are being forced to do this, ask for this request/order *on paper* (or at least in writing).I have been asked, at the eve of my IT career, to do a slightly unethical thing. I refused, but was told I have to do this anyway. I said: fine, but I would like this on paper, including the acknowledgement of my concerns.It was never spoken of again, and never implemented. I kept my job, never had any grief from the higher ups about it either.Paper trail is power.
(DIR) Post #AqJcDN7WQtZTmIfu6K by chrissn@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T18:39:35Z
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@futurebird by way of inspiration: In the 70s, a bunch of workers in East Kilbride 🏴 grounded half of Chile's air force after Pinochet's coup. For 4 years they refused to fix the engines for Chile's Hawker Hunter aircraft.There's a documentary about it "Nae Pasaran":https://www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/nae-pasaran-feature/
(DIR) Post #AqJcyyyjUiZEntGZF2 by McPatrick@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T18:48:15Z
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@futurebird Comply only as slowly as possible and while doing as much damage (oopsie!) as possible.
(DIR) Post #AqJd4wTfhpZKmhZzCC by Npars01@mstdn.social
2025-01-21T18:49:18Z
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@futurebird Changes to data gathering practices are an early warning sign...https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocausthttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/29/humanities.highereducationhttps://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/fiscal-destruction-confiscatory-taxation-jewish-property-and-income-nazi-germanyhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judenverm%C3%B6gensabgabe
(DIR) Post #AqJdEYhQy0i5vybOOO by thejaysunday@mamot.fr
2025-01-21T18:51:01Z
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@futurebird I guess you've bumped into this little document in the past, but it contains a lot of ways to not do something or stall it (and yes it came from the CIA) https://www.cia.gov/static/5c875f3ec660e092cf893f60b4a288df/SimpleSabotage.pdf
(DIR) Post #AqJdpJGHKO88liQNyC by Pineywoozle@masto.ai
2025-01-21T18:57:40Z
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@futurebird LoL that’s funny. Geese are mean and those suckers bite hard. 🤣 🤣 🤣
(DIR) Post #AqJfSbtm4NBnonCbPk by McPatrick@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T19:16:01Z
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@futurebird You can practice malicious incompetence. All while superficially complying.I *absolutely* affirm refusing to do it, but if you are pretty sure that they’ll just get someone else to do it, or you’re really trapped and can’t afford to refuse (and quit/be fired), then become incompetent.Slow. Make stupid errors. Especially ones that cause damage and/or are hard to undo. Build on top of fundamental errors. Sabotage. Delay. Obfuscate. Be a cunning little non-compliant weasel.
(DIR) Post #AqJgdlSexKiCcFOzuC by sam@togl.me
2025-01-21T19:29:07Z
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@futurebird @robin I am working on my employers (a uk bank) to stop collecting any data on gender. 👍 We actually had a bug a few years back in which everyone got assigned female, so the data is already a right mess 😂
(DIR) Post #AqJhh6aAz4l2wf4hXc by mrdk@mathstodon.xyz
2025-01-21T19:41:00Z
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@futurebird René Carmille (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Carmille) was a French statistician during the German occupation in WW2. When ordered to prepare a list of Jewish people for deportation, he and the people of the department he headed worked as slowly and obstructively as possible, so that the report was delayed by at least two years.Carmille was finally caught, also because of other résistance activities, and died in a concentration camp. May he be well remembered.(“However, the police did not need Carmille's files. They organized raids and deportations from their own manual files.” — Yes, but we never know which effect our actions will have. If they are good, we should do them anyway.)
(DIR) Post #AqJjIpxhKMP4M6dI7U by schrotthaufen@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T19:59:01Z
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@futurebird @mamsell Throwback to that Dutch programmer group who introduced a bug into the census punch cards, so the religion field would never list “Jewish”.
(DIR) Post #AqJjhOd85DtGpLis0O by SiobhanMuir@socel.net
2025-01-21T20:03:29Z
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@futurebird Yeah, that's the big thing. Be the 'government worker' who doesn't do things fast or at all. Frustrate them with mediocrity.
(DIR) Post #AqJkKvMuISFtenz1VI by davep@infosec.exchange
2025-01-21T20:10:40Z
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@futurebird I've worked on the French and Saudi health hubs between insurers and healthcare professionals (and people). The Saudis have more genders than the French, which was a bit mindbending. IIRC the French have four. Now the US has way less than KSA, which is totally bonkers.
(DIR) Post #AqJpHE8L5PiqT6E2uO by Sassinake@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T21:05:35Z
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@futurebird on the Banality of Evil (and how thinking is hard)
(DIR) Post #AqJtmDiD6QzTxH2QkK by gunstick@mastodon.opencloud.lu
2025-01-21T21:56:18Z
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@futurebird generate the code with chatgpt, then ask to put more errors in the code. Push that code without testing it.
(DIR) Post #AqJuzh6nDbpmqTWdAe by klongeiger@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T22:10:04Z
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@futurebird if someone spineless already implemented it and you can do so without being detected, maybe sneak some lines into periodically run maintenance code that sets the values from the gender field to the biological sex field.
(DIR) Post #AqJvSKt2uw6eK8kjJY by INIT6@infosec.exchange
2025-01-21T22:15:14Z
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@futurebird I mean, if a Walgreens worker can refuse life-saving medication over their moral beliefs, I think anyone in tech should have the same right.
(DIR) Post #AqJwE02RjaR1Z0sSiu by JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange
2025-01-21T22:23:50Z
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@futurebird It might also be worth a consultation with an employment lawyer - especially for public sector workers.And/or give a tip to a reporter (over an encrypted channel, hopefully to someone outside the US who can't be subpoena'd).
(DIR) Post #AqJxqY45lxsw3Nanmi by JoBlakely@mastodon.social
2025-01-21T22:41:59Z
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@futurebird I was asked by my boss, a rabbi no less, to photocopy illegally an entire book that was written for a very small audience and therefore over $100 to buy, and though he had an expense account which would cover it, wanted me to do the legally and morally wrong thing for him. I refused and told him it was copyright infringement. I might have got him hating me for it, but he already hated me by even asking me to do the evil on his behalf.
(DIR) Post #AqJxzjg1y9K2foidPs by McPatrick@zirk.us
2025-01-21T22:43:31Z
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@futurebird Refuse.Dawdle.Delay.Sabotage it.(Fuck it up so that it will have to be redone when they find it’s inadequate and doesn’t work. Try to make it harder to fix than it would have been to do in the first place — even better, not worth trying to fix.)
(DIR) Post #AqK4nX2vnr6hhjYgHQ by burnoutqueen@todon.nl
2025-01-21T23:59:54Z
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@futurebird spot on 🎯
(DIR) Post #AqK5Kwf9aBEWi0Mwsq by Lightfighter@infosec.exchange
2025-01-22T00:05:57Z
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@futurebird sure would be a shame if the data got corrupted, then overwrote the backup...
(DIR) Post #AqK5ZCMxyxwVTaeuGW by MPFantod@mastodon.social
2025-01-22T00:08:32Z
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@futurebird Right out of IBM and the Holocaust.
(DIR) Post #AqK70dwpecNEmZ5LVY by CaptMorgan@freeradical.zone
2025-01-22T00:24:37Z
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@futurebird Why store gender in a database at all? Gender isn’t real.
(DIR) Post #AqK8WdewMWxR6lXLkW by MisuseCase@twit.social
2025-01-22T00:40:12Z
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@rysiek @futurebird This is super important, I learned it from one of my managers early in my career. If someone has a verbal conversation with you at work where they tell you to do something problematic, either tell them to put it in writing or send them an email following up on/recapping the conversation to cover yourself.
(DIR) Post #AqK8id48OZaWk42Sfo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-22T00:43:51Z
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@MisuseCase @rysiek Totally although I think a big reason why this is so important is that it is the kind of thing that can compromise your immortal soul. (Even if you don't think you have one.)
(DIR) Post #AqK9XyBHeHaczyrcEC by paninid@mastodon.world
2025-01-22T00:53:07Z
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@futurebird @MisuseCase @rysiek ☝️💯🔥
(DIR) Post #AqKBAoBSqqYzF122VM by n_dimension@infosec.exchange
2025-01-22T01:11:22Z
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@futurebird I call that attitude "Driving the cattle-box trains to the death camps"Ordinary railway workers.Doing ordinary jobs.Because "if they didn't do it, someone else would."
(DIR) Post #AqKDdD4Q7MMKRRPKsK by miki@dragonscave.space
2025-01-22T01:38:53Z
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@futurebird I haven't thought of this before, but this will cause so much IT chaos.Many people in the US have non-US-issued documents that have a gender on them, and the US government needs to have accurate knowledge of what those documents say (regardless of whether it considers what they say to accurately reflect reality).Meanwhile, those same people may also have US-issued documents, and those documents will also have a "gender-looking thing" on them. The US government also needs accurate knowledge of what those documents say.For some people, the value on the US-issued documents will no longer be allowed to match the value on the non-US-issued documents, therefore the question of "but should I expect 'male' or 'female' when this person shows us their ID" will no longer be answerable by a single database field.Private organizations will also be affected by this, as many will need to separate "gender, as in what the person is expected to have when showing us ID" versus "what this person actually wants to get addressed by."European organizations already have this problem (this is compounded here by the lack of a 'title' concept and European burreaucracies that makes gender changes extremely difficult for many).
(DIR) Post #AqKE1iujNJlY9YZ3nk by Dangerous_beans@aus.social
2025-01-22T01:43:19Z
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@futurebird There are a few things to consider when updating an existing database:Are you going to archive the old information, or just add new variables? The second option is simpler but leads to bloat and is harder to documentAre the new data equivalent to old variables, or do you need to collect new data about clients? Might need to discuss this with frontline staff about how new data collection affects their workload. Are you going to allow missing values in the system for client who don't want to update their information, or refuse service to them?What are the security requirements for this new data? Specific to this situation; do you need the parent's consent to record information about them, or is that something legally do with just the child's permission? Does information about assumed gametes count as medical information? That usually has different security rules. Might want to check with legalSpeaking of legal stuff in this situation; there are likely to be challenges to all this. Is it worth changing all this and then changing it all back? What are the consequences for collecting this information now if things get revertedAccuracy: how are you going to validate all this data? What are the security and data retention obligations imposed by recording additional validation information? Do you impute missing values, and if so what degree of error is acceptable?What level of accuracy is needed here generally?What are the exact definitions of these items, and do those definitions cause legal or implementation problems? If you're allowing non-response do those collecting the information (staff, UI designers) have to tell people it's an optional item? Does making it optional have legal consequences under these orders?Any expected PR consequences for all this? Just generally; do you need this information? Can't leak it if you don't collect it in the first place, so data that doesn't exist is the best for security. It's also space efficient and easy to document (who maintains the database documentation? better include them)And remember to document any decisions and get the minutes signed off by everyone that's affected
(DIR) Post #AqKJVxqWvBgYvHq4TQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-22T02:44:51Z
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@miki OK but what I'm saying is making that separate is facilitating this attempt at change. Attempt. It's not done yet. No one should comply with any of it.
(DIR) Post #AqKJkmNZpzZzhcMQQy by MissGayle@urbanists.social
2025-01-22T02:47:29Z
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@futurebird Sabotage, slow walk, malicious compliance...
(DIR) Post #AqKMGElaXnW8d5igwy by uliwitness@chaos.social
2025-01-22T03:15:34Z
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@futurebird Also, even if you find you can’t safely refuse doing such work, you can at least try to make it obvious.Add it to the documentation, include it in the release notes, add a switch to turn it off that may be noticed, inform user forums of the existence of these features to give them the option to complain.Depending on what precisely you're working on, there are small ways in which you might be able to give others in a more safe situation the information/tools they need to do more.
(DIR) Post #AqKVQeodRq8Nu2BkW0 by HackyScientress@chaos.social
2025-01-22T04:58:18Z
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@futurebird Alternatively malicious compliance. The executive order as it stands defines every human as female, because the idiots don't know how biology works. So to comply with the request one could just change all entities in the database to female. Then it is just as useless as if the fields were not there.
(DIR) Post #AqKdVVtcpyH7JwLi1w by RudiPf@norden.social
2025-01-22T06:28:50Z
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@futurebird Agreed. Not collecting data, is less erfort than destroying it.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_bombing_of_the_Amsterdam_civil_registry_office
(DIR) Post #AqLQFeE6zbpGHGzniS by SkipHuffman@astrodon.social
2025-01-22T15:35:00Z
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@futurebird store that information in a single, untyped, and unformatted free text field. Do not index or hash it in any way. Make any searches or sorts as slow and unreliable as possible. Set lookup timeouts low enough that any search that includes that data fails.
(DIR) Post #AqLTqe3sruoOLKXrIu by scottmiller42@mstdn.social
2025-01-22T16:15:18Z
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@futurebird “How will this action comply with GDPR?” is a totally innocent-sounding question that might stall such efforts. 😀
(DIR) Post #AqPJXa7z34hTjNZcf2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-24T12:38:41Z
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@sloanlance On these issues of helping to build human dislocation, segregation and discrimination machines there is a tendency for the actors to rationalize and externalize their responsibility for violence. A tendency to say “since we all benefit from these monstrous systems it’s not my fault.”But to help build a new intake shaft for a factory that chops up humans is not excusable. To design it, to shape it? No. That is where we all need to say “no further I will not.”
(DIR) Post #AqQ3m9vNLlTyhKZ6q8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-24T21:16:45Z
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@sloanlance My response, not expert, is that the road to hell is paved, consider with *what*. If you think your data collection could cause harm, even if you don’t know how can you talk to multiple people who are in the group who could be harmed (not just one!) if it’s non-citizens or trans people or POC can you get advice from someone with skin in the game who might notice what you could miss?
(DIR) Post #AqexPSyIgLUIl180lk by jwjak@mastodon.social
2025-02-01T01:46:01Z
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@futurebird https://t.me/+Y4ZS3kPFPiA2OGU8
(DIR) Post #Aqi93HaNKJ5UcfNxnU by ckent@urbanists.social
2025-02-02T14:40:39Z
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@futurebird And an associated reminder that the number of countries of birth of parents is INFINITEJust as an example, both my parents were born in countries that don’t exist anymore if you go by their common names; but if you want formal state names, in one case you’d have to look up things like the Weimar Republic. And that’s an easy one to add to the drop-down list. I haven’t even gone into generations who have died yet, because it grows exponentially after that.Endless validation …
(DIR) Post #Aux1IplGfMRoI1CyyO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-06-09T10:22:56Z
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Months ago I gave the specific example of not using you database programming and management skills to help build systems that will be used to abuse people. But, that's just what I thought of first because it's what I know best in that space. There are many other points of contact and many other opportunities to be intransigent. Don't miss a single one.
(DIR) Post #Aux5YUO6Ig18Rz5ntY by knowuh@mastodon.social
2025-06-09T11:10:31Z
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@futurebird Individuals who make calculations not to speak out because they worry how it will impact their brand.Worse than collecting a cheque for working on tech that might be co-opted by fascists.So much deafening silence. Deathening silence?
(DIR) Post #AuzOBQBS3FaMCFoH1U by masukomi@connectified.com
2025-06-10T13:48:41Z
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@futurebird Thanks for protecting people like me. And thanks for being a geek who doesn't forget to ask "should I", and then listen to the answer.
(DIR) Post #Auzi6ZefPNrBCrRPtI by caitp@mstdn.social
2025-06-10T17:31:54Z
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@futurebird @chessert a worrisome thing in highly compartmentalized jobs might be "do I even understand if this will be or could be used for evil" -- I think that's the main point of compartmentalization, isn't it?