Simply advocate gun control, accountability of corporations for their actions, or that E-books or MP3 files be anything but free, and the public expressions of barely coherent rage that follow are good examples of being slashdotted. Those blasting contrary opinions aren't interested in discourse. Rather, they act like religious fanatics attempting to murder the infidels, and in a way, that's exactly what they are. Their behaviour is identical to that of science fiction fanatics threatening violence upon anyone who dares blaspheme the genius of Gene Roddenberry or George Lucas. If the thesis that many dysfunctionals choose tech careers because they couldn't handle human interaction is true, it also explains why so many become bullies when they achieve their goals.
Techies act as if the slightest bit of altruism is a potential threat.
Much is made of Social Darwinism in technolibertarianism, where the world would only run smoothly if culture were allowed to work like an ecosystem. Forget momentarily that techies are at the top of the food pyramid only because of momentary changes in the business environment and that they could be outclassed or replaced very quickly. If the unknown genius who discovered the secret of soft-percussion flint knapping had decided to be as paranoid as a typical techie about having to share this discovery, he would have ladled out worked spear and arrow points without sharing his technique, and said techie, along with the rest of us, probably wouldn't be here today. Throughout her travails, Borsook uses her own experiences as one of the original writers for Wired to illuminate the tech culture obsession with libertarianism. She notes the little realities that the tech business wishes would just go away, such as the discarding of older employees in favour of twenty-somethings willing to forgo security and social lives in the vague hope of striking it rich.