Help Out Veterans - Computers + Psychology

 Just don't kill me for that one - I want to speak out for a topic not everyone is capable of talking for or listening to certain subjects. Nevertheless please be patient if you don't agree with something: in the comments as well. The point here is to reveal, not to hide, especially in our sort of community where people can help and in many cases are able to assist, but don't know how. Or just are not aware that they're able or that they can.

TL;DR: Many times online violence - is OKAY. As is.


My journey starts more than 10 years ago, back again at the time I've mentioned in my previous post (that exploded somehow after I said Thank You to HN). When I got accepted into the university 4 years before graduating from school, shortly at some point I knew that I will want to contribute back to community for fulfilling my wish, making it able to happen (I loved computers that much and wanted nothing more at the time than studying). One of the things I liked in the thought of "returning back" is the possibility to assist people from diverse background and allow those who are seeing or have been experiencing some, what we call today the causes of PTSD, to fully mentally recover and be able to raise to the top from the ground.

Such people include veterans, people who's been in hard background and former prisoners who have a risk to go back to the jail.

My Experience: [TL;DR] Computers don't help us.

When I've been going through my own way a couple of years later on, indeed as mentioned in my "Thank You HN" post, I found out that online communities are not more than a place to make money if I might call it this way. People can't speak out, when somebody is having an issue it is being perceived as a non acceptable by the society and anything that is beyond the intellectual stimulation simply forever gets banned, deleted, erased and whenever someone needs a real vital help, it's by far very common that societies will just rather don't even know how to help, refuse, block, delete and ignore the people that really need them.

The False Assumption: [TL;DR] You are able to help.

At certain point after school, before I returned to university studies I've gone through lots of google searches on terms that people who's seen a thing or two might have been written in such or another place on the Internet, which is searchable from the google search engine.
I've seen far many people that have gone mad and it's been clearly seen that they are looking for help. One thing that was in common is an acceptable behavior which was not a spam, like robot or bot, anything that was mechanically planned. Besides maybe a thread or two that had many people who were jumping in to help all of those posts were locked, hidden, banned, ignore, discouraged and eliminated from those communities. All of the results of such patterns are things that we from time to time have met.


From the very beginning. When we see a comment from someone we're sort of capable to suspect that there is a chance to make a difference (almost everyone convince themselves they "don't know how" in all such cases) and we ignore them. But the very simplest fact is that we are able to actually suggest to listen.

Why would I risk my security? [TL;DR] It sucks but it worth it.

Why would I want to help, someone who's blaming me, insulted me online, someone I might be afraid for, someone who's acting weird? They don't will anything good for me.

Let's start with that, that even the evilest human is human just like you. Yes, even the evilest one. Even the evilest "thing", after getting into the right way will become a person and a human being. Indeed it's not always possible because there are crimes that will hunt anyone forever and becoming a person is not always physically possible. But even those who are getting out of the prisons many times do have chance.

Imagine someone you know who needs you. Without details, just think about that such thing actually might indeed happen. Now, would you want others to ignore them? Society, community... Only you know what this person has done to the world and their true intentions and who they are.

There are people that need you. That are not foreign or had just intentions. Doesn't matter from which country or region are you. You are having much more power to change and have an impact by the very mere of a fact that you use a computer.

In many cases I've heard that "You won't be able to help everyone" but very certain people - if you throw a coin into that lake, it won't disappear. Every difference will matter, every chance will count. Maybe you don't suspect or does not even have a clue, but don't convince yourself you don't know what to do. Seek. Seek for opportunities to find out, to make a difference, to make a change.

There are people who's put their lives into someone, for someone, for something, many of them for you - for us. Coming closer to the subject and to the topic of this post - some of the people who curse us and insult us in those public forums, facebooks, twitters, instagrams, in many cases they have been having the intentions to sacrifice themselves for us. They've been ready to die in a war for us - for you and I and that's why they act like that. People usually live in their inner peace and most of us don't reach the point whereas we're ready to sacrifice ourselves for someone else. Those people - when we open our inner mind doors, we find out that many of them are war veterans and are actually quite easy to meet. And many of them were ready to stay paralyzed until the end of the life for you and us.

How does it goes hand in hand with me? [TL;DR]: We have a computer.

Offer help. The way you think you are able to help. You will recognize people anywhere once you open your mind. You don't have to make friends.
On the street or in frontal meeting, yes. Not everyone is capable of operating a situation. But in the online world, people are able to help people that really, vitally need
 their help. Computers and technology is by far not only technology stacks, websites, dating apps, information shearing, secrets, privacy and intellectual property.
I want to tell you that people are coming around to your forums, whether it is HN, FB, twitter, reddit or any other community, with the hope to raise from there. To get your help. Those are not YCombinator startups, not someone who's longing to fulfill their dreams. Those are people who are just willing to live.

War veteran won't describe you a problem, nor will ask or show requirement for help. They want to speak out. They curse you wherever it be because they are trying to find the right person to text them everything they want. Yes, beyond the screen it's scary. It might be dangerous for you. Physically. But behind the screens people are literally just willing to write everything they could to move forward, to become like you, an innovator, a startup, a Bachelor, a Master of Science, a Doctor, after they have had gone through the very thing that you have never had ought to think you might ever could have been need or want to gone through for your beloved ones and others.

What can you do and what I did: [TL;DR - there's no TL;DR]

I discovered dev.to community at some point, I used it to become popular accidentally. I have written few very informational things over there. At some point some girl complained on me for sexual harassment that I called her pretty, she was one of the employees in the dev.to startup at the time and after what I did next I became one of the main moderators of the website until I finally close my twitter and dev.to account. I've never used the website at the time moderator permissions were set to broader audience of people including me.

People were coming around, just like with any other start up, many of them, some of them in the posts I've been reaching were moody. I've been seeing some of those comments first and it was before anyone would vanish them. I've never hidden my emotions, when I found something insulting or something I didn't like I didn't report it and didn't ignore it. I answered with the same coin to all of them, but I held accountant of my privilege of having something they don't have (whether it is knowledge, skills or experience) and I did not go crazy fighting them back to make them regret for their intentions. I made them understand where they're wrong and reflected I'm actually here and hear what they say.

Many of you use various online communities, have access to global sources. Literally in every aspect of the word. Don't. Never. Settle. Help people. Help others. Seek for chance, for opportunity not to help, make a difference. Use your wisdom instead the block button in your communities and your social networks. When someone insults you, insult back, but let people speak out. They need you. They do really need your help much more than you think. That forever teenager who hates you, wants to be like you. They want to succeed. Anything they say are things that come around from circumstances, it eases their lives, their struggle. When they will be like you they will have forever respect for you. You want to see them rise. The only thing you don't want to see is forever to see them fall.