Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

sheddingbikes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 99 posts

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#71

Post by seigenblues »

jeb wrote: post #64

And that's the problem with Rockstar Programmers. They know they are rockstars, they know that they can get funding for their own product at a moments notice, they know that they can always go on a speaking tour. You need them, but they don't need you, and they know it. So they walk in and want to do what they want to do, they have no intention of doing the shitty stuff. But work in a company has a lot of shitty stuf…

"Hire normal people who depend on you for their income." yes! that's it! Be sure you're the one in control, ensuring your ability to treat them as less than human!

Sorry for the snark, but that last line may be pretty unintentionally revealing. employer/employee relations are a complex relationship which requires a delicate balance of power. Having the employee be entirely dependent on the employer is just as damaging (to both parties!) as having a keystone employee who knows he can't be replaced. I'd replace your last line with "Hire equals who you can treat as equals."

"Authority is solvent to humanity."

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#72

Post by Keyframe »

zedshaw wrote: post #24
pavs wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, what would be your ideal job? Assuming you want to work for someone and not just on your own projects.

Right now, find a company doing something bad ass with HTTP and then make Mongrel2 blow their socks off. Then repeat it again and again until I've got something. Either that, or getting a Ph.D. in Education.

Why waste energy on finding a place, when you can make your own? Sounds like you need to make a startup and hold your feet up on a table.

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#73

Post by jshen »

shin_lao wrote: post #58

If you truly believe in Mongrel2, start your own company. Don't wait for the company that's going to truly open source it , it won't be the way you want it if it's not your company.

yeah, stop working on Mongrel2 and get a business off the ground. Then maybe possibly one day when it's making money you can work on Mongrel2 again, your way.

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#74

Post by Avshalom »

j_baker wrote: post #68

Dumb question time: what does it mean for Mongrel to not be truly open source? And why is it not already?

As a guess I'd say getting it out there in front of enough people that Zed is no longer writing 99% of the code. Getting real community effort on improving it. Although he might just mean in context of the company not keeping any aspect of it proprietary.

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#75

Post by stuaxo »

zedshaw wrote: post #5
jrockway wrote: post #3

My dream of having Zed come to an interview where the interviewers all have their feet up on the conference table is this much closer to coming true!

Oh that'd be funny as shit. Actually, I've gotten used to it. Seems to be just a damn stupid signifier that you're a start up guy.

Oh, BTW... meant to ask ages ago;

  the Trie thing looked awesome and I immediately started to think of wrong uses for it (e.g. XPath parsing)...
if you get time then python bindings would be nice :)

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#76

Post by dagw »

shin_lao wrote: post #58

If you truly believe in Mongrel2, start your own company. Don't wait for the company that's going to truly open source it , it won't be the way you want it if it's not your company.

The problem with starting your own company is that you end up owning a company. That means you have to run a company which means you have less time to hack Mongrel2. I totally understand and respect wanting to get hired by a bigger company like the guy who developed Redis did. Basically being able to completely focus on your code without having to hunt for funding or worrying about where your next paycheck is coming from is a much better proposition for most people.

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#78

Post by zedshaw »

j_baker wrote: post #68

Dumb question time: what does it mean for Mongrel to not be truly open source? And why is it not already?

Right now I'm the only guy working on it. I like starting my projects that way since I can lay down the playground for other people and avoid the bikeshedding. Once it gets stable I then write up documentation and start letting interested folks at the code to help me.

Re: Zed Shaw has Left Dropbox

#80

Post by zedshaw »

jeb wrote: post #64

And that's the problem with Rockstar Programmers. They know they are rockstars, they know that they can get funding for their own product at a moments notice, they know that they can always go on a speaking tour. You need them, but they don't need you, and they know it. So they walk in and want to do what they want to do, they have no intention of doing the shitty stuff. But work in a company has a lot of shitty stuf…

First off, you don't know me, so don't presume to know how I am to work with, or what kind of employee I am. In fact, what you wrote here is borderline slander, as you're basically telling people to not hire me. You and everyone else needs to quit that shit because I don't do it to you, and it does have a major impact on my life.

Second, who the hell are you to say I shouldn't have a life outside of your company? This is not a damn salt mine, or a factory. Programmers are hired based on their visible experience. The projects they do and the things they write are now a major deciding factor on whether they get jobs. To then tell someone that all of that stops because you're paying them a piddly little 100k/year compared to your massive ownership in the company is down right abusive.

Third, in the valley the trend of firing people at the drop of a hat because they aren't a "good fit" cuts both ways. If you show no loyalty to your employees then they owe you nothing. Expecting them to stick around and be loyal, but then fire their peers for having a bad day with no warning is completely unfair.

Basically, I think your entire comment smacks of business douchebag who has no concept of worker's rights, fairness, or even basic capitalism.

Post reply on HN