Live data from Hacker News

An upcoming story about Coinbase

blog.coinbase.com

291–300 of 320 posts

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the case for the war with Iraq?

If your best criticism is something that is old enough to finish college right around now, and ignores that the Times ran plenty of opposition to that war, maybe they aren’t as bad as you make them out to be?

> If your best criticism is something that is old enough to finish college right around now

I mean Libya, Syria, Iran, Venezuela if 200k dead isn't enough for you.

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#292
post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you don't remember correctly. The article contains details of how the handled the investigations. You mention "Coinbase's racism" - do you have any additional info about the case providing the basis for this certainty?

Some of the complaints at issue here certainly predate that infamous "please leave your politics at home" post. So while my comment above was made somewhat flippantly, I'm pretty sure it isn't wrong. It's no surprise that Coinbase touts some other changes. But these are made under duress, facing the imminent PR crisis that being called out in the paper of record. As such, they tell you as much about their true convic…

> that infamous "please leave your politics at home" post.

Why is that 'infamous'? It's entirely reasonable to want to avoid political discussion at a workplace, in favour of work.

Especially considering a particular political group (BLM) seems to have been the cause of issues at Coinbase.

> an already incriminating attempt to preempt it

Wanting to have your own say in advance of a newspaper that is objectively creeping towards the left (http://evoweb.net/blog2/20190630-islamophobia-nyt-timelines.... as mentioned elsewhere) writing an article criticizing your company is not evidence of guilt.

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These aren’t exactly what you are asking about but some recent examples of what I consider to be disingenuous and manipulative: 1. The New York Times published a scathing critique of Google’s 4000 word privacy policy, neglecting anywhere to mention that their own privacy policy was 25% longer and sketchier. 2. The entire handling of the Caliphate podcast and subsequent backpedaling and retroactive reframing. 3. Simil…

#1 NYT's own privacy policy is irrelevant in context. Google's privacy policy affects most of the internet, aka, most of the world. The NYT's privacy policy affects the significantly smaller (and comparatively insignificant) number of people who read the NYT on its website. #3 The adjustments (aka corrections) were not silent. They announced them, and the big corrections even got their own NYT articles, see e.g., htt…

For 4. I haven’t seen any evidence that Virgil Texas is open about his real identity. Certainly seems harder to assess than Scott Alexander, at this point. What am I missing?

https://twitter.com/s8mb/status/1275405171577806850?s=20

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes isn't this a rather common strategy, "Be pro-active, not reactive". When the actual story comes out it is not such a big news any more, because it is not news any more. First impressions often last, so now the first impressions is that the story is fake. So even if their response does amplify the story, it might amplify a good story rather than a bad one. So go even so far as to say "all publicity is good publici…

I get that this strategy can work, but are there really that many people who will be swayed by a pr statement from coinbase? I'm primed to assume their version is filled with lies and spin, and I'm waiting for the piece in the NYT to cut through the corporate pr bullshit.

Well, speak for yourself. My own assessment is the opposite: that the NYT is highly likely to assume anything an 'oppressed minority' tells them is true, even if it's not, and meanwhile a company is highly likely to be more objective: they have every incentive to investigate complaints yet also not self-flagellate if the complaints are false.

That said, I think Popper specifically has done a decent job with tech stories in the past. So I reserve judgement. But only because of him, not because of the NYT.

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#295
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coinbase has been on the receiving end of news media abusive for a short while (ever since they offered to pay their disruptive employees to leave). I don't really blame them for wanting to preemptively defend themselves.

> news media abusive [sic] Criticism is not abuse. They’re also not doing the best job defending themselves since they offer no concrete proof, testimony, or narrative. Who were these employees? What happened? We don’t know, but are left with some empty promise of a statement that Coinbase “handled it internally.”

Normally companies don't publish details of internal employee doings and especially not complaints. That's just not done. What if they're mistaken about the contents of the article? I'd be furious if a company put details of some internal complaint I made on their blog, if I hadn't actually gone and tried to get it into the press.

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#296
post #59

I have to wonder to what extent this is just punishment from the establishment for Coinbase’s recent rejection of political activism in the workplace. Of course we will need to see the article from the NYT first before drawing any conclusions, but the timing is pretty suspicious; this implies that the NYT more or less launched this project immediately after that announcement went out.

Coinbase's political non-activism policy announcement at the end of September had no bearing on this article. Investigations into racial discrimination or sexual harassment complaints take months (see for example, at Riot Games, an internal investigation took almost 5 months even though most of the facts were already publicly known at the start of the investigation. https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/26686134/ho…

Doubtful the NYT would spend >2 months on a story about one relatively small company. Journalist time isn't free. The timing does look very odd and let's face it, the NYT has a lot of people who would absolutely hate a tech firm standing up to their agenda in the way Coinbase has done. Having successfully politicised the NYT they'd certainly feel entitled to do the same everywhere else. The 100% idpol nature of the story also lends weight to this theory. I very much doubt that Coinbase is actually racist against blacks (er, sorry, Blacks). Never encountered a tech company that was.

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#297
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their response contains specific facts, such as information on the number of and their handling of reported complaints. That isn't much-- I agree-- but I doubt that they know enough about the time's intended allegations to respond more specifically. And if they did respond too specifically presumably the times would shift their allegations to different specifics in any case, making a general response the only durable…

Those "facts" are about as relevant to dispelling the allegations as is the "fact" that a table has four legs. The facts are there to support an argument. The fact that only 3 people filed a formal complain isn't strong support of the argument that there wasn't more widespread discrimination, particularly when set against the specific statements of multiple alleged victims that will be published in the story.

[deleted]

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#298
post #59

I have to wonder to what extent this is just punishment from the establishment for Coinbase’s recent rejection of political activism in the workplace. Of course we will need to see the article from the NYT first before drawing any conclusions, but the timing is pretty suspicious; this implies that the NYT more or less launched this project immediately after that announcement went out.

Coinbase's political non-activism policy announcement at the end of September had no bearing on this article. Investigations into racial discrimination or sexual harassment complaints take months (see for example, at Riot Games, an internal investigation took almost 5 months even though most of the facts were already publicly known at the start of the investigation. https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/26686134/ho…

[deleted]

Re: An upcoming story about Coinbase

#300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the case for the war with Iraq?

If your best criticism is something that is old enough to finish college right around now, and ignores that the Times ran plenty of opposition to that war, maybe they aren’t as bad as you make them out to be?

like the russia hoax?
Post reply on HN