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The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

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Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#61

Post by breck »

eli wrote: post #59
breck wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love it if dang could weigh in on this tough issue. There were a number of people being downvoted asking questions about how this could have happened, and now to see that someone posted the true answer and it was flagged and hidden, that I think reflects poorly on HN and warrants an explanation. I'll never forget at my first friend's funeral when his mother said during the eulogy "My son was a drug addict." I…

Speculating about the circumstances of someone's death can be in poor taste even if some of the speculation turns out to be correct.

This person clearly stated they weren't speculating, and any long time HN user could tell that they were likely credible and not a troll account. At least that's my take, that's why it would be good to hear from dang why this was buried.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#62

Post by eli »

tempsy wrote: post #50
GavinMcG wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Sharing hard truths" without credible backup should be flagged when it's personal information like that. Gossip and tawdry accusations don't have a place in a community devoted to responsible discourse, especially because lies spread faster than the truth. Having the same conversation now rather than right in the heat of things is fine.

What do you mean by credible? How does anyone on here present proof of credibility about knowledge of a particular event or issue? The comment in question was from someone who created a throwaway “exzappos” username and claimed to have worked closely with Hsieh and understood the problems that have now come to light. It’s impossible for anyone on here to prove their identity or that they aren’t lying about knowledge…

Correct, gossipy comments from throwaway accounts do not have any credibility. Being apparently correct in this instance doesn't change that.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#63

Post by breck »

detaro wrote: post #60
breck wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love it if dang could weigh in on this tough issue. There were a number of people being downvoted asking questions about how this could have happened, and now to see that someone posted the true answer and it was flagged and hidden, that I think reflects poorly on HN and warrants an explanation. I'll never forget at my first friend's funeral when his mother said during the eulogy "My son was a drug addict." I…

A relative talking about it at the funeral is quite different than anonymous claims that are impossible to (dis)prove within hours of the death.

Hindsight is 20-20, but looking back it seems clear they were credible and correct, which is why I just wonder if dang could explain why they were flagged. Were moderators involved? Was any attempt made to verify? Or was it just lost in a sea of comments flagged daily (I don't know, not sure how the backend works here).

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#64

Post by eli »

breck wrote: post #61
eli wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speculating about the circumstances of someone's death can be in poor taste even if some of the speculation turns out to be correct.

This person clearly stated they weren't speculating, and any long time HN user could tell that they were likely credible and not a troll account. At least that's my take, that's why it would be good to hear from dang why this was buried.

Yes, the anonymous account certainly did claim to know for sure.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#65

Post by detaro »

breck wrote: post #63
detaro wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A relative talking about it at the funeral is quite different than anonymous claims that are impossible to (dis)prove within hours of the death.

Hindsight is 20-20, but looking back it seems clear they were credible and correct, which is why I just wonder if dang could explain why they were flagged. Were moderators involved? Was any attempt made to verify? Or was it just lost in a sea of comments flagged daily (I don't know, not sure how the backend works here).

Flagging is a user action, not something mods do, and I don't see why mods should have overridden that here. It's obviously always possible that strong claims that are impossible to confirm quickly turn out to be true, that doesn't mean we should let them always stand as if they are true in such circumstances.

EDIT: and usual hint, the most reliable way to get an answer from dang is emailing him.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#66

Post by senthil_rajasek »

breck wrote: post #57
v64 wrote: post #14

Some of the speculation in this thread [1], originally flagged as hearsay, seems to be confirmed by this article, namely his use of nitrous oxide. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25235843

I would love it if dang could weigh in on this tough issue. There were a number of people being downvoted asking questions about how this could have happened, and now to see that someone posted the true answer and it was flagged and hidden, that I think reflects poorly on HN and warrants an explanation. I'll never forget at my first friend's funeral when his mother said during the eulogy "My son was a drug addict." I…

"If she can do that and do it in a positive way then I think an Internet forum could do it too. "

You just compared an Internet forum to a grieving mother.

Not the right comparison by a longshot.

Allowing a publication run by professional journalists ( they follow a code of ethics) to share news is slightly better than internet forum participants to share their opinions on such a sensitive topic.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#67

Post by tempsy »

eli wrote: post #62
tempsy wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by credible? How does anyone on here present proof of credibility about knowledge of a particular event or issue? The comment in question was from someone who created a throwaway “exzappos” username and claimed to have worked closely with Hsieh and understood the problems that have now come to light. It’s impossible for anyone on here to prove their identity or that they aren’t lying about knowledge…

Correct, gossipy comments from throwaway accounts do not have any credibility. Being apparently correct in this instance doesn't change that.

no one on here has credibility due to the anonymous nature of this site.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#68

Post by adrianpike »

elorant wrote: post #40
danhak wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn’t think of a better year for this advice.

How is that so? I couldn't live in quarantine without having an Internet connection. There's a limit to how many books one can read.

In those dark times before the internet, we searched for the limit to how many books one could read in a lifetime.

We never found it.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#69

Post by rootsudo »

pcunite wrote: post #34
v64 wrote: post #14

Some of the speculation in this thread [1], originally flagged as hearsay, seems to be confirmed by this article, namely his use of nitrous oxide. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25235843

On a flagged and down-voted into oblivion comment, no less. A small taste of what sharing hard truths here at HN is often becoming like. I hope we can rise above this and allow discussion, even topics we don't think we need to hear.

Agreed, much of the Internet is in this same state of affairs. Moderation, what a few group of people think isn't "nice" becomes the dialogue and topic of discussion vs what is.

Depressing all around.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#70

Post by seibelj »

okareaman wrote: post #52

I am a recovering nitrous oxide addict who once set himself on fire, so I understand the terrible predicament he found himself in. Many people do nitrous recreationally as a party drug, but there's a reason they call it 'hippie crack.' Some become obsessed with it

I have done nitrous before - what about it makes you more likely to be set on fire? Just risk of passing out while smoking a cigarette maybe?
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