Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project • Hacker News Board

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#401

Post by aparsons » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

pcmaffey wrote: post #152

risyachka wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kinda funny how their CEO writes on Twitter all the time that they are the best company in the world, with the best product, do most innovations in tech etc and 10 minutes later he is threatened by a small open-source project that wasn't even created to compete.

He blocked me on Twitter for pointing out something (technical) he said was wrong, and then he deleted his tweet. Told me everything I need to know about that guy.

Mentioned in my other comment, but just all the more evidence of a megalomaniac, insecure CEO trying to build a company out of shallow moats and little value creation

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#402

Post by gk1 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

smnrchrds wrote: post #344

codingdave wrote: post #111

> Naturally, I took down my project right away... So a CEO bullied you. He threatened to have lawyers look at something, accused you of behaving poorly, and accused you of being difficult. He is being manipulative. He is trying to guilt / scare you into stopping. And it worked. For all readers... do not be afraid of lawyers. Especially if nobody has even talked to them yet. Lawyers do not like to lose cases, so will…

Counterpoint: be afraid of lawyers. They may not be able to win s judgment against you, but they can easily bankrupt you. Remember the case where a man criticized Proctorio and was hit with a SLAPP lawsuit aimed to silence him. He ended up spending 100k on legal costs and the case is only beginning. He would have been bankrupt despite being 100% legally in the right. Fortunately for him, EFF decided to support him af…

A drawn out legal case can bankrupt you not only financially but mentally, too.

The quantity and the length of emails sent by the author, in addition to the writeup, suggest they spent considerable time worrying about the situation.

And it’s only been a few days. Imagine if this becomes a multi-year case.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#403

Post by Arjuna144 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

After reading this I would definitely advise against working with the company behind repl.it. This is really poor behavior that seems to be motivated by fear and/or jealousy. Nothing of humanly high value can be expected of a company with such a shitty CEO

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#404

Post by 0xbadcafebee » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

New CEOs: Don't talk so much. If you have to talk to someone outside your company, and it's not part of a business strategy, public relations, or other normal part of your job, and it seems important, do it through a lawyer. Not only is it scarier, the lawyer can tell you (in a nice way) to shut up.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#405

Post by Shicholas » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:59 PM UTC

Unpopular opinion, IAAL and frankly Replit has a case that will pass the "motion to dismiss" stage when litigation starts getting expensive b/c of discovery. The OP worked for Replit and therefore had access to private source code or "trade secrets" before creating his project. It'd take expert testimony for the OP to prove in court that his OSS project was not influenced in any way by Replit's closed-source code, which imo is unlikely.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#406

Post by aparsons » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:59 PM UTC

gonehome wrote: post #270

risyachka wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kinda funny how their CEO writes on Twitter all the time that they are the best company in the world, with the best product, do most innovations in tech etc and 10 minutes later he is threatened by a small open-source project that wasn't even created to compete.

Yeah - I don't really like piling on, but Replit and Roam both give off massive alarms for me regarding the founders. Both seem to think they're Xerox PARC - or the most ambitious software companies on earth, both products seem pretty underwhelming. Just seems wildly disproportionate to what they're doing. At least Steve Jobs was actually building stuff that was revolutionary. Elon Musk is building reusable rockets a…

Right? REPL.it is - unironically - a weekend project, that the founder loves to pretend is a marvel of engineering

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#407

Post by cycomanic » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:59 PM UTC

Those who are defending repl.it behaviour, did you notice that the guy interned with them in summer 2019? I mean even many NDAs or non-competes (leaving legality aside) would have expired after two years. I mean what secrets that are still relevant after 2 years could an intern taken away? If you have secrets like that would you let an intern anywhere close to them?

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#408

Post by caslon » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 6:00 PM UTC

boothrowaway wrote: post #312

gonehome wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah - I don't really like piling on, but Replit and Roam both give off massive alarms for me regarding the founders. Both seem to think they're Xerox PARC - or the most ambitious software companies on earth, both products seem pretty underwhelming. Just seems wildly disproportionate to what they're doing. At least Steve Jobs was actually building stuff that was revolutionary. Elon Musk is building reusable rockets a…

Word on the street is that the Roam founder Conan is also getting pushed out for dehumanizing women and abusing meth, and being a general jackass. Silicon Valley has the best culture.

Isn't equating "victim of drug addiction" and "harms women" out of line? One is something that isn't really his fault and isn't because of his moral failings, and the other is dehumanizing nearly half of the population.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#409

Post by AYBABTME » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 6:00 PM UTC

jfrunyon wrote: post #339

armchairhacker wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many attorneys offer free consultations, so OP (or anyone in a similar situation) should've contacted an attorney and asked them what to do. The attorney would know very well if he was in actual danger or the CEO was just bluffing.

I would expect the free consultation to be "Hmm, that depends. Can you give me a copy of any contracts you signed with them? Oh and $$$. Send me $$$ too."

Have you tried? I've got good 30min conversations with lawyers on the phone for 0$, and them telling me I didn't need their services after all, but to call them if X happens. Same with many other professionals, FWIW.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#410

Post by shkkmo » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 6:00 PM UTC

gabeio wrote: post #386

jwilber wrote: post #166

If the CEO didn’t throw a tantrum over the exact things his company claims to support (OSS, creativity, etc.), nobody would know about the intern’s weekend project. But he did, and now we’ll see something of a Streisand effect [0]. To be fair, it is kind of suspect to intern for a company and, at the end of that internship, turn around and create effectively the same thing. And OP’s dismissive tone and propensity to…

I had nearly the same feeling while reading this and specifically finally getting to the part where the author mentions they were an intern. Being an intern at the company is kinda important to this story, had they not been an intern at the company I think this would have been a vastly different conversation. I honestly think both are in the wrong here, the CEO should have been a bit more relaxed about the handling o…

Non-competes are unethical and also illegal in California where replit is based.

Edit: They aren't technically "illegal" in CA, just unenforceable.