"I give you permission to publish Riju". Emm. Really? Since when does he hold such a power?
Yeah I think this should have been "I withdraw my request for you to take it down, and the corresponding threat of legal action if you didn't do so."
How did Replit respond to this blog post?
11–20 of 121 posts
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#12I hereby grant you premission...
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#13"I give you permission to publish Riju". Emm. Really? Since when does he hold such a power?
I agree. It should be worded as "I won't attempt to sue you if you publish Riju", which is a completely different message.
Granted, that particular phrasing could imply that Repl.it would never sue the OP ever (for issues unrelated to this IP keruffle), which could lead to an issue down the road.
Everyone hates it, but this is why you involve lawyers from the start if possible. It's better for everyone in the long run.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#14The craziest part, to me, is how the CEO could have expressed his view in a way that would have been much more compelling.
"Hey, really cool project. Though honestly, not sure how I feel about a former intern of mine publishing a project that is so similar to what they worked on as an intern. But on that note, we'd be happy to have you back on the team if you want to continue the project with us :) What do you say?"
or something along those lines. I still wouldn't agree with him, but at least I'd sympathize.
instead he went full-on attack mode, lawyers and all. sheesh. talk about tone deaf.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#15"I give you permission to publish Riju". Emm. Really? Since when does he hold such a power?
Off-topic, but does anybody remember the name of the emancipated slave that said something along the lines of "You can't give me freedom, you can only give it back"? I really love that quote but I can't find the original source.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#16His HN response is pretty baffling to read. Saying he's "no longer the struggling kid from Jordan" who now needs to "be kind and model better behavior" is oddly focused on him, but it also kind of points to... people from Jordan are incapable of being kind?
The whole approach he took here is just very poorly thought out.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#17Yeah, seen this before: people apologising not because they suddenly care about what they did to their victims, but because they care about what the world thinks about them. Edit: not responding to guilt but to shame.
> still refused to list any specific part of Replit he thought I had copied, even when I asked him for such details multiple times during the phone call, despite his continuing to claim both privately and publicly that I copied Replit unethically
And unwilling to backup their public accusations with detail or receipts.
The CEO was also on Twitter doubling down on the accusation that Radon is a thief even after posting on HN.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#18I'm in the minority (I think?) of people who felt that while there was an overreaction from Replit, there was some merit in their original complaint.
I think that the situation has escalated though partly due to the approach of the former intern here, who - while rightly calling out the non-apology aspects of the apology is aggressive themselves now that the power is with them courtesy of the public exposure and general backing of HN.
The blogpost here drilling down into every perceived slight and human failing lacks grace and magnanimity and doesn't seem much better at handling the favourable side of the power balance than Replit did in the original correspondence.
Maybe time to move on.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#19The parting jab in the closing email is classic:
"you said 'I will not be copying more stuff' " (OP didn't say that and given their current stance of not copying anything, I doubt they would admit that)
"Arrive at new ways of doing things -- make new mistakes"
Egotistical people always try to get the last word in. Even when apologizing.
Re: How did Replit respond to this blog post?
#20The problem here is the unreasonable reaction off the bat. Look, I’ve faced issues like this before - I’ve even done dumber things in response, in my past.
But, and this is important, just stop. For five minutes. When something upsets you, and you JUST WANT TO SEND THIS EMAIL - don’t. Wait five minutes. Take a walk. Tell someone else about the issue.
Then, and only then, after you’ve not thought about the email for a bit, erase it and write it from scratch.
It helps. It’s therapeutic. You don’t end up with your emails screenshotted and posted to the top of HN for two days in a row.
Assume the best intentions. I find far fewer people are looking to take advantage of you than are simply looking to be liked.