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A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
191–200 of 582 posts
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#192Here's the gift link to the referenced NYTimes Article
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/technology/google-fellows...
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#193I can totally see how this can fly under the radar. "Cults" are common in tech, though not of this type. I've received job offers where entire functions are all people who had worked together at a previous company and not hired through acquisitions. I've had teams where majority of the team is from the same university or class. More than 50% of the team having a common denominator is common and it usually starts with…
It's hard to hire. I can imagine that "someone in a high enough position" could have a pretty good competitive advantage being able to hire employees of known and consistent competence without having to slog through resumes and interviews. Once there were a few of this group already working, it would also be easier to close hires with the social pressure. I can imagine that higher ups might be inclined to look the other way about how the individual in question was able to hire so effectively, if anyone could even articulate a compelling argument against it.
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
> they didn’t cover their tracks very well anyways ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I mean they actually told him where they were from (geographically, if not organizationally), so clearly they didn't consider it something that needed to be secret. Which is interesting, because it gives us insight into their way of thinking [1]. They clearly don't consider themselves to be in any way toxic like the author thinks they are. Cults are interes…
The satanic and brainwashing/deprogramming scares of the 80’s changed the way a lot of people use the word, but for the preceding several millennia cult simply suggested: A membership community with secrets and opportunities reserved for members. There are millions of these around us, and we’re all probably members of several. It seems to be pretty normal throughout history. We just don’t acknowledge it as such becau…
We call non-religious cults "cliques" now...
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#195The author delayed his attempt to do something about the cult and got fired because he planned to do so. It would have been better to be fired after raising concerns to the HR. This would have been both more ethical and would also give a more solid ground for the trial, so that's a bit sad. Yet, that's so much better than the tons of people who knew and did nothing. Good luck to him!
The author explains that he had TVC (temp/vendor/contractor) status, so he didn't reported to the same HR as the full-timers that were members of the cult. He also adds that his HR was notorious of their "not my problem" attitude.
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#196I can totally see how this can fly under the radar. "Cults" are common in tech, though not of this type. I've received job offers where entire functions are all people who had worked together at a previous company and not hired through acquisitions. I've had teams where majority of the team is from the same university or class. More than 50% of the team having a common denominator is common and it usually starts with…
In what way are cults common in tech?
Startups. Full of idols :-P
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#197I can totally see how this can fly under the radar. "Cults" are common in tech, though not of this type. I've received job offers where entire functions are all people who had worked together at a previous company and not hired through acquisitions. I've had teams where majority of the team is from the same university or class. More than 50% of the team having a common denominator is common and it usually starts with…
It's hard to hire. I can imagine that "someone in a high enough position" could have a pretty good competitive advantage being able to hire employees of known and consistent competence without having to slog through resumes and interviews. Once there were a few of this group already working, it would also be easier to close hires with the social pressure. I can imagine that higher ups might be inclined to look the ot…
Here's how you articulate it: the odds that the best people for the job all came from the same class at the same university are slim to none.
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#198Imagine working so hard to work at Google and then… > Members are typically required to give 10 percent of their monthly earnings to the organization. > one member described being fined $1,500 for having sex with a woman when they weren’t married.
fined $1500 or 'charged' $1500?
If you submitted some personal authority and you transgress that authority, and you can remedy that transgression with a payment, fine is a suitable word.
I see what you’re getting at, but the word isn’t really out of place there.
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#199Earlier quoted context omitted.
> they didn’t cover their tracks very well anyways ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I mean they actually told him where they were from (geographically, if not organizationally), so clearly they didn't consider it something that needed to be secret. Which is interesting, because it gives us insight into their way of thinking [1]. They clearly don't consider themselves to be in any way toxic like the author thinks they are. Cults are interes…
The satanic and brainwashing/deprogramming scares of the 80’s changed the way a lot of people use the word, but for the preceding several millennia cult simply suggested: A membership community with secrets and opportunities reserved for members. There are millions of these around us, and we’re all probably members of several. It seems to be pretty normal throughout history. We just don’t acknowledge it as such becau…
Yes, I think in this context the word "cult" is inappropriate. The
word the author was looking for is "clique".
Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit
#200Interesting story. From the headline, I thought this was going to be a culture-war type of article. I wasn't expecting evidence of a real cult.
I thought it was going to be about Landmark Forum