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That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

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441–450 of 492 posts

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#441
post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Hi, I use pony/anime/furry avatars at work and my blog is loved on this website for its technical content and innovative use of the Socratic method. People like me exist.

Sure, that's great. It's just a flag, a signal to look closer, that's all.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s your point?

VMWare wants your authentic self to work, unless of course your "authentic self" has opinions. (Anyone thinking this about "the pony" is missing the point, probably disingenuously so.)

Having opinions is one thing, spewing these opinions, unsolicited, in a public rants while being on a job is another. Spewing them in highly offensive form of a personal insult, and telling the HR to shove it when they object is yet another.

I'd probably rather work for a company that requires people to be professional on a job than one that allows them to "authentically" go wild and throw shit around. There are limits to how much "authenticity" I want to see from my coworkers. Everybody has their own opinions, but there's a time when one needs to choose between staying a professional or let oneself loose. And I'd rather work in a place where the former is encouraged.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s your point?

[flagged]

I don't see what one's preference in how to have sex and what implements are being shoved where is relevant to Kubernetes. So I'd rather have my coworkers to not bring that to the job unless I ask them about it. I am not showing anybody my private parts unsolicited, and I expect the same courtesy from others, especially on the job.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you fire someone for a few insults on Twitter then you belong in Kindergarten, not in a management position. Boy, I'm so happy I don't work for anyone, I'd hate to have to deal with sensitive pricks that think they can dictate what their employees say on social media.

You should be careful. It takes a whole lifetime to build a reputation and mere seconds to destroy it permanently. Everything depends on reputation, especially in business. Guard it with your life.

Yeah, for example if you have a reputation as a good employer you shouldn't ruin it by firing employees just because an army official on a power trip asked you to.

But then again, VMWare never had a reputation as a good employer, did they?

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speak out against what exactly? Defence is one of the most vital sectors in a countries continued existence, coming just after food and water.

There is something of a paradox that I feel exist, at least in the US, with regards to the defense sector. I don’t agree with its ethics or morals as they exists in the country, but I’m curious how others reconcile their privileges in comparison to other regions with the fact that said privileges can be attributed to the US’s tremendous military scale domestically and globally. One could even argue that defense even…

Exactly. The only reason so many Western countries are able to spend so little on defense without being conquered is that the US is spending enough to pick up all of their slack at once.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#446
post #440
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a free speech absolutist[0], but if there's one speech one ought to be free to do, it's to write mean things about a government body (or deals with one) in a country that has a constitutional right to free speech. [0] neither is the US, despite what it says; I am however a free-speech maximalist , and the differences between these positions includes but is not limited to acknowledging that some speech chills…

If anybody would prosecute this person under the color of law for her speech, I'd be first to object. I am also very against going for people's job for something they said in their personal capacity, or for disagreeing with their politics. But that's not what happened. What happened is that she personally cursed out a client, publicly accusing this person in war crimes, while being on a job conference. And, when conf…

> I am also very against going for people's job for something they said in their personal capacity... I say if you prioritize the ability to say shit on twitter over your job, then it's not a question of free speech, it's a question of choice.

You look like less of a bootlicking dumbass when you don't contradict yourself in the span of a single comment.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#447
post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem comes before that. Mostly there isn’t an alternative to that. Either sign off your rights with an employment contract if you wanna be paid for your skills, or die in a ditch (pardon the hyperbole). Tertium non datur, there is not an alternative. And no, I’m sorry, but “you have the freedom to start your own company”, “you have the freedom to not be employed by that company” are all false statements.

There's an in-between, here. The author was at a conference representing said company. Maybe they were told to go, but this isn't VMware policing their speech in general - this is someone attending an event on VMware's behalf and picking a fight directly with the speaker. I'd feel very differently if VMware fired someone for voicing a political opinion outside the context of work with no reasonable association with V…

> I'd feel very differently if VMware fired someone for voicing a political opinion outside the context of work with no reasonable association with VMware other than being employed there.

Depending on the "political opinion" I would absolutely expect to be fired for expressing it even "outside the context of work with no reasonable association with [company]." If I went out and stood on a highway overpass waving a nazi flag or participated in a KKK march, I would 1000% expect to be fired without even a conversation from my manager. Or, really, if I did anything in public that would get me to the top of Reddit's r/PublicFreakout and got identified, I would not be surprised if my job was in jeopardy over it.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you maliciously and repeatedly attack people on Twitter, customers no less, while at a work conference on work’s dime then you belong in kindergarten, not having a professional job. Thankfully VMWare fixed that.

Look up the person OP insulted: https://www.oxebridge.com/emma/op-ed-usafs-chaillan-knausenb... OP was fired for stepping on the toes of a thin skinned official with a good network.

Well, I’m sure OP got her job back as soon as it was revealed that the person she was accusing as a war criminal with blood on his hands was indeed an asshole.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#449
post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anybody would prosecute this person under the color of law for her speech, I'd be first to object. I am also very against going for people's job for something they said in their personal capacity, or for disagreeing with their politics. But that's not what happened. What happened is that she personally cursed out a client, publicly accusing this person in war crimes, while being on a job conference. And, when conf…

> I am also very against going for people's job for something they said in their personal capacity... I say if you prioritize the ability to say shit on twitter over your job, then it's not a question of free speech, it's a question of choice. You look like less of a bootlicking dumbass when you don't contradict yourself in the span of a single comment.

Thank you for your thoughtful comment, your feedback is very important to us.

Re: That Time I Posted Myself Out Of a Job

#450
post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could it be nothing of that but disregard for toxic behavior of op who either doesn’t have clue about tone, causes and consequences of the actions or refuses to own it. With the way how the post is written, and I find the end especially toxic, with points about trump era, throwing shade on a guy with hints of racism, I cannot see that this was just some unfortunate misunderstanding. omg your possible explanations: mi…

> I cannot see that this was just some unfortunate misunderstanding It obviously wasn't a misunderstanding. The story is about a person who insulted an air force official, and got fired as a result. There is no misunderstanding about this. So the relevant question is, should programmers be fired for insulting government brass on Twitter? I would expect most of HN to say "No, they shouldn't". But in this case, the ove…

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