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'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

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Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#441

Post by theshackleford »

dspillett wrote: post #313
littlestymaar wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> this was out-of-hours There's no out-of-hours for CEO. He was using is official Twitter account to make a public statement, that's a work-related mistake. (It's not like he used some anonymous account to troll on some subreddit) > Walmart cashiers shouldn't be sacked for immaturity and poor judgement in their personal lives if their work is life is up to scratch. I don't know if they should, but they definitely are…

> There's no out-of-hours for CEO. Unless his contract specifically says that, bull. If his contract foes specifically say that, then I doubt it is legally enforceable anyway. > He was using is official Twitter account to make a public statement, that's a work-related mistake. If he used an official work account, then yes that paints a different picture and is a more clear-cut case of abusing resources and directly b…

He’s right. Source: was executive, CEO adjacent, and id still have been let go for such behaviour. At that level, you’re a very different representation of the org and you’re held to a higher standard in such cases where your actions regardless of when or where they took place reflect upon the org.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#442

Post by JohnFen »

rayiner wrote: post #379
tempestn wrote: post #257

I'm a little bit aghast at all the comments saying this is normal or no big deal. Maybe it is normal (or at least common), but it shouldn't be. If you believe it's no big deal, I can't agree. I can see this kind of behaviour from adolescents, but adults should understand that words are meaningful and have consequences, and that even if you disagree with someone, they're still a human being who deserves some modicum o…

We can debate about whether it should be normal, but clearly it is, right? For example we have the Darwin Award, where we mock people who actually died (not just rhetorically). I’m not the least bit edgy as far as millennials go, and I’ve made the joke that “the best thing Trump could do for the GOP is to get assassinated.” It always gets a laugh.

> We can debate about whether it should be normal, but clearly it is, right?

I don't think it's even close to being normal. If it were, then this wouldn't have raised the firestorm it did.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#443

Post by JohnFen »

dandanua wrote: post #430
nonrandomstring wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading this article by Rebecca Solnit [0] posted on HN here [1] absolutely helped me make sense of the Garry Tan story, and what is going on in Californian politics. It's well worth reading, but is a long and initially tedious article bemoaning the passing of a gentler, humane culture. Then about halfway through it grew some balls and teeth, and frankly I found it shocking. I had no idea California was this degenera…

> Tech billionaires often seem more interested in surviving the apocalypse than preventing it. - pretty much sums everything we observe today. And it's only getting worse, despite tech advancements. Great article.

I find it interesting that you added "despite tech advancements". I don't see how the level of technological advancement enters into this equation at all.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#444

Post by hindsightbias »

hef19898 wrote: post #302
tedk-42 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's paraphrased 2pac is his alcohol fuelled moment "Fuck Mobb Deep, fuck Biggie Fuck Bad Boy as a staff, record label and as a motherfuckin' crew And if you want to be down with Bad Bo, then fuck you too Chino XL, fuck you too All you motherfuckers, fuck you too (take money, take money) All of y'all motherfuckers, fuck you, die slow, motherfucker" It's immature and poor judgement but he's apologised for it so I don'…

The higher up you are, and the more you represent an organisation, the less immature behavior or poor judgement you cannafford orbare entitled to. USN nuclear sub commanders get replaced for DUIs, because poor judgement is not acceptable. Creating public outrage with drunk rantabon social media falling back on an employer is nothing a normal employee woild get waway woth, let alone a CEO. But in a world where everyon…

Think about the industry and the people you'd want to be managing an AGI. These people aren't Chuck Forbin.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#445

Post by rayiner »

JohnFen wrote: post #442
rayiner wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can debate about whether it should be normal, but clearly it is, right? For example we have the Darwin Award, where we mock people who actually died (not just rhetorically). I’m not the least bit edgy as far as millennials go, and I’ve made the joke that “the best thing Trump could do for the GOP is to get assassinated.” It always gets a laugh.

> We can debate about whether it should be normal, but clearly it is, right? I don't think it's even close to being normal. If it were, then this wouldn't have raised the firestorm it did.

The firestorm is entirely because Tan is rich and Asian. There’s always been a taboo on “punching down,” but in recent years in certain circles politicians have moved positions in the hierarchy.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#446

Post by JohnFen »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #381
syndacks wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was only quoting Tupac…

Not totally sure if this comment is ironic or not but wanted to expand on this thought either way. Using a reference with threatening language in it that is potentially unknown by the people recieving it, makes a death threat even more sinister as it feels like you're building in plausible deniability and trying to have your cake and eat it. It's basically admitting "if I just said this it would cross a line, but if…

There are two related aspects to this that fascinate me the most.

The first is that Tan seems to have thought that people who were upset by the statement were unaware that it was a song lyric.

The second is that some people think that because it's a song lyric, it somehow doesn't count.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#447

Post by JohnFen »

tedk-42 wrote: post #268
tempestn wrote: post #257

I'm a little bit aghast at all the comments saying this is normal or no big deal. Maybe it is normal (or at least common), but it shouldn't be. If you believe it's no big deal, I can't agree. I can see this kind of behaviour from adolescents, but adults should understand that words are meaningful and have consequences, and that even if you disagree with someone, they're still a human being who deserves some modicum o…

He's paraphrased 2pac is his alcohol fuelled moment "Fuck Mobb Deep, fuck Biggie Fuck Bad Boy as a staff, record label and as a motherfuckin' crew And if you want to be down with Bad Bo, then fuck you too Chino XL, fuck you too All you motherfuckers, fuck you too (take money, take money) All of y'all motherfuckers, fuck you, die slow, motherfucker" It's immature and poor judgement but he's apologised for it so I don'…

That he was drunk makes it very likely that he was expressing what he really thinks. It's not a matter of "dragging him down" as much as "when someone shows you who they are, believe them."

Apologizing is great, but it can't make people unlearn something they learned about the person.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#448

Post by JohnFen »

ChildOfChaos wrote: post #311
tempestn wrote: post #257

I'm a little bit aghast at all the comments saying this is normal or no big deal. Maybe it is normal (or at least common), but it shouldn't be. If you believe it's no big deal, I can't agree. I can see this kind of behaviour from adolescents, but adults should understand that words are meaningful and have consequences, and that even if you disagree with someone, they're still a human being who deserves some modicum o…

But you would say this kinda thing to friends, people joke around all the time, it’s good to show that strength of emotion about something instead of having to PR speak your entire live.

> But you would say this kinda thing to friends

No, I wouldn't. I have never said anything like that to my friends (nor have my friends ever said anything like that to me), and I can't imagine ever doing so.

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#449

Post by 0cf8612b2e1e »

PH95VuimJjqBqy wrote: post #434
slibhb wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is zero chance he could be indicted for a threat based on that tweet. No responsible prosecutor would try. Even if you take "die slow motherfucker" literally, it's not a threat. A wish that someone dies is not a threat. "I will kill you" is a threat.

to clarify, in the US, "I will kill you" may or may not be considered a threat. It depends on whether or not it's actionable. If it's a tweet, it's probably not going to be considered actionable. People talk shit all the time, a lot of people in this post need to calm down and stop being so quick to be offended. Should have said it? Probably not. Does that make him a danger to anyone? Not by itself it doesn't.

Is there a legal distinction for public figures? If Jodie Foster says, “I will kill you” does that change the calculus at all?

Or of course, “Won’t someone do something about this troublesome priest”

Re: 'Stupid,' 'shameful:' Tech workers on Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's rant

#450

Post by JohnFen »

me_me_me wrote: post #426
iSnow wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alcohol disinhibits and makes people show sides they usually suppress. He probably has pent-up anger and let it all out in that tweet. I guess he's neither fully the person you know nor the person from that tweet, but both are part of the "real him"

>Alcohol disinhibits and makes people show sides they usually suppress I always judged people based on how they act when drunk. Always stick with people who are happy drunk never angry/violent drunk

Me too! I can't say I really know who someone is unless I've seen them drunk, experience heaven, or experience hell.

All of those things tend to reveal truths about ourselves that we normally don't expose.

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