To those of you who immediately believe the tumblr and therefore condemn the accuser as a liar: On what basis do you make your judgment? Do you: 1. Know Keith or the accuser personally, and therefore have the capacity to make an educated guess as to the veracity of the claims? 2. Believe that rich people, well known people, or people with blogs don't have the capacity to do what Keith is accused of doing? 3. Believe…
One factor is Bayes' theorem and prior probabilities. The probability of being accused of sexual harassment changes when you're a wealthy executive working for a successful company like Square.
A note from Keith
111–120 of 165 posts
Re: A note from Keith
#112I think the general accepted idea that the victim of said offenses should remain anonymous while the accused is outed is very sad and makes little sense. It makes the whole "innocent until proven guilty" idea a joke given the ample data that show permanent damage that mere accusation can cause even if you are proven innocent later.
Re: A note from Keith
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's from criminal law, this seems to be a civil act. Also, while we're there, the burden of proof is different -- proof beyond a reasonable doubt vs balance of probabilities. (IANAL, I just remember this from an engineering law class)
My point is, at this time we've only just now heard of the accusation. Until the time that I've personally seen all evidence, or it has been determined in a court of law that this man is guilty of the accusations, he has done nothing in my eyes. I absolutely hate seeing innocent people have their reputations and lives trashed by someone who places a false claim against them. Innocent until proven guilty is a good pol…
Given the 4 word response, I thought I'd mention that standards from criminal law will not apply here and that the case will be decided on a balance of probabilities. I don't know this guy but I do hope he gets a fair shake in court.
Re: A note from Keith
#114Several months after our relationship began, I recommended that he interview at Square. I don't know Keith, anyone at his company, this story or have any opinion on who did or didn't do what to whom. I will just say this: The quote above, regardless of who says it when, is perhaps the worst business decision a person could ever make. Full Stop. Please, don't do this. Especially if you are the boss.
TL:DR Devils Advocate Postion
Re: A note from Keith
#115To those of you who immediately believe the tumblr and therefore condemn the accuser as a liar: On what basis do you make your judgment? Do you: 1. Know Keith or the accuser personally, and therefore have the capacity to make an educated guess as to the veracity of the claims? 2. Believe that rich people, well known people, or people with blogs don't have the capacity to do what Keith is accused of doing? 3. Believe…
Mr. Rabois's story has the ring of truth. Consider the following, which are presumably objectively verifiable facts: A. Mr. Rabois doesn't name his accuser. If he was looking to inflict damage on them, he'd publicize it. B. The accuser is seeking a payment of "millions of dollars." C. The relationship began several months before the accuser's employment with Square. D. The two came into relatively little contact at w…
B. Allegedly.
C. It could easily go bad later, leading to "if we break up I'll get you fired" type statements.
D. An executive of this level has enough power to at least make the threat of punitive actions have weight.
I don't think we have anything to go on beyond a blog post from one of the parties.
Re: A note from Keith
#116Re: A note from Keith
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand. Maybe we have different professional cultures. Why is having an undisclosed relationship with another employee the worst possible business decision? (Certainly in my culture I can think of much worse decisions one person could make).
1. "You want to break up with me? oK, you're fired" 2. "Maybe Bob is the better qualified candidate, but I'm going to promote the guy who's having sex with me"
Re: A note from Keith
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
> to see that they were some ultra conservative bible toting rebels is... Bizarre. Or Mother Jones is trying to set up a strawman of them as being homophoboic bigots without realizing that they were actually protesting [1] the then-controversial Stanford speech code, which prohibited much more speech than the government could prohibit. Lawsuits [2] were underway against the speech code and it was a bit of a topic of…
I looked through your links and don't see anything about Keith Rabois being gay. That he was might be common knowledge, but it's not intimated on those sites.
Re: A note from Keith
#119what this mean "user like this"?? reading the dramatic situation and then view a lots of "user like this". They make me have a little smile, sorry.
Re: A note from Keith
#120Several months after our relationship began, I recommended that he interview at Square. I don't know Keith, anyone at his company, this story or have any opinion on who did or didn't do what to whom. I will just say this: The quote above, regardless of who says it when, is perhaps the worst business decision a person could ever make. Full Stop. Please, don't do this. Especially if you are the boss.
This is wildly dogmatic and not really based in reason. The risks of a relationship are evident, but what about the upside? Imagine the chance to vet someone over time for cultural and professional fit for a role that they might excel in. When a company gets large enough where there is zero interaction day to day are there no possibilities that this might work? Setting aside a lack of disclosure, is the leverage so g…
I guess the answer to your question is...yes?