Goldman Sachs sent a computer scientist to jail over 8MB of open source code • Hacker News Board

Re: Goldman Sachs sent a computer scientist to jail over 8MB of open source code

#81

Post by ajarmst » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 11:13 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #46

ajarmst wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(a)I was offering him the benefit of the doubt. You're correct. Other possibilities include that he's simply a criminal or merely dumb. (b) You did. Reread the third line of the post.

> (b) You did. Reread the third line of the post Which third line of the post is this? I don't see anything about him releasing the source. And if you read up on the case, you will find that what he actually did was to upload encrypted archives that he then downloaded from home. I don't believe there's any allegation that he publicly distributed any of this source.

Apologies. I thought you were objecting to "proprietary". I think we've just a semantic issue. How about "he knowingly caused proprietary source code to leave the control of its owner"? Although, as he did post to a public server, I think I can defend "released" if I need to. The word "encrypted" does not occur in the linked story, nor does it seem to be implied.

Re: Goldman Sachs sent a computer scientist to jail over 8MB of open source code

#82

Post by scorpion032 » Tue, Aug 06, 2013, 6:17 AM UTC

downandout wrote: post #14

I read the original Vanity Fair article. I have to say that the whole thing looks like nothing more than Goldman using its governmental influence to send a message to its programmers that if they leave for another firm, there will be hell to pay. After he won his federal appeal and was released from federal prison, Goldman convinced the State of New York to file charges for the same conduct. That case is pending and…

Justice as it was meant to be (John Rawls, Kant, et all): "Entitlement to legitimate expectation."

Justice as it is practiced: "Legitimising the expectations of the entitled."

Re: Goldman Sachs sent a computer scientist to jail over 8MB of open source code

#83

Post by ivan_gammel » Wed, Aug 07, 2013, 7:37 AM UTC

redblacktree wrote: post #53

ivan_gammel wrote: post #50

This guy has made two mistakes: 1. He used OS code without consulting first with legal departament of the company. 2. Transferred the source code outside the corporate network without consulting first with legal departament. His boss may be not competent in this field, but the legal departament must be and, I beleive, they already have a policy for OS solutions. This developer made a measurable damage to the company,…

So then you support making an example of this guy, because others don't pay enough attention to the law? Am I reading that right?

No, you are not reading it right. There's no "because" in my comment.

Re: Goldman Sachs sent a computer scientist to jail over 8MB of open source code

#84

Post by jchung » Thu, Aug 15, 2013, 1:32 PM UTC

mathattack wrote: post #69

tankenmate wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bold statements require bold proof. Care to share?

Without having sat on the jury, I will have to rely on public documents for the relative size of Goldman's proprietary business. This may not meet your standard of proof. After the Volcker rule, it has become much tougher to find data on principal transactions, so let's go back to 2010 and look at the Financials of their annual review. http://www.goldmansachs.com/investor-relations/financials/cu... On page 58 of the…

Are you sure you read the full Vanity Fair article? It's pretty strongly suggested from the article (assuming the picture there is complete) that he didn't actually take any business or trading strategies.