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Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#71

Post by ForHackernews »

coreymgilmore wrote: post #21

Well it happened. I think this is a little extreme and that he shouldn't have succumbed to the pressure. Apparently freedom of speech is no longer accepted by plenty of people in the US. It is okay to put money towards and protest for equal rights, but anytime someone says something negative against it all hell breaks loose. That being said, in general, I think people are a little too sensitive toward anything non-po…

This has nothing to do with "freedom of speech". Freedom of speech means the government can't legally punish you for expressing your views.

It doesn't mean that nobody is allowed to criticize you or your views.

In order for speech to mean something at all, it has to have consequences.

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#72

Post by avenger123 »

chrismonsanto wrote: post #11

My #1 question -- is Eich returning to CTO, another position, or quitting altogether? All in all, I think this was a pragmatic move. I am not a fan of this "CEO = literally the company" logic, though. I saw no reason to believe that he would use Mozilla to further an anti-gay agenda.

The statement was intentionally vague in this. I wouldn't be surprised if he stays in a C-level position.

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#73

Post by m0a0t0 »

coreymgilmore wrote: post #21

Well it happened. I think this is a little extreme and that he shouldn't have succumbed to the pressure. Apparently freedom of speech is no longer accepted by plenty of people in the US. It is okay to put money towards and protest for equal rights, but anytime someone says something negative against it all hell breaks loose. That being said, in general, I think people are a little too sensitive toward anything non-po…

He can say what he likes, doesn't mean he isn't free from the consequences. Views that are wrong should be allowed to be held and said, but not be supported; especially by a company like Mozilla

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#74

Post by blueveek »

jhchen wrote: post #40
Oculus wrote: post #6

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, Brendan Eich had some beliefs that were against Mozilla's core values, but on the other hand we just showed that when a mob on the Internet wants something - they get it. It's scary because this mob has global reach, unlimited power, but isn't always right.

Three board members did step down [1] so it's not just the internet. [1] http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/03/28/three-mozilla-board-m...

They didn't step down because of Brendan, but for different reasons.

"The three board members ended their terms last week for a variety of reasons. Two had been planning to leave for some time, one since January and one explicitly at the end of the CEO search, regardless of the person selected."

[0] http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/03/three-mozilla-board-...

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#75

Post by MrZongle2 »

phillmv wrote: post #14

From the recode recap - http://recode.net/2014/04/03/mozilla-co-founder-brendan-eich... >“It’s clear that Brendan cannot lead Mozilla in this setting,” said Baker, who added that she would not and could not speak for Eich. “The ability to lead — particularly for the CEO — is fundamental to the role and that is not possible here.” The most damning aspect of this was their a) inability to predict this would be an issue…

"All he had to do was lie"

This speaks volumes.

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#76

Post by devindotcom »

Beliavsky wrote: post #15

From the article: "We have employees with a wide diversity of views. Our culture of openness extends to encouraging staff and community to share their beliefs and opinions in public." Clearly people with socially conservative views are not welcome at Mozilla.

You know what, maybe they're not. Having a philosophy of progressivism is a valid policy, and as long as you're not denying someone a job specifically because of their race, creed, party, skin color, disability, etc, it's fine. In this case, the man appears to be an unrepentant bigot whose ideas are not in line with much of the company.

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#77

Post by gfosco »

Oculus wrote: post #6

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, Brendan Eich had some beliefs that were against Mozilla's core values, but on the other hand we just showed that when a mob on the Internet wants something - they get it. It's scary because this mob has global reach, unlimited power, but isn't always right.

Unfortunately I think what this encourages is being less genuine.. hiding your personal feelings when they go against the current tide. Was the problem truly that he felt this way, or that he publicly+financially felt that way? If there was no public record of his position, there'd be no controversy.

I completely disagree with his position, but I don't think shutting him up or vilifying him is the answer.

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#78

Post by matthewmacleod »

kilroy123 wrote: post #52
Oculus wrote: post #6

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, Brendan Eich had some beliefs that were against Mozilla's core values, but on the other hand we just showed that when a mob on the Internet wants something - they get it. It's scary because this mob has global reach, unlimited power, but isn't always right.

This is why I think we don't truly have a democracy anymore. Instead we now have an Ochlocracy[1]. Ruled by mobs and groups of people (super pacs and multinational corporations)[2]. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochlocracy [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee

This could not have less to do with the situation. Mozilla is not a democracy.

Re: Brendan Eich Steps Down as Mozilla CEO

#80

Post by platz »

blueveek wrote: post #41
phillmv wrote: post #14

From the recode recap - http://recode.net/2014/04/03/mozilla-co-founder-brendan-eich... >“It’s clear that Brendan cannot lead Mozilla in this setting,” said Baker, who added that she would not and could not speak for Eich. “The ability to lead — particularly for the CEO — is fundamental to the role and that is not possible here.” The most damning aspect of this was their a) inability to predict this would be an issue…

"All he had to do was lie". Are you suggesting this would've been better, in the grand scheme of things?

It depends if lying as such would be "ethical", but of course that too is open to interpretation.

Although this not exactly written for the audience of CEO's here's one viewpoint on this: http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/the-right-and...

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