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Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

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Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#271

Post by 7Figures2Commas »

pgrote wrote: post #168

The CEO has responded to the criticism of how it was handled: https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditCensorship/comments/2ifd3p/ud... "Hiya. It was a harsh response, I agree (there's actually more, but we're pulling our punches, if you can believe it), and in fact all day yesterday I didn't want to post a reply, hoping his AMA wouldn't get too much traction or he wouldn't spout too many misconceptions and we could all just c…

> In running reddit, there's an interesting balance between the normal standards of professionalism...

Professionalism? The CEO originally wrote:

> When an employee is dismissed from employment at a company, the policy of almost every company (including reddit) is not to comment, either publicly or internally. This is because companies have no desire to ruin someone's future employment prospects by broadcasting to the world that they were fired. In return, the polite expectation is that the employee will not go shooting their mouth off about the company especially (as in your case) through irresponsibly unfounded speculation. Signing a non-disparagement indicates that you have no intention to do this, so the company can then say "Ok, if anyone comes asking for a reference on this guy, we needn't say he was fired, just give a mildly positive reference."

The CEO is effectively stating that Reddit was willing to provide a "mildly positive reference" for an ex-employee the CEO now claims was totally incompetent and "did not even come close" to getting his work done. Further, he states that Reddit was willing to omit the fact that the ex-employee was terminated for cause (fired). This is horribly unprofessional and, in my opinion, completely dishonest. Based on the CEO's incredulous statement, I don't see how anybody can trust a reference from Reddit.

Note that this is not common policy as the CEO implies. Non-disparagement clauses are typically negotiated for monetary compensation (severance pay), not for the promise of a dishonest reference.

Companies don't comment on employee terminations because of the legal risks associated with doing so. In fact, one of the ways some companies address these risks is by adopting a no reference policy. They will simply verify employment and dates of employment when asked, and offer nothing more.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#272

Post by bane »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #162
nilkn wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And why should we believe the CEO? I don't trust either of them. At all. What I do know, though, is that one of them wrote a comment which is tremendously meaner than those of the other person.

Because the CEO just exposed himself for a serious lawsuit if even an iota of this statement is not true, not to mention a media shitstorm and total loss of faith of his subordinates. This is strong evidence in favour of believing him over the other guy.

Considering the level of professionalism by the CEO in just posting this kind of strong vindictive statement against an ex-employee who has little to no recourse (who should know better) it's strong evidence not to believe him at all.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#273

Post by bane »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #231
sheepmullet wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the other guy will likely struggle to get another job because of the shitstorm so he is IMO much more at risk than the CEO is.

Yes, but the CEO did it in response to a guy being stupid enough to lie about his termination on his former employer's web page. And the guy is still just a random ex-Redditor, so he can lie low for a bit - get a job in a softwarehouse that won't bother figuring out his Reddit handle, build positive references. This guy can step out of the spotlight anytime he wants.

> being stupid enough to lie about his termination

You might want to reevaluate that position. You're reflexively siding with the CEO. You don't know that he's lying and saying "I think was fired because I did this" is not lying either way anyways.

I'm not saying you have to side with the ex-employee either, doing an AMA like that was pretty stupid as well. But the CEO's level of basic professionalism here leaves anything he's saying as pretty suspect as well.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#274

Post by bane »

differentView wrote: post #128
krigi wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may have not been done for vindictive reasons, but it was definitely done for the wrong reason. This shows a clear lack of leadership abilities on the part of Yishan. I know people love a Jobsian dick in charge of tech companies (I use that loosely with reddit; they're an entertainment company), but that era is over. Show some professionalism even if someone is unprofessional toward you and your company.

What should Yishan have said?

Either nothing at all or a general statement that the reasons an employee is terminated are not for public consumption.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#275

Post by imanaccount247 »

danso wrote: post #221
pgrote wrote: post #168

The CEO has responded to the criticism of how it was handled: https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditCensorship/comments/2ifd3p/ud... "Hiya. It was a harsh response, I agree (there's actually more, but we're pulling our punches, if you can believe it), and in fact all day yesterday I didn't want to post a reply, hoping his AMA wouldn't get too much traction or he wouldn't spout too many misconceptions and we could all just c…

Without knowing any of the sides here, all I can say for sure is that the ex-Reddit employee is showing a baffling amount of bad judgment here, even when benchmarked against other young-techie-implosions. Maybe he thought, "Oh no biggie, I can always delete this thread later and my real name isn't on it"...yes, until the thread explodes and now one of the many tech-news blogs jumps on it...the "no doxx allowed" rule…

>And now your Google results will, for the rest of your life or until you invent the cure for cancer, have this dumb fiasco tied to your name.

I'm not sure how much harm that will do. Reddit has essentially zero credibility, and yishan even less. If someone told me "the guy you are interviewing was badmouthed by the reddit CEO" it would probably make me view him more favorably.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#276

Post by kazinator »

bane wrote: post #272
TeMPOraL wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the CEO just exposed himself for a serious lawsuit if even an iota of this statement is not true, not to mention a media shitstorm and total loss of faith of his subordinates. This is strong evidence in favour of believing him over the other guy.

Considering the level of professionalism by the CEO in just posting this kind of strong vindictive statement against an ex-employee who has little to no recourse (who should know better) it's strong evidence not to believe him at all.

Well, "vindictive" doesn't mean "liar". Someone vindictive could nevertheless be honest to a fault; in fact, their honesty could stem from the same source as the vindictiveness against someone who had been dishonest.

It's a kind of guilt-by-association reasoning: if someone has X bad quality, they likely have Y bad quality also. The boy who stole the loaf of bread from the baker must be the one who assaulted the farmer's daughter.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#277

Post by imanaccount247 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #184
austinl wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the spirit of non-disparagement, it seems like Yishan could have sent a private message to the employee which reiterated why he had been fired, and asked him to stop posting about it. If Yishan felt that it was necessary to comment, he could have still posted something without Reddit losing face – something like, "We're sorry that you feel our decision to let you go was unclear. I've sent you a private message, an…

If he did that, this whole thread would be about how Reddit CEO is a weasel PR-drone incapable of honest talk. Damned if you do, damned if you don't; people here are going to accuse him anyway, because it fits the David vs. Goliath narrative.

>If he did that, this whole thread would be about how Reddit CEO is a weasel PR-drone incapable of honest talk.

You don't seriously believe that do you? If he did that there wouldn't even be a thread here.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#278

Post by imanaccount247 »

Karunamon wrote: post #79
penprog wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, this post only makes reddit look like a very unprofessional workplace.

Maybe it's not "professional", where that word has the common meaning of avoiding saying hard truths on the grounds that someone's feelings and/or political position might be hurt. This significantly elevates Reddit, IMO. Their CEO acts like a fucking human being instead of a politicized, sanitized, pretentious, weasel-wording sock puppet like so many other CEOs. You have no idea how much respect I have for this.

>Their CEO acts like a fucking human being instead of a politicized, sanitized, pretentious, weasel-wording sock puppet like so many other CEOs.

No, he doesn't. Just because he acts like a moron one time doesn't mean he's somehow not a weasel.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#279

Post by imanaccount247 »

Karunamon wrote: post #201
8note wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being human doesn't mean you have to be an asshole though. ysihan is really on the side of politicized, sanitized, pretentious, weasel-wording sock puppet; minus the sanitized part. Consider his posts about the celeb nude photos leaks http://www.redditblog.com/2014/09/every-man-is-responsible-f... and http://www.reddit.com/r/yishan/comments/2frlxb/and_now_to_ma... compared to somebody who's actually speaking like a h…

You mean he realized that the PR-speak version (which judging by the comments in this thread, people want for some reason) went over like a turd in a punch bowl, and then he reverted to plain English? Am I supposed to see that as a negative or something?

Your posts reek of intellectual dishonesty. It is not logical to conclude that he decided to be one kind of an asshole about one thing because being a different kind of asshole about a different thing wasn't popular. His response is based on his relation with the subject, not time or learning a lesson.

Re: Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

#280

Post by bane »

kazinator wrote: post #276
bane wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the level of professionalism by the CEO in just posting this kind of strong vindictive statement against an ex-employee who has little to no recourse (who should know better) it's strong evidence not to believe him at all.

Well, "vindictive" doesn't mean "liar". Someone vindictive could nevertheless be honest to a fault; in fact, their honesty could stem from the same source as the vindictiveness against someone who had been dishonest. It's a kind of guilt-by-association reasoning: if someone has X bad quality, they likely have Y bad quality also. The boy who stole the loaf of bread from the baker must be the one who assaulted the farm…

Actually, you're correct. I shouldn't be associating all bad behaviors to a single bad behavior.
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