DO NOT TESTIFY
Ask HN: Should I testify?
161–170 of 250 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#162DO NOT TESTIFY.
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#163Tell them to subpoena you - then the choice to testify is not yours any more. You'll have to. But you can tell future employers that you were forced, if you'd like to.
There are two potential downsides to this:
* You may not be called to testify because you've made yourself a hassle, which solves your career problem but implicates you morally.
* Converting your testimony from freely-provided to compelled might have logistical implications. I've been compelled to testify before, and it was a nightmare for me. I'd have been happier if I could have told the trial participants "I'm busy this week, fuck off".
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#164I'm in slightly similar situation in terms of speaking out against a huge firm in the Valley. This firm found out about my east coast start-up and invited us to demo our novel technology. They made promises of buying it for lots of money. Well we flew out there and it was a nightmare, as we were treated like dogs and or worse.
There is a ton of bad behavior going on in this industry and I have pondered whether or not to write about our experience as a warning to all other start-uppers/innovators. I've been going back and forth on whether or not to come out and say who the company is and those who scammed us out of our technology. Though will doing such make me look bad, when the narrative is Silicon Valley companies are no friend to the little guys with no connections!?!
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#165I'd be more likely to hire someone who testified all things been equal, it's an incredible indicator of integrity.
agree
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Fucked up, but organizations are often so. You can choose not to be a part of these organizations.
You can certainly aspire to that. Some companies are really good at hiding their true colors. Mortgage, kids... Sometimes you need a paycheck.
Right, which is why trying to hide the fact you testified might be a bad idea... If someone won't hire you because you testified against a criminal employer... You probably don't want to work for them. Since, as you said, companies hide their true colors, this way you can know before being hired.
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most people here are for OP testifying. Many people on HN make hiring decisions. Yes, you can imagine that they would see things differently when actually facing a hiring decision, but my base assumption is that most of them don't.
Before a developer on HN gets the chance to get a say in the decision, an HR filter goes over it. Those people are more risk-averse and this is clearly a company risk.
If my group wanted to hire this person and HR rejected them for this reason, I would quit.
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#168There's a lot of naive bullshit in here, with people running their mouths about integrity or other nonsense. Remember that the only person prosecuted for waterboarding is the whisteblower John Kiriakou, and he got two and a half years for his trouble. My point is, you need to look out for number one and not let some law firm looking for (their own) payday get you entangled in their profits, because none of them give…
"integrity or other nonsense"
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#169A few thoughts based on my experience, which included being subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice while I was at Wired. We filed a motion to quash, which was unsuccessful, so I was forced to take the stand. I posted the docs here: http://mccullagh.org/subpoena/ So, the thoughts: * I would refuse to testify against my former employer unless I were subpoenaed. Even then, I may move to quash the subpoena (this ma…
This..
When the rubber hits the road this is what happens and worse
Re: Ask HN: Should I testify?
#170I'm in slightly similar situation in terms of speaking out against a huge firm in the Valley. This firm found out about my east coast start-up and invited us to demo our novel technology. They made promises of buying it for lots of money. Well we flew out there and it was a nightmare, as we were treated like dogs and or worse. There is a ton of bad behavior going on in this industry and I have pondered whether or not…
Well in this case you have to speak out.. to atleast signal to the next set of scammers to not mess with you.