4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google • Hacker News Board

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#21

Post by ericbarrett » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:07 PM UTC

Chris Poole visited the Facebook campus in 2011, while he was still running 4chan, for an hour-long talk and some questions. About thirty engineers attended. The Anonymous hacks had been all over the news for the last year or so, so a couple of jokers showed up in Guy Fawkes masks, and kept them on for the whole thing.

During the Q&A, Poole answered a question from one of the masked employees. After his answer, he asked, "Did that help, Steve?" Shocked, and no doubt a bit intimidated, the employee asked how Poole knew his name. His answer: "Well, I read your name on the badge clipped to your belt."

Poole was smart and thoughtful and I was quite impressed (not just with his eye for detail). Not surprised he lasted so long at Google.

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#22

Post by zamadatix » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:08 PM UTC

Apocryphon wrote: post #10

What did he actually do there?

"Google hired Poole in 2016 to work on the company's doomed social media project, Google+... After Google+, Poole apparently joined Google's experimental "Area 120" group and eventually moved on to be a product manager for Google Maps."

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#23

Post by beaconstudios » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:08 PM UTC

_lffv wrote: post #18

> Poole's 4chan is an anonymous, ephemeral imageboard that is often given the title "cesspool of the Internet." The site is broken up into boards of various topics, and some of the more lawless boards are home to all of the worst characters on the Internet, like school shooters, child pornographers, and racists. It's also the birthplace of a lot of Internet culture, like Rickrolling, lolcats, and, more recently, Pepe…

you'd think this would be common knowledge given 4chan is literally an open website, but I always hear these mythologised recountings of it like it's some kind of mysterious inaccessible cult. It's just reddit for people who hate reddit.

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#24

Post by RobRivera » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

heres to you, nicola and bart

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#25

Post by chad_strategic » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:14 PM UTC

russdpale wrote: post #17

Literal definition of failing upwards. He isn't a boy genuis, he copied code from japanese websites and then fostered one of the most toxic communities in human history. At google, he took a job from someone who was almost certainly way more qualified, both technically and morally.

> At google, he took a job from someone who was almost certainly way more qualified, both technically and morally.

Get the impression you work at google?

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#26

Post by throwaway0a5e » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:14 PM UTC

beaconstudios wrote: post #23

_lffv wrote: post #18

> Poole's 4chan is an anonymous, ephemeral imageboard that is often given the title "cesspool of the Internet." The site is broken up into boards of various topics, and some of the more lawless boards are home to all of the worst characters on the Internet, like school shooters, child pornographers, and racists. It's also the birthplace of a lot of Internet culture, like Rickrolling, lolcats, and, more recently, Pepe…

you'd think this would be common knowledge given 4chan is literally an open website, but I always hear these mythologised recountings of it like it's some kind of mysterious inaccessible cult. It's just reddit for people who hate reddit.

"Reddit without the good manners"

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#27

Post by somerandomness » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:15 PM UTC

seattle_spring wrote: post #11

scotth wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And three positions inside the company seems about right as well.

> Poole lasted just five years at Google, which CNBC notes is usually just long enough for any employee's shares attached to hiring to vest They make it sound like he barely managed to get any stock. That's like saying, "person worked at X for 1 year, just long enough to get 1 year's salary." Well, yeah, but if they left in 11 months they'd get 11 months salary. It's not like if Poole left at 1 year or 4 years or any…

It’s typical to get a larger 4-year grant at hire. It’s common to complain about comp drop after 4 years

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#28

Post by yaacov » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:15 PM UTC

rodolphoarruda wrote: post #9

ibn-python wrote: post #4

Him becoming a PM for Google Maps seems surprising to me considering his entrepreneurial background, but I can’t deny I’ve also considered making the jump now and then from The dev life

> "Him becoming a PM for Google Maps seems surprising to me considering his entrepreneurial background (...)" Yes. This is an extraordinary business case for strategic HCM discussions.

I don’t know what that means, can you elaborate?

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#29

Post by techsupporter » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:15 PM UTC

blissofbeing wrote: post #3

"only five years" that's a long time in my opinion to be at one company.

Meanwhile, I've been at the same company for longer than a couple of my coworkers have been alive (though I've changed jobs twice in that time) so "only five years" sounds comparatively short to me.

Re: 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google

#30

Post by slackfan » Fri, Apr 23, 2021, 5:15 PM UTC

russdpale wrote: post #17

Literal definition of failing upwards. He isn't a boy genuis, he copied code from japanese websites and then fostered one of the most toxic communities in human history. At google, he took a job from someone who was almost certainly way more qualified, both technically and morally.

For as much as I disagree with this comment, it also isn't really wrong.