Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project • Hacker News Board

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#241

Post by carapace » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

sillysaurusx wrote: post #214

cole-k wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if we want to supply character evidence, I know Radon. And I believe that not only were his intentions good, but also his actions. Although I would still like to hear Amjad’s side of the story.

I just... Amjad has been excellent, and I’ve never gotten the sense he would do something like this. It doesn’t even make sense for him to worry at all, let alone to send legal threats. Replit is at “early google/Microsoft vibes,” as pg put it. It would be hard for anything to kill replit, unless they do it themselves. I saw this pop up while I was out driving to the gas station, but I was so shocked that I wanted to…

> But the fair thing to do is to wait and hear from amjad.

This.

I feel it's likely your GP comment will turn out to be the most constructive one on this whole thread. It seems like a clear case of bullying, but if Amjad is like you describe then one must postulate some additional factor(s) to account for his behaviour.

I'm reminded of a story I once heard about a sweet little old lady who suddenly became highly irascible and it turned out she had lead poisoning. These things happen. God forbid, it could be a brain tumor.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#242

Post by MattGaiser » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

blazespin wrote: post #216

archibaldJ wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would play devil's advocate here and say that the situation is probably muddier than it is presented in the blog. Also there appers to be a level of trust here (at least the Replit CEO trusted that OP will not make this go viral on HN and spiral into a PR nightmare I suppose, which though is the most entertaining path it can take) Not sure how talented OP is. This can as well be a case study of who not to hire.

Yeah, we are just getting one side. That said, all the possible IP in something like this is in security, reliability, scalability and good UX. Severely doubt the OP spent much time on that. The CEO is probably just having trouble dealing with stress and is acting out. It happens.

> The CEO is probably just having trouble dealing with stress and is acting out. It happens.

That doesn't give them a free pass to lash out at people.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#243

Post by imglorp » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #23

rd wrote: post #7

If I’m reading those emails correctly, Amjad the CEO directly emailed you occasionally. It is pretty stunning that as the CEO of the company, he would stoop to what I interpret as pretty unprofessional communication and petty threats. I also am failing to connect the dots about why Replit would even feel threatened - if you were as helpful of an intern as described, you’d think they would recognize that you had good…

I mean, this was a marketing opportunity. They could've asked nicely if he'd be willing to link to repl.it for anyone who wants something more solid and scalable. It sounds from the early e-mails as if OP started out very positively predisposed towards them. Instead they've now broadcast to their potential customer base that they're litigious and petty.

Yep it's a very small step from suing a friendly collaborator to suing a customer. Ask Oracle.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#244

Post by randomNumber7 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

Can someone with knowledge in law tell me?

If (in another world) he made this project with commercial motive and used some of the design decisions, would this actually be illegal?

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#245

Post by Driko04 » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

anyone who has ever interviewed with Amjad knows hes two-faced. He had a posting for a marketing position open forever and would have you work about 3 weeks for the interview. He would ask for marketing campaigns and how to implementing them. thinking that he was testing your skill set but actually just stealing ideas. I use to use Repl.it but forget. I really hope this company burns. He lacks the understanding of what the face of a company means and every time i see or think about this company, i just remember how i was treated by the guy who supposedly wants to "change" the world and "help" people. he makes me sick

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#246

Post by ggoo » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

brabel wrote: post #203

yellow_lead wrote: post #3

A fancy funded company like Replit getting scared by an intern's weekend project is entertaining. If your moat is so low it can be replicated in a few days, I think this open source project is the least of their worries.

Agreed... but the intern is obviously incredibly naive in thinking that repl.it would be happy to see one of their ex-interns working on a project that does pretty much the same kind of thing they're doing... whether or not this is a threat to them right now. There's a tiny, but non-zero chance, that this project could become successful and who knows, take marketshare from repl.it... and while everyone is pretending…

So once I've done one kind of work I shouldn't ever do that again for fear of offending my previous employer? Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#247

Post by aneutron » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

If your business is threatened by a non-commercial one-man open source project, you have a lot more problems on your plate than that single "issue"

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#248

Post by cupofcoffee » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

I really don't understand why people jump to conclusions so fast without hearing both sides.

I understand no one wants the small guy to be bullied by the company but it's ridiculously naive to assume that the entire truth is contained in that blog post.

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#249

Post by boboche » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:20 PM UTC

aboringusername wrote: post #103

So this is when we purchase "fuckreplit.com", offer a far superior clone and watch as the free market does its magic? Every time I read a story like this I just hope the business dies, and for any employees it's time to jump ship, you really do not want to be working for a CEO who makes comments and threats. Time to release that source code, have 100 clones appear and let this loser sue everyone into misery - I'm sur…

I think RIPlit would have better potential at attracting customers than anything using the f-word :)

Re: Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

#250

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jun 07, 2021, 5:20 PM UTC

rd wrote: post #7

If I’m reading those emails correctly, Amjad the CEO directly emailed you occasionally. It is pretty stunning that as the CEO of the company, he would stoop to what I interpret as pretty unprofessional communication and petty threats. I also am failing to connect the dots about why Replit would even feel threatened - if you were as helpful of an intern as described, you’d think they would recognize that you had good…

[deleted]