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Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

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Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#31

Post by jonahx »

joelrunyon wrote: post #17

After seeing all this, I wonder what would it take to get the people behind 'the right to marriage' to get the same reaction to 'the right to privacy' - which is an arguably more expansive provision that protects literally 100% of the population?

I agree with your sentiment, and I'm not being facetious when I say the answer is "a single human being who can be held up as the enemy." The government seems to be protected in this scandal by its very ubiquity and pervasiveness. There is no one we can force to step down, no building we can shutter, no single computer we can turn off that will restore our privacy.

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#32

Post by avmich »

vishaldpatel wrote: post #4
avmich wrote: post #2

Gay marriage opinion is the grounds for changing CEO. How about immigration opinion? Animal rights opinion? Climate change opinion? Political views?

Civil liberties. That's what all this is about. And he used his money to take civil liberties away from a group of people. That was a mistake. A costly one.

To whom?

I'm disagreeing with Brendan on that opinion. That was $1000 - and I was thinking about donating an equivalent amount to the other cause before I learned I'm way too late. But having him step down? Now, we can have our - even good - corporations run by moral people - scratch that: by people whose most important virtue is morality. That could be good. Good for everybody. But I'm not so sure - so I'd hesitate to demand Brendan to step down.

Because he has quite a talent to be useful in other important places.

Or, alternatively - what would you think about my original question? Should we closely scrutinize executives on their beliefs across the whole spectrum? I suspect there are other important issues, besides LGBT opinions.

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#33

Post by saraid216 »

avmich wrote: post #2

Gay marriage opinion is the grounds for changing CEO. How about immigration opinion? Animal rights opinion? Climate change opinion? Political views?

I dunno. This seems to be an example of libertarian philosophy actually working. That is, public outcry produced a morality-motivated backlash prompting actual consequences.

That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it? If a widget-maker is a bigot, there's supposed to be a boycott while everyone moves over to his competitor so that the bigot goes out of business, right?

I agree that this shouldn't have been a controversy to begin with (though a conciliatory move in reaction to public outrage is hardly unreasonable), but isn't this a victory for libertarianism?

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#34

Post by saikit »

gnoway wrote: post #26
saikit wrote: post #22

What's done is done. But now that Mozilla rid itself one of its best assets, what's do prevent a rival like Microsoft or Google to hire Eich and have him work on their products?

The fury of however many people there are that actually care about this issue?

I don't think multinationals like Microsoft or Google would be too concerned if they were to pick up one of the top programmers in the world for a, presumably, a non-CEO position.

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#35

Post by jitl »

saikit wrote: post #22

What's done is done. But now that Mozilla rid itself one of its best assets, what's do prevent a rival like Microsoft or Google to hire Eich and have him work on their products?

I doubt any company is chomping at the bit to hire Eich after this fiasco, regardless of his technical competencies.

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#36

Post by davidgerard »

jhuckabee wrote: post #23
nobbyclark wrote: post #15

Ummm... so what does gay marriage have to do with browsing the web? FAIL

Building a web browser requires that you employee people, some of whom may be gay. Alienating that entire group of people, and the majority of others who support them, can certainly put a damper on their motivation to keep that browser pushing along at full speed. Definitely not FAIL, this is a big win for Mozilla and civil rights.

And ... the users. They thought they had the company swung; but there were boycotts and actually-disgusted end users happening.

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#37

Post by avmich »

joelrunyon wrote: post #21
vishaldpatel wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Civil liberties. That's what all this is about. And he used his money to take civil liberties away from a group of people. That was a mistake. A costly one.

This assumes that marriage is a civil right (it's not directly mentioned within the bill of rights) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights

Should we update the Bill? Heck, should we join Lessig's efforts - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Constitution_of_the_Uni... ?

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#38

Post by daveqr »

joelrunyon wrote: post #28
mjudge260 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it reflects an attitude that company executives have towards their employees. Companies should respect the reality that their employees do not have homogenous political views.

It didn't sound like he expected anyone at Mozilla to have his viewpoints. He made a private donation privately, 6 years ago.

Which we only know of because someone leaked the information to a pro-gay marriage group illegally.

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#39

Post by davidgerard »

daveqr wrote: post #38
joelrunyon wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It didn't sound like he expected anyone at Mozilla to have his viewpoints. He made a private donation privately, 6 years ago.

Which we only know of because someone leaked the information to a pro-gay marriage group illegally.

No, we know it because it was a political donation that had to be recorded publicly by law, with the name of his employer.

Where did you get this claim that "someone leaked the information to a pro-gay marriage group illegally"?

Re: Mozilla Chief Steps Down After 1 Week

#40

Post by joelrunyon »

quaunaut wrote: post #27
joelrunyon wrote: post #17

After seeing all this, I wonder what would it take to get the people behind 'the right to marriage' to get the same reaction to 'the right to privacy' - which is an arguably more expansive provision that protects literally 100% of the population?

Actually, it doesn't. There is no American right to privacy. There's a belief in that right, but as far as I know there is no law that supports or enforces that right.

The same right to marriage that people are rallying under is a subset of the right to privacy (that's not specifically mentioned, but extended by the supreme court).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_rights

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