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Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

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Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#41

Post by angersock »

sama wrote: post #36

We support free speech, obviously. And we're happy to fund people with all sorts of different political views. We do not allow harassment, for which Andrew unfortunately set a new bar in our community. You can look at his Twitter or Facebook for plenty of public examples, to say nothing of what he's said privately. As per our previous comments, when a founder violates our ethics statement, we remove them from the com…

While I'm generally rather suspect of you folks and your moral authority, this is an example of the behavior you're referring to:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxAg4AXXcAITru4.jpg:large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxAbtwQUcAApPQa.jpg

https://twitter.com/torbahax/status/797110760556167168

From a pure business standpoint, fuck that guy. He didn't really articulate his views in any way that could remotely be considered constructive, and if the rest of his behavior matches that, it's difficult to imagine keeping him around.

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#42

Post by Retra »

mundo wrote: post #22

Not to sound conspiratorial, but isn't Gab.ai trying to market itself as a censorship-free twitter clone for alt-right types? If so, what better way to generate brand awareness and users than by picking fights with liberals?

What good is your brand if everyone hates it?

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#43

Post by nailer »

RickS wrote: post #7

From the screenshot he himself provided [1], it looks like he was confronted about making people at YC feel unsafe, and responded by saying they "shouldn't be on the internet". Contrarian views are one thing. Addressing the people who fund your company like a belligerent troll is another. You're entitled to free speech, you're not entitled to a captive ear to hear it. [1] http://i.imgur.com/ReFx2Mr.png

Does 'safe' actually mean 'safe' or does it mean something else now?

How would a sane adult feel like they were in some kind of danger by someone wanting stronger controls on immigration?

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#44

Post by drivingmenuts »

rvcamo wrote: post #4
minimaxir wrote: post #2

Important context: Said founder entered YC working on an ad optimization platform, but recently pivoted to Twitter for the alt-right.

Wrong. It's the Twitter for free speech.

Whatever. Unless it's carefully moderated (ie., censored, to some) it will gather a large collection of angry right-wing posters or angry left-wing posters. One side will harass the other and the other side will eventually go elsewhere. Then it will be just another echo chamber.

If the creator has pivoted to the alt-right, it's a pretty sure guess that it will wind up being another 8chan/stormfront/what have you.

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#45

Post by tlrobinson »

sjtgraham wrote: post #28
RickS wrote: post #7

From the screenshot he himself provided [1], it looks like he was confronted about making people at YC feel unsafe, and responded by saying they "shouldn't be on the internet". Contrarian views are one thing. Addressing the people who fund your company like a belligerent troll is another. You're entitled to free speech, you're not entitled to a captive ear to hear it. [1] http://i.imgur.com/ReFx2Mr.png

> You're entitled to free speech, you're not entitled to a captive ear to hear it. Ironically a captive ear is exactly what SJW's demand, and if you fail to oblige you're a (delete as appropriate) straight/white/male/able-bodied/cis-gendered/dudebro who is "part of the problem" and "literally Hitler". I'm so disappointed in how partisan YC has become, capitulating completely to prevailing meme of SJWs. It's becoming…

> I'm so disappointed in how partisan YC has become, capitulating completely to prevailing meme of SJWs.

This had little to do with politics. The guy mocked a YC founder who expressed fear for his safety, and called another YC founder a "coward", among other things.

And just a couple weeks ago YC didn't capitulate to demands to cut ties with Peter Thiel over his support of Trump.

What other instances are you referring to?

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#46

Post by nailer »

drivingmenuts wrote: post #44
rvcamo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wrong. It's the Twitter for free speech.

Whatever. Unless it's carefully moderated (ie., censored, to some) it will gather a large collection of angry right-wing posters or angry left-wing posters. One side will harass the other and the other side will eventually go elsewhere. Then it will be just another echo chamber. If the creator has pivoted to the alt-right, it's a pretty sure guess that it will wind up being another 8chan/stormfront/what have you.

You could bubble them. Left folk who don't like right wing folk only see left people, right folk who don't like left wink folk in their own bubble.

Let people see who they want to see, but if they & enough of their friends say "don't show me X" then don't show them X.

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#47

Post by angersock »

kapitza wrote: post #40
angersock wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But there isn't any world where you can be a dissident and also be a dick, and get away with it. Unless you're Peter Thiel or rich or connected, right? :|

That's actually the point. You've defined "being a dick" as "supporting Emmanuel Goldstein, who wants to reverse all the great work the Party has done for the proles." I understand how you get there, logically. But perhaps Emmanuel Goldstein actually thinks the Party is bad for the proles? Maybe it's not that he hates the Party, because he hates the proles? Maybe you could ask him why he hates the Party, which as we…

If you'd like another example, try Steve Jobs. Or Bill Gates. Or Mark Zuckerberg.

Your position isn't tenable in the face of history, unfortunately.

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#48

Post by arama471 »

Retra wrote: post #42
mundo wrote: post #22

Not to sound conspiratorial, but isn't Gab.ai trying to market itself as a censorship-free twitter clone for alt-right types? If so, what better way to generate brand awareness and users than by picking fights with liberals?

What good is your brand if everyone hates it?

Unfortunately (as one might be able to tell from the election results) not everyone hates Trump. In fact his supporters would likely make a sizeable consumer base.

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#49

Post by dang »

The submitted title was "Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai for saying “build the wall”", but we shortened it because it doesn't sound like that was the reason.

(I don't have any information about this beyond skimming the current thread and looking at a few of the things people have linked to.)

Re: Y Combinator blacklists founder of Gab.ai

#50

Post by nols »

mundo wrote: post #22

Not to sound conspiratorial, but isn't Gab.ai trying to market itself as a censorship-free twitter clone for alt-right types? If so, what better way to generate brand awareness and users than by picking fights with liberals?

Seems like it, I Googled him to get a better understanding and several prominent links were Breitbart articles about other posts of his that were removed from Twitter and Facebook. Looks like a lot of it is just drumming up support for his completely free speech Twitter clone.
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