Live data from Hacker News

A Difficult Situation

blog.sendgrid.com

41–50 of 485 posts

Re: A Difficult Situation

#41

In my opinion he's a coward that doesn't stand behind his employees and that goes for PlayHaven too. They've set a terrible precedent for the industry.

He is standing behind his employees; by protecting the jobs of those not involved in the drama. Any CEO who would stand behind an employee to the death of their company would not be CEO for very long.

Re: A Difficult Situation

#42
post #14

The situation wasn't that difficult, and Sendgrid's response was inappropriate. Welcome to the Corporate State where every problematic statement you make as an errorful human being prone to making mistakes will be used against you to preserve the corporate bottom line. An actual appropriate response from SendGrid and Play Haven would have been recognition that its employees are human's first, and all of us are subjec…

Re-read the post. The reason she was fired was not because of what she said but because her actions resulted in the shitstorm today when her job is specifically to foster good relationships between sendgrid and the developer community. Basically, she failed at her job, so was fired.

Re: A Difficult Situation

#43
post #22
post #10

THE BITCH IS DOWN! She's defeated, annihilated, crushed, destroyed, eliminated, pulverized, eradicated, downed, nullified, smashed, obliterated, felled, wrecked, finished, demolished, suppressed, shattered, exterminated!

I don't think the PlayHaven dudes were in the wrong, but you sure as hell are.

FUCK THE NAZIST MODERATORS IN THE ASS!

AND IN CASE THEY LIKE THAT, MAY THEY GET FORCED TO EAT SHIT FOR ETERNITY!

Re: A Difficult Situation

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The answer to both is "Yes". When their service is down, companies can't send their email, when companies can't send their email using SendGrid they look for alternatives...

Given how haphazard DDoS attacks (especially those in the 'hacktivism' category) tend to be, I'd be surprised if they targeted anything beyond SendMail's public-facing website. I would hope that their application servers wouldn't be on the same network as their web server.

The email gateway (smtp.sendgrid.com) and HTTP API endpoints were also down during the same outage period. Seems like it went beyond the public facing site.

Re: A Difficult Situation

#45

In my opinion he's a coward that doesn't stand behind his employees and that goes for PlayHaven too. They've set a terrible precedent for the industry.

It's better to be a coward than have thousands of people on the internet actively trying to destroy your business and all 130 employees.

This shit was only getting worse by the minute and it wasn't going to stop unless the company did something to show they didn't approve of it.

Re: A Difficult Situation

#46
I know there are a lot of people who think "Obviously this was the right response to the situation..what the heck was she thinking?", but have been silent because of the massively feminist-dominated media these days.

Hypothetically, a female can now overhear a dick joke between two gay men, twitter their photographs, and get them fired from their jobs because the company that employs them does not have their backs.

If you want this situation to improve, and not live in fear any more, there are a few things you should do immediately. Here is the thinking person's guide to how to navigate the murky waters of our industry. I say person because I know both gay and straight women who hate the massively PC dominated atmosphere of most software companies these days:

1) NEVER hire a woman to fill some sort of quota, or because of some abstract objective like "We probably need more women in the company." You will end up attracting this sort of extreme feminist "female evangelist" who runs around with a chip on her shoulder constantly complaining about sexism.

2) NEVER say anything sexual at a conference to anyone. DO NOT speak to females who are attending the conference beyong absolutely professional matters. For heaven's sake, do not ask a female if her boyfriend is the one attending. DO NOT reveal any personal details about yourself.

You probably earn enough as a software developer, so if you want sexual intercourse, get a call girl (just being honest and practical here). It is not that expensive. Remember that prostitution is legal in Canada.

3) Avoid all social contact with women in your company. Date outside the industry if possible.

4) If you are forcefully pulled into a discussion about sexism in the industry, pretend to agree with their points ("Yes, women often face blatant sexism in the industry"), etc. and politely CUT the conversation as fast as possible. NEVER show a men's rights perspective because you will be labeled as weird. Just stop talking to that person. If you want to show your perspective, show it through your vote the next time there is an election.

5) NEVER engage in dialog with male feminists like Matthew Garrett. Follow point 4) if they start talking to you about sexism in the tech industry.

Re: A Difficult Situation

#47
post #37

Just think of all the things you could be doing with your time that don't involve following this stupid Internet drama. Now go do one of those things. Seriously this is such a waste of time.

" following this stupid Internet drama"

You know why you should pay attention to this? One day, you may find yourself in the same situation that the SendGrid CEO is in today. At that point, knowing how to react stands between a momentary headache and a multi-million-dollar business-crippling headache.

Re: A Difficult Situation

#48

I have little to no knowledge of laws in this area. However my gut tells me that Sendgrid is opening themselves up to a hell of a lawsuit. Can anyone who actually does know about such matters comment?

Same. I am also very curious about any legal consequences Sendgrid may be subjected to, even though I COMPLETELY support their actions (and the ability for business managers to have more power over terminating employees).

Re: A Difficult Situation

#49
post #14

The situation wasn't that difficult, and Sendgrid's response was inappropriate. Welcome to the Corporate State where every problematic statement you make as an errorful human being prone to making mistakes will be used against you to preserve the corporate bottom line. An actual appropriate response from SendGrid and Play Haven would have been recognition that its employees are human's first, and all of us are subjec…

1) free speech is a guarantee that the government will not pass laws preventing you from expressing yourself. it has nothing to do with your private employer.

2) Adria Richards acted in a way contrary to what her employer was paying her to do. If your job is public relations, but you generate animosity instead of good will you are incompetent at your job. That is grounds for termination in the old fashioned sense, having nothing to do with free speech or anything else.

Post reply on HN