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Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project

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

#631

Post by cwkoss »

dang wrote: post #561
cwkoss wrote: post #525

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would it be against HN's rules to reply to Who's Hiring posts from Replit with a link to this article?

Yes, it would be against the rules at the top of the Who Is Hiring threads. We moderate HN less, not more, when YC or a YC startup is involved [1]. That's why the OP has been at #1 all day - normally we downweight indignation posts at least a little, to compensate for the default tendency to massively upvote them, but we haven't touched this thread in any way. I don't think we'd take that so far as to selectively tur…

Thanks for the reply - I definitely won't then. I didn't realize replit was a YC company, and understand the value in keeping Who's Hiring threads clean from criticism - could lead to interesting discussion but at the expense of distracting from the purpose of the thread.

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

#632

Post by mgomez »

yewenjie wrote: post #325

Slightly off-topic - what is a secure way to run arbitrary code in arbitrary languages in a server? I know replit's polygott docker container allows it. https://github.com/replit/polygott/

Have a look at Firecracker for running microVMs (originally developed at AWS before becoming open source):

https://firecracker-microvm.github.io/

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

#633

Post by codegeek »

spacefiish wrote: post #398
codegeek wrote: post #319

Am I missing something ? You interned at a small company and then you built a very similar open source tool which is close to the core product they offer ? Whether the CEO is an asshole or not, I can't think of not agreeing with them here. Your "intentions" don't matter. If your work is very similar to your previous employer's , they have the right to ask you to take it down or come after you.

Yes, you are missing something. As stated numerous times in the article: > Replit’s core value proposition isn’t letting you run code online (you can do this in dozens of places for free), it’s the features they offer on top of running code. Riju categorically lacked all of these features, including: having a user account, saving your work, sharing your work, publishing webapps, persistent workspaces, discussion foru…

I am not a lawyer so I cannot discuss the details of whether it is exactly the same product or not but there are a lot of similarities (especially considering he interned at the place) which will make any CEO think. I mean IP protection is critical for software companies and whether the CEO is right or wrong here, I think it is unfair to shit on the CEO just because he is being rude/mean.

If you intern at my company and then build a very similar product, I will be concerned.

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

#634

Post by tommoor »

> we’re also excited to announce one of the first (of many!) projects that Amjad has worked on with us: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to play with JavaScript, Ruby, and Python online

I'll just leave this here so we can all bask in the insane hypocrisy of this entire episode.

https://www.codecademy.com/resources/blog/amjad-joins-codeca...

Edit: See Amjad's response below – seems Repl.it may have pre-dated this hiring in which case it makes the irony slightly less delicious. Did no learnings from scaling the concept at Codeacademy make it into the current product?

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

#635

Post by mcintyre1994 »

jpxw wrote: post #144

> despite being the most demanding intern we’ve ever had This is unprofessional and downright nasty and vindictive to a degree that I find almost unbelievable. God that little comment has really made my blood boil. I’m going to be avoiding repl.it from now onwards.

It made me laugh because he was trying to hire him earlier in the conversation. Pretty pathetic to turn like that.

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

#636

Post by xenihn »

dimgl wrote: post #49
whimsicalism wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this not what the CEO of repl.it did, moving from codeacademy to repl.it?

I don't know about what the CEO of repl.it did. It shouldn't matter. I only know what the author has chosen to publish on his blog post. He corresponded with his previous employer regarding a free project that competes with them. When he got a negative response he then decided to air his dirty laundry on the Internet.

>I don't know about what the CEO of repl.it did. It shouldn't matter.

Calling out hypocrisy absolutely matters. It matters a lot.

In this case, it also provides a very important precedent.

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

#637

Post by CRConrad »

trevor-e wrote: post #493
pbecotte wrote: post #226

I...am on the side of the company here? wierd... An employee of a company left, and then made an open source clone of the company's software. The fact that the software was easy to clone or that others had done it previously doesn't seem really relevant. Several times I have left a company, and I could replicate a good percentage of it in a couple days too, not because it was easy, but because the months/years of exp…

I'm with you on this, reading the article I can't help but think the author is being intentionally naive about the situation and feelings on both sides. If anything, to me this reads like viral marketing to get the project off the ground. The author builds a clone of a product for a former company, shares the project with the CEO, and expects them to be happy with it? And "out of nowhere" they are suddenly displeased…

> If anything, to me this reads like viral marketing to get the project off the ground.

That's assuming it is a "project" to "get off the ground" in the first place. What gave you the impression that this was something the author was going to try and take commercial? I never got that impression.

> It's a fair point that several other competitors copy the UI and I'm not suggesting this is illegal or disallowed

But you are suggesting it was that way around. I didn't quite see that either; on the contrary, I got a kind of distinct impression that some of these other projects predate Replit, including its UI design.

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

#638

Post by heavyset_go »

jascii wrote: post #602
stOneskull wrote: post #570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yep. we just won't ever use replit. their name is mud now.

I'm still hoping the CEO will come out of the woods with something like: "I'm sorry, I had a shitty day and acted like an ass." But that might be more grown-up than is realistic...

> I'm still hoping the CEO will come out of the woods with something like: "I'm sorry, I had a shitty day and acted like an ass."

We hope, but this is what we got:

> As a matter of principle, when someone goes into your home and steals from you, even if it's not material, you have to respond.

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

#639

Post by jlengrand »

Very tangential, but I've always looked weird at Replit because my first interaction with the product ever was through this tweet :

"We're the most ambitious software startup in history." [1]

My second interaction is this one ...

[1] https://twitter.com/amasad/status/1342891578394882051

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

#640

Post by mindcrime »

tiltrus wrote: post #384
codingdave wrote: post #111

> Naturally, I took down my project right away... So a CEO bullied you. He threatened to have lawyers look at something, accused you of behaving poorly, and accused you of being difficult. He is being manipulative. He is trying to guilt / scare you into stopping. And it worked. For all readers... do not be afraid of lawyers. Especially if nobody has even talked to them yet. Lawyers do not like to lose cases, so will…

amasad is a regular HN'er who's very active in all posts related to repl.it. Very immature behavior on Amjad's part. I'm considering pulling our corporations subscription and moving to Stackblitz now....

amasad is a regular HN'er who's very active in all posts related to repl.it.

Until, curiously enough, today...

My guess is, his "top lawyers" and other advisors gave him instructions which amounted to - in layman's terms - "Dude, STFU."

Edit: disregard, he did show up and start commenting here.

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