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by howlgarnish 2094 days ago
> Answer by Michael O Church

The author of this is a notorious troll best known for being repeatedly fired from his jobs (AFAIK he's actually never held a management position) and banned from HN, Wikipedia and Quora for sockpuppeting etc.
2 comments
KnobbleMcKnees 2093 days ago
I was curious about your viewpoint as I've never heard of this guy, though what you described sounds like a familiar story in tech, so I googled him and found this: https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Michael-O-Church-targeted-by-S...

I found a few others too... It's interesting that in every thread there is at least one (usually only one) individual defending him in martyr-like way and questioning the motives of anyone who might criticise him.

(Now including this one, having refreshed the page!)

Well, if the shoe fits ...

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disgruntledphd2 2093 days ago
That's a ridiculously harsh viewpoint on a named individual.

For my money, he's probably one of the most insightful writers on technology in the field.

I honestly thought that some of the stories he told about people hating him on the internet we're exaggerated, but seeing this comment is increasing my faith in his story.

FWIW, I have been on HN since way before this, and found him to be an insightful commenter here also.

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daniel-cussen 2093 days ago
I agree. Even though he was extremely controversial, and though I can see why HN banned him, and I disagree with his views, I don't regret reading his comments, they were thought-provoking.
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howlgarnish 2093 days ago
Is my summary actually inaccurate? What are his qualifications to pontificate at length on the life of a middle manager, much less that of a director or VP at a large company, when he's never held any of these roles?
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disgruntledphd2 2093 days ago
Personal experience, I suppose. Much like our own qualifications to talk about stuff on HN/Quora.

I think that your summary was incredibly harsh against a named individual, and I regard that kind of talking as incredibly unfair (especially for someone who's banned here).

Like, I talk a bunch about Directors and VP's even though I've never been one, and I'm sure you talk about stuff you don't have personal experience with too.

And the use of the phrase "notorious troll" is flamebait and not conducive to intellectual discussion.

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