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by ecwilson 1874 days ago
It’s a false narrative that this was about politics and non-work things in the workplace. It was a workplace issue that blew up and employees were annoyed with how the founders handled it.
2 comments

No, it's pretty fucking stupid all the way around... I broke my own rule and went to that garbage news site The Verge and read Casey Newton's article.

A list of names that sound or look funny.

Wow.

The amount of disdain I have for idiotic busybodies who would fuss and fret over such a thing cannot be overstated, or even quantified.

How about just ignoring the list? How about saying to someone, when they tell you about the list, "That's dumb. Grow up, <name>."

How about just going on about your day.

The fact that any human being would think a list of funny names should be a fireable offense is a testament to this new idiotic religion of Wokeness. A bunch of shitty people traded Christianity for another religion where they can be insufferable assholes, under the guise of righteousness.

Where. Have. I. Seen. That. Before?

Don't understand why your tone is so aggressive.

Do you think that kind of aggressive tone would be suitable in a work place?

Because entirely too many people are entirely too sensitive and need to toughen up, that's why.

> Do you think that kind of aggressive tone would be suitable in a work place?

Apparently it is, since everyone from Steve Jobs to Bill Gates to Jeff Bezos have used a tone like that - and a lot... lot worse.

>Do you think that kind of aggressive tone would be suitable in a work place?

No it wouldn't be, but this isn't work, it's an internet comment section. You're literally providing his point that "there's a time and a place" for shit like this, and work isn't one of them.

My comment was a reflection on the topic. Its interesting how one person is offended someone else taking offense to social issues but somehow sees their own outrage as justified.
> A third of Basecamp’s workers resign after a ban on talking politics. (NY Times)

Great PR recovery after, from what I can see is one of the worst management foul-ups I can remember. But then PR is one thing that JF and DHH are good at.

If telling people to "get over it" about a list of names and then they don't want to "get over it" and then telling them to go pound sand is the worst management fuck-up you've ever seen, then you need to never - and I mean never - quit your current job, because its pretty clear your management team is unbelievably competent.

In fact, send me a link to your company's Careers page, because I want to work for a company that's got their shit together so thoroughly.

Losing a third of your staff in one day over something that started off as a list of customer names counts as astoundingly bad management by any measure.

Don't start saying it was all due to the people who left - there were a number highly respected, long standing and apparently extremely hard working employees in that list. And they are probably prevented from giving their views due to severance terms whilst DHH in particular will no doubt be blogging about it again within days.