[jrockway]

It's depressing, for someone considering working at Google, that all Brin can do is attack the form of a well-respected team member's rant. He should have said something like, "We encourage open debate at Google. Right now, I think that developing everything as a service will restrict the independence of teams and slow down our quick development cycle." Instead he says, "TLDR".

If there's one thing that Google should not let any of their higher-ups do, it's talk in public. They are really, really bad at it.

[statictype]

So you're saying he should have made an empty PR statement instead of something with more character in it?

It's funny how that works. On one hand, when someone says 'We value your inputs and are looking into the matter' we dismiss it as PR speak. When someone comes out and says something a little less politically-correct we jump on him for not running it through the PR department.

[prodigal_erik]

"tl;dr" does have a little more character, but it's a lazy and dim-witted kind many of us disrespect.

[jrockway]

I just find it to be mean. If he said, "this rant is dumb", that would be fine. But all he said is "if you want to say something, make it shorter".

Maybe good advice, but you look like an idiot when everyone who reads social news site made it through Yegge's rant, but your couldn't bother reading your own employee's letter.

[statictype]

Really? I would have considered 'this rant is dumb' to be meaner than 'make it shorter'. 'Make it shorter' is, on the whole, pretty good advice for anyone who's trying to get their point across.