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Because TechCrunch is a high profile source of information for the HN community and it provides the start of many of the threads here. So gauging the accuracy

Because TechCrunch is a high profile source of information for the HN community and it provides the start of many of the threads here. So gauging the accuracy and integrity of it's reporting is relevant because those intellectual discussion use it as a starting point. Meaning the underlying topic of this whole controversy (and this is not the first news item posted on it) is "Who are we trusting to get our news and are they worthy of that trust?" Hence the relevance of this piece. (For the record I don't really agree with the negative view of TC in that I think on balance they report more good than bad despite any personality quirks the founder might have)

raganwald 17y ago
I'm sure you're being sincere, but on the whole I find the discussion has gone far beyond "How trustworthy is TC" and well into personal axe-grinding, schadenfreude, and public shaming. For example, look at all the discussion of an intern's character and speculation about whether his actions were entirely within the range of "normal" for a minor or not. If this was just about judging TC's trustworthiness, the discussion would stop at the point where the intern was dismissed and his posts removed. Shaming the intern publicly for his action is not about judging trustworthiness, it's about participating in a public stoning for the sheer pleasure of feeling holier-than-thou. I honestly find it sickening. We work so hard to rise above the petty politics of BigCo, we try to distance ourselves from the bible-thumping anti-evolutionists, but when there's a little blood in the water suddenly everyone wants a piece of this kid. I find it says a lot more about us than him that we spend so much time reviling him for corruption on the scale of a laptop while both of our economies are being systematically looted. Why are nerd social politics so vicious? Because the stakes are so low.
- ruabin 17y ago
  Perhaps it is to send a message, Reginald. Perhaps it's not to feel holier-than, but rather shitty-as. I read this as a message to us that we're wallowing in a lot of turd, and that we're not better than this kid who doesn't really know what he's doing. (Renaissance men we ain't.) Perhaps the message isn't that it's good to be vicious, but that maybe it's time to raise the stakes.
  - raganwald 17y ago
    Perhaps the message isn't that it's good to be vicious, but that maybe it's time to raise the stakes Very well said. I will ponder this. Your comment matters. Thanks.
- TomOfTTB 17y ago
  If this was just about judging TC's trustworthiness, the discussion would stop at the point where the intern was dismissed and his posts removed. Shaming the intern publicly for his action is not about judging trustworthiness, it's about participating in a public stoning for the sheer pleasure of feeling holier-than-thou. I agree with the reply by ruabin but wanted to add one point on this. The fact that the intern was dismissed means next to nothing. If there is a question of trustworthiness here it's in the vetting process and overall integrity of the organization. In other words the issue isn't the intern but the fact that there could be more like him.

raganwald 17y ago

I'm sure you're being sincere, but on the whole I find the discussion has gone far beyond "How trustworthy is TC" and well into personal axe-grinding, schadenfreude, and public shaming. For example, look at all the discussion of an intern's character and speculation about whether his actions were entirely within the range of "normal" for a minor or not. If this was just about judging TC's trustworthiness, the discussion would stop at the point where the intern was dismissed and his posts removed. Shaming the intern publicly for his action is not about judging trustworthiness, it's about participating in a public stoning for the sheer pleasure of feeling holier-than-thou. I honestly find it sickening. We work so hard to rise above the petty politics of BigCo, we try to distance ourselves from the bible-thumping anti-evolutionists, but when there's a little blood in the water suddenly everyone wants a piece of this kid. I find it says a lot more about us than him that we spend so much time reviling him for corruption on the scale of a laptop while both of our economies are being systematically looted. Why are nerd social politics so vicious? Because the stakes are so low.

ruabin 17y ago
Perhaps it is to send a message, Reginald. Perhaps it's not to feel holier-than, but rather shitty-as. I read this as a message to us that we're wallowing in a lot of turd, and that we're not better than this kid who doesn't really know what he's doing. (Renaissance men we ain't.) Perhaps the message isn't that it's good to be vicious, but that maybe it's time to raise the stakes.
- raganwald 17y ago
  Perhaps the message isn't that it's good to be vicious, but that maybe it's time to raise the stakes Very well said. I will ponder this. Your comment matters. Thanks.
TomOfTTB 17y ago
If this was just about judging TC's trustworthiness, the discussion would stop at the point where the intern was dismissed and his posts removed. Shaming the intern publicly for his action is not about judging trustworthiness, it's about participating in a public stoning for the sheer pleasure of feeling holier-than-thou. I agree with the reply by ruabin but wanted to add one point on this. The fact that the intern was dismissed means next to nothing. If there is a question of trustworthiness here it's in the vetting process and overall integrity of the organization. In other words the issue isn't the intern but the fact that there could be more like him.