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I left a Glassdoor review about Linode that was removed because I mentioned an employee (anonymously) who rubbed his genitals on coworkers' keyboards as a joke.

I left a Glassdoor review about Linode that was removed because I mentioned an employee (anonymously) who rubbed his genitals on coworkers' keyboards as a joke. This was reported to and covered up by management because the employee was essential. Anyway, Glassdoor responded to ostensibly a Linode complaint by removing my review several weeks after I left it. So they do watch it. There's a lot more to the story, for sure. It's the worst of the bro culture, or at least it was when I left. At my next employer they looked over Linode employees as recruiting opportunities after hiring me, and came to ask me about potential candidates, and the only one they were interested in was genital rubber. I laughed and said I'd quit.

mikegrb 11y ago
Except that didn't happen, so there's that. I did pretend to do it though. Also, never applied at PagerDuty
- ryanlol 11y ago
  Pretending to do that is ok? I can't believe you're still employed there. Also, I upvoted the comment because I think it should stay visible. I hope other users do that too instead of just downvoting.
  - jsmthrowaway 11y ago
    He's not. And I can describe his penis, so. There was also stabbing employees (to the point of requiring an ambulance) while fooling around with a knife, setting the building on fire more than once, and tormenting other employees who he didn't like. All of that was tolerated and dismissed by management, specifically Chris Aker and Tom Asaro, which should tell you what you need to know about ever working there. One of Linode's early forays into hiring women ended very, very badly, and the only one who made it from that time period was forever marked by the experience. And since he outed himself (I was careful not to), it's worth pointing out that the same individual now sits on the school board where he lives. Food for thought. I required several years of counseling to recover from working at Linode, and I am no longer under any legal obligation to keep that a secret. I'm consulting with an attorney regarding the best way to tell my story without incurring legal liability, because Linode nearly killed several people who are very dear to me.
    - mikegrb 11y ago
      8==D
    - anaphor 11y ago
      Not surprised they have such a toxic/brogrammer work environment. Some of the people on their IRC channel seemed really rude when I used to go on there (including the person who did that). Also I used to know a woman from one of the FOSS communities I'm involved with who worked there a few years ago and it definitely seemed like they treated her in a very tokenized way.
    - odonnellryan 11y ago
      The responses from this guy are disgusting. Glad I didn't take that job, and I'm sorry to hear about your time there. I've certainly worked in similar atmospheres. I'm glad you've put it behind you.
jabberjaws 11y ago
Employee Disclaimer: It's not 2011 and Mike is not working at Linode anymore. You really don't get what it's like working at Linode TODAY. I'm sure everything your stating was terrible for you but it's not an accurate representation of what the company has become.
- ryanlol 11y ago
  Can you comment on Linode intentionally covering up security breaches? That's post-2011.
- jsmthrowaway 11y ago
  The same people are running the company who did then, who were responsible for setting the culture of the company, covering for employees who did unspeakable things (worse than what I've said here), and pretty much instructing employees to lie to customers. Also, all the people who quit Linode and ran to this coast after I left have kept me very apprised of what working at Linode is like TODAY. I still communicate with your colleagues quite regularly, too. It is important to reiterate here, as I have before, that I wish Linode no ill will. I'm becoming more comfortable with calling spades spades, but I do not wish Linode to fail. I actually hope a lot of this stuff can be fixed, whatever that entails, but I have a serious gripe with some events that have transpired since 2011, from security to personal. If Linode would start being a little more honest about their gaping security troubles, and not rely upon people like me and Tim who actually know the truth to just shut up about it (I'm getting braver as Tim does, and I appreciate how willing he is to not let PagerDuty be tossed around by Linode's deceit), I'd be a bit happier. We're crossing into knowingly compromising the safety of the Internet, PII, and a number of production infrastructures that still run on Linode in some cases, and I do care about that. And again, that tone of deceit is set from the top.
  - dang 11y ago
    > You know that. Don't be disingenuous. > And you know it. That's unduly personal. Please remain civil.
    - 11y ago

mikegrb 11y ago

Except that didn't happen, so there's that. I did pretend to do it though. Also, never applied at PagerDuty

ryanlol 11y ago
Pretending to do that is ok? I can't believe you're still employed there. Also, I upvoted the comment because I think it should stay visible. I hope other users do that too instead of just downvoting.
- jsmthrowaway 11y ago
  He's not. And I can describe his penis, so. There was also stabbing employees (to the point of requiring an ambulance) while fooling around with a knife, setting the building on fire more than once, and tormenting other employees who he didn't like. All of that was tolerated and dismissed by management, specifically Chris Aker and Tom Asaro, which should tell you what you need to know about ever working there. One of Linode's early forays into hiring women ended very, very badly, and the only one who made it from that time period was forever marked by the experience. And since he outed himself (I was careful not to), it's worth pointing out that the same individual now sits on the school board where he lives. Food for thought. I required several years of counseling to recover from working at Linode, and I am no longer under any legal obligation to keep that a secret. I'm consulting with an attorney regarding the best way to tell my story without incurring legal liability, because Linode nearly killed several people who are very dear to me.
  - mikegrb 11y ago
    8==D
  - anaphor 11y ago
    Not surprised they have such a toxic/brogrammer work environment. Some of the people on their IRC channel seemed really rude when I used to go on there (including the person who did that). Also I used to know a woman from one of the FOSS communities I'm involved with who worked there a few years ago and it definitely seemed like they treated her in a very tokenized way.
  - odonnellryan 11y ago
    The responses from this guy are disgusting. Glad I didn't take that job, and I'm sorry to hear about your time there. I've certainly worked in similar atmospheres. I'm glad you've put it behind you.

jabberjaws 11y ago

Employee Disclaimer: It's not 2011 and Mike is not working at Linode anymore. You really don't get what it's like working at Linode TODAY. I'm sure everything your stating was terrible for you but it's not an accurate representation of what the company has become.

ryanlol 11y ago
Can you comment on Linode intentionally covering up security breaches? That's post-2011.
jsmthrowaway 11y ago
The same people are running the company who did then, who were responsible for setting the culture of the company, covering for employees who did unspeakable things (worse than what I've said here), and pretty much instructing employees to lie to customers. Also, all the people who quit Linode and ran to this coast after I left have kept me very apprised of what working at Linode is like TODAY. I still communicate with your colleagues quite regularly, too. It is important to reiterate here, as I have before, that I wish Linode no ill will. I'm becoming more comfortable with calling spades spades, but I do not wish Linode to fail. I actually hope a lot of this stuff can be fixed, whatever that entails, but I have a serious gripe with some events that have transpired since 2011, from security to personal. If Linode would start being a little more honest about their gaping security troubles, and not rely upon people like me and Tim who actually know the truth to just shut up about it (I'm getting braver as Tim does, and I appreciate how willing he is to not let PagerDuty be tossed around by Linode's deceit), I'd be a bit happier. We're crossing into knowingly compromising the safety of the Internet, PII, and a number of production infrastructures that still run on Linode in some cases, and I do care about that. And again, that tone of deceit is set from the top.
- dang 11y ago
  > You know that. Don't be disingenuous. > And you know it. That's unduly personal. Please remain civil.
  - 11y ago