3 ms·

Really? You've never seen people permanently harmed by bad things written about them online? We recently didn't move forward with a particular candidate for thi

Really? You've never seen people permanently harmed by bad things written about them online? We recently didn't move forward with a particular candidate for this very reason. I guess people can change their name but, baring that, the Internet lasts forever. And anyways, if you do the most basic of diligence on someone you hire or do business with, name changes and the like are easy to discover.

paulcole 10y ago
>You've never seen people permanently harmed by bad things written about them online? What about all those people who get away with being assholes who we don't realize are assholes because they're so successful? What about the good people fucked over by bad luck who we never hear about? Basically your comment just reinforces what I was saying. You're using the situations you're aware of to explain the way the world works in a way that makes you happy.
- dfraser992 10y ago
  Amen. "Name and shame" only works to some extent (re: Jacon Appelbaum) but if the person isn't that prominent, or the story doesn't get traction, then the normal human tendency to try and put it all behind oneself is a factor (along with not wanting to deal with "victim blaming") Then the story eventually turns into just gossip and is left in the past... Due diligence is a good idea, but for the first asshole I dealt with, there were stories, but the person who introduced me to him didn't tell me because of "ethical concerns". Even though he knew the stories were true and that this guy was problematic. He is also very secretive, so any due diligence I might have done probably wouldn't have turned up much (i.e. any lawsuits would have been hard to uncover). I picked up clues though and didn't put together a full picture of this guy's character till it was too late because I was too focused on the work. My take on the whole thing was everyone in the past that had been ripped off by this guy chalked it up to "life" and so nothing ever stuck to him well enough. Typical shady businessman... As for the second full blown psychopath I've dealt with... he had a reputation, I thought it was all more gossip / sour grapes, and I didn't look hard enough because I trusted the people who were giving him a pass (though my intuition was complaining). Never again. We all got screwed over and I had to spend £4k to defend myself against this idiot's bogus threats of lawsuits (my fault for being manipulated...) So if I ever do business with anyone else again, the only answer is A) trust no one and B) be a psychopath for defensive purposes. Capitalism these days practically demands that you think like a psychopath because the majority of people you deal with are going to do the same. That goes for management as well - employers are not your friends. They merely may be idiots, but you are only a resource to be exploited by them. The conclusion of all this stress over the past 7 years is that character truly does matter, in all areas of life and to focus on that first off when evaluating a person.
pjc50 10y ago
> You've never seen people permanently harmed by bad things written about them online? I certainly have, but the harm seems to have little to do with whether the allegations are actually true.
20yrs_no_equity 10y ago
I once caught someone lying on a resume, but only because they mentioned a former employer that was also my former employer and while they worked there, they didn't work on the project they claimed (which I had worked on, it was a small team, and which happened before they got hired there.) But that was a lucky catch in a relatively small town. How did you decide not to move forward with a candidate? Are you sure you didn't make a decision based on uncorroborated data? (EG: One can say whatever one wants about someone online, and when you google their name it may come up, even though the source has an axe to grind.)

paulcole 10y ago

>You've never seen people permanently harmed by bad things written about them online? What about all those people who get away with being assholes who we don't realize are assholes because they're so successful? What about the good people fucked over by bad luck who we never hear about? Basically your comment just reinforces what I was saying. You're using the situations you're aware of to explain the way the world works in a way that makes you happy.

dfraser992 10y ago
Amen. "Name and shame" only works to some extent (re: Jacon Appelbaum) but if the person isn't that prominent, or the story doesn't get traction, then the normal human tendency to try and put it all behind oneself is a factor (along with not wanting to deal with "victim blaming") Then the story eventually turns into just gossip and is left in the past... Due diligence is a good idea, but for the first asshole I dealt with, there were stories, but the person who introduced me to him didn't tell me because of "ethical concerns". Even though he knew the stories were true and that this guy was problematic. He is also very secretive, so any due diligence I might have done probably wouldn't have turned up much (i.e. any lawsuits would have been hard to uncover). I picked up clues though and didn't put together a full picture of this guy's character till it was too late because I was too focused on the work. My take on the whole thing was everyone in the past that had been ripped off by this guy chalked it up to "life" and so nothing ever stuck to him well enough. Typical shady businessman... As for the second full blown psychopath I've dealt with... he had a reputation, I thought it was all more gossip / sour grapes, and I didn't look hard enough because I trusted the people who were giving him a pass (though my intuition was complaining). Never again. We all got screwed over and I had to spend £4k to defend myself against this idiot's bogus threats of lawsuits (my fault for being manipulated...) So if I ever do business with anyone else again, the only answer is A) trust no one and B) be a psychopath for defensive purposes. Capitalism these days practically demands that you think like a psychopath because the majority of people you deal with are going to do the same. That goes for management as well - employers are not your friends. They merely may be idiots, but you are only a resource to be exploited by them. The conclusion of all this stress over the past 7 years is that character truly does matter, in all areas of life and to focus on that first off when evaluating a person.

pjc50 10y ago

> You've never seen people permanently harmed by bad things written about them online? I certainly have, but the harm seems to have little to do with whether the allegations are actually true.

20yrs_no_equity 10y ago

I once caught someone lying on a resume, but only because they mentioned a former employer that was also my former employer and while they worked there, they didn't work on the project they claimed (which I had worked on, it was a small team, and which happened before they got hired there.) But that was a lucky catch in a relatively small town. How did you decide not to move forward with a candidate? Are you sure you didn't make a decision based on uncorroborated data? (EG: One can say whatever one wants about someone online, and when you google their name it may come up, even though the source has an axe to grind.)