7 ms·

I got fired from Facebook (for having a YouTube channel)

58 points by vfc1 7y ago

vfc1 7y ago
The guy was working 80 hour weeks, and got fired overnight by having a Youtube channel on tech and tech interview tips. It's amazing how these companies think they can literally buy you and own you, like a slave. Not only they expect you to be available around the clock but even tell you what you can and can't do with the little free time they leave you left.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  It's Facebook we're talking about. Probably one of the most un-ethical entities on the planet. Of course they won't respect their employees, they don't respect their users (or their users' privacy) either. If you decide to go and work for one of these companies abuse in some form or other should be expected, and you should be well aware that you are in some way acting against the interests of the general public and that when the company decides that you are to be disposed of that it will do so without consideration for your well being.
- nashashmi 7y ago
  I hate unions but it's abuse like this that reminds me why unions exist at all. Unions basically tell managers that there are rules of engagement they need to respect. And they tell companies that a level of work needs to be guaranteed to them for employment, arbitrary rules will not work, and employment is playing with a life and you need to plan ahead for that. Sure certain employees abuse it and it attracts other types of employees that could never work at startups. And a guy with his own YouTube channel would rather work for a real company than a unionized one. But there has got to be a balance. Between unbridled employers and managers and systematic ones.
  - foepys 7y ago
    Hate is a very strong emotion. What do you "hate" about them? Why don't you just dislike them?
    - diveanon 7y ago
      It's just his American programming speaking. Americans hate unions because their parents hate unions. Their parents hate unions because they are "socialist".
      - jjulius 7y ago
        I like unions and so do my parents, but keep on keeping on with those blanket generalizations.
    - justin66 7y ago
      Tone policing is the lowest form of criticism. You are a completely terrible person for posting what you did. (Or is that the appropriate term? What an important question! Let us explore it in depth!)
    - aiyodev 7y ago
      They are involuntary. They’ve parasites that often keep more for themselves than the employees they claim to help.
- mcv 7y ago
  > "got fired overnight by having a Youtube channel on tech and tech interview tips" How is that even remotely a valid reason to fire someone? I'm really glad we've got laws for that. Had it happened here, the dismissal would most likely have been rejected.
  - johnmarcus 7y ago
    California is at will employment. They can fire him for parting his hair the wrong way if they want.
    - vfc1 7y ago
      I'm curious, but surely there are some rules regarding, for example, the number of hours per week of work, right? Employers can't just ask anything from their employees, like being available around the clock and that kind of thing I suppose. Or can they?
      - CaptainZapp 7y ago
        Keep in mind that the US is the only developed nation, wehere the law mandates exactly zero days of paid vacation. You may get the odd holiday off, but for the rest you're totally at the mercy of your employer.
        mcv 7y ago
        I believe it's also one of only two countries in the world that doesn't have standard paid maternity leave. It's bizarre just how few rights American workers really have.
gilesgate 7y ago
I feel guilty for laughing when he said "to have a friendly chat with HR". It's certainly not a good month for him, as apparently his wife recently left him as well[0]. Bit sad (and perhaps demeaning) to see the video cut mid-way for a message from the sponsor. But yeah, as jacquesm also said, there's no reason to expect any better from Facebook, is there? It's rather a mark of consistency, being unethical both outwards and inwards. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssFXlNk6vw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssFXlNk6vw
- grumpopotamus 7y ago
  I think he tries to make his sponsor messages as awkward as possible as a joke.
n1c 7y ago
Is this for real? I'm really struggling with Poe's law. Ads, upsells, asking for comments about if he's hit rock bottom all really feel disingenuous to me.
- vfc1 7y ago
  It's just his style if you watch some of his other videos, he has a very sarcastic sense of humor. He has a series of recurring jokes like inserting adds in the middle of nothing, repeating that he is an ex-Google Tech Lead 50 times, etc. those are insider jokes for fans of the channel.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
alephnan 7y ago
The irony of a social media company which encourages people to post and share
philjackson 7y ago
He has an amazing sense of humour, considering.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
meerita 7y ago
Well, any decent company could hire him no problem.
VladimirIvanov 7y ago
Wow, his wife left him too. I hope he's doing okay. I'm surprised he didn't even get a warning.
- occitan 7y ago
  Wow, his wife left him too. Might have had something to do with the 80-hour work weeks.
occitan 7y ago
No - not for having a YT channel (per se) but for engaging in communications that FB considered to be a conflict of interest. And probably (as with most firings), a whole whole bunch of other stuff (besides the nominal "reason"). Nonethelsss - my heart goes out to anyone dragged into a "friendly chat with HR" under any circumstances.
- alephnan 7y ago
  > No - not for having a YT channel (per se) but for engaging in communications that FB considered to be a conflict of interest. What was the conflict of interest? > And probably (as with most firings), a whole whole bunch of other stuff (besides the nominal "reason"). Probably, but not certainly.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - occitan 7y ago
    What was the conflict of interest? Dunno - whatever was running through the HR people's heads. The whole point is - it wasn't simply for "having a YouTube channel".
- vfc1 7y ago
  He was hilarious as always: he said Facebook wanted him to start presenting himself as an Ex-Facebook Tech Lead and not only an Ex-Google Tech Lead, and the fact that he couldn't because he worked there represented a conflict of interest that benefited Google over Facebook, and so they fired him making it now possible to claim that he is also an ex-Facebook Tech Lead.
lgl 7y ago
Patrick's channel is pretty awesome and he has an amazing deadpan sense of humor. For those who don't really know him, I suggest his "What do programmers actually do?" video [0] which is pretty hilarious. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQY5udXquOk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQY5udXquOk
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- ZeroCool2u 7y ago
  This is actually hilarious. Huge bummer he got fired, but I did subscribe to his channel.
alephnan 7y ago
The timing is interesting. He recently posted a video about women in tech.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
calin2k 7y ago
why is this flagged?
VladimirIvanov 7y ago
After looking into this more I believe he was fired for a video he made about women in tech were he advocates traditional gender roles and references Sheryl Sandberg to support his argument.

58 points by vfc1 7y ago

vfc1 7y ago

The guy was working 80 hour weeks, and got fired overnight by having a Youtube channel on tech and tech interview tips. It's amazing how these companies think they can literally buy you and own you, like a slave. Not only they expect you to be available around the clock but even tell you what you can and can't do with the little free time they leave you left.

jacquesm 7y ago
It's Facebook we're talking about. Probably one of the most un-ethical entities on the planet. Of course they won't respect their employees, they don't respect their users (or their users' privacy) either. If you decide to go and work for one of these companies abuse in some form or other should be expected, and you should be well aware that you are in some way acting against the interests of the general public and that when the company decides that you are to be disposed of that it will do so without consideration for your well being.
nashashmi 7y ago
I hate unions but it's abuse like this that reminds me why unions exist at all. Unions basically tell managers that there are rules of engagement they need to respect. And they tell companies that a level of work needs to be guaranteed to them for employment, arbitrary rules will not work, and employment is playing with a life and you need to plan ahead for that. Sure certain employees abuse it and it attracts other types of employees that could never work at startups. And a guy with his own YouTube channel would rather work for a real company than a unionized one. But there has got to be a balance. Between unbridled employers and managers and systematic ones.
- foepys 7y ago
  Hate is a very strong emotion. What do you "hate" about them? Why don't you just dislike them?
  - diveanon 7y ago
    It's just his American programming speaking. Americans hate unions because their parents hate unions. Their parents hate unions because they are "socialist".
    - jjulius 7y ago
      I like unions and so do my parents, but keep on keeping on with those blanket generalizations.
  - justin66 7y ago
    Tone policing is the lowest form of criticism. You are a completely terrible person for posting what you did. (Or is that the appropriate term? What an important question! Let us explore it in depth!)
  - aiyodev 7y ago
    They are involuntary. They’ve parasites that often keep more for themselves than the employees they claim to help.
mcv 7y ago
> "got fired overnight by having a Youtube channel on tech and tech interview tips" How is that even remotely a valid reason to fire someone? I'm really glad we've got laws for that. Had it happened here, the dismissal would most likely have been rejected.
- johnmarcus 7y ago
  California is at will employment. They can fire him for parting his hair the wrong way if they want.
  - vfc1 7y ago
    I'm curious, but surely there are some rules regarding, for example, the number of hours per week of work, right? Employers can't just ask anything from their employees, like being available around the clock and that kind of thing I suppose. Or can they?
    - CaptainZapp 7y ago
      Keep in mind that the US is the only developed nation, wehere the law mandates exactly zero days of paid vacation. You may get the odd holiday off, but for the rest you're totally at the mercy of your employer.
      - mcv 7y ago
        I believe it's also one of only two countries in the world that doesn't have standard paid maternity leave. It's bizarre just how few rights American workers really have.

gilesgate 7y ago

I feel guilty for laughing when he said "to have a friendly chat with HR". It's certainly not a good month for him, as apparently his wife recently left him as well[0]. Bit sad (and perhaps demeaning) to see the video cut mid-way for a message from the sponsor. But yeah, as jacquesm also said, there's no reason to expect any better from Facebook, is there? It's rather a mark of consistency, being unethical both outwards and inwards. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssFXlNk6vw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssFXlNk6vw

grumpopotamus 7y ago
I think he tries to make his sponsor messages as awkward as possible as a joke.

n1c 7y ago

Is this for real? I'm really struggling with Poe's law. Ads, upsells, asking for comments about if he's hit rock bottom all really feel disingenuous to me.

vfc1 7y ago
It's just his style if you watch some of his other videos, he has a very sarcastic sense of humor. He has a series of recurring jokes like inserting adds in the middle of nothing, repeating that he is an ex-Google Tech Lead 50 times, etc. those are insider jokes for fans of the channel.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

alephnan 7y ago

The irony of a social media company which encourages people to post and share

philjackson 7y ago

He has an amazing sense of humour, considering.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

meerita 7y ago

Well, any decent company could hire him no problem.

VladimirIvanov 7y ago

Wow, his wife left him too. I hope he's doing okay. I'm surprised he didn't even get a warning.

occitan 7y ago
Wow, his wife left him too. Might have had something to do with the 80-hour work weeks.

occitan 7y ago

No - not for having a YT channel (per se) but for engaging in communications that FB considered to be a conflict of interest. And probably (as with most firings), a whole whole bunch of other stuff (besides the nominal "reason"). Nonethelsss - my heart goes out to anyone dragged into a "friendly chat with HR" under any circumstances.

alephnan 7y ago
> No - not for having a YT channel (per se) but for engaging in communications that FB considered to be a conflict of interest. What was the conflict of interest? > And probably (as with most firings), a whole whole bunch of other stuff (besides the nominal "reason"). Probably, but not certainly.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- occitan 7y ago
  What was the conflict of interest? Dunno - whatever was running through the HR people's heads. The whole point is - it wasn't simply for "having a YouTube channel".
vfc1 7y ago
He was hilarious as always: he said Facebook wanted him to start presenting himself as an Ex-Facebook Tech Lead and not only an Ex-Google Tech Lead, and the fact that he couldn't because he worked there represented a conflict of interest that benefited Google over Facebook, and so they fired him making it now possible to claim that he is also an ex-Facebook Tech Lead.

lgl 7y ago

Patrick's channel is pretty awesome and he has an amazing deadpan sense of humor. For those who don't really know him, I suggest his "What do programmers actually do?" video [0] which is pretty hilarious. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQY5udXquOk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQY5udXquOk

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
ZeroCool2u 7y ago
This is actually hilarious. Huge bummer he got fired, but I did subscribe to his channel.

alephnan 7y ago

The timing is interesting. He recently posted a video about women in tech.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

calin2k 7y ago

why is this flagged?

VladimirIvanov 7y ago

After looking into this more I believe he was fired for a video he made about women in tech were he advocates traditional gender roles and references Sheryl Sandberg to support his argument.