This is way overblown. It's not backstabbing or lying to change your mind. The founders probably had the intent to stay independent, they changed their minds.

This is way overblown. It's not backstabbing or lying to change your mind. The founders probably had the intent to stay independent, they changed their minds. The employees got a salary to work on a mass email product. Now they are continuing to do the same. This is just normal business, not a shift in principles. If they were working at a public green energy foundation dedicated to open source science, and then were bought by Exxon and everything privatized, then this would be a different story. I'll bet most employees don't really care that much as long as they keep their jobs and working conditions.