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What a fool. Shay Pierce's article was incredibly polite and graceful, so there's no way OMGPOP can come off looking like anything but pathetic and vindictive.

by scott_w 15y ago

What a fool. Shay Pierce's article was incredibly polite and graceful, so there's no way OMGPOP can come off looking like anything but pathetic and vindictive. I think the worst thing I've heard our CEO say about a former employee is "it was time for the company and X to part ways" after X took a job elsewhere, and this was an internal meeting. We don't take to tweeting the inner workings of our company.

huggyface 15y ago
"Earlier this week – days after Zynga bought OMGPOP for $210 million – a now former OMGPOP engineer named Shay Pierce wrote a column for gaming news Web site Gamasutra explaining that he would not join Zynga because it is "evil." He said that companies like Zynga think of users as "weak-minded cash cows."" Come on. OMGPOP was a fast rising company with a very green CEO. Expectations that they're going to act like the CEO of Oracle (boom, bad example) or something seems out of place. The CEO is a person just like everyone else, and had a moment of weakness. The CEO took it personally. And rightly so, because in his implications Pierce was saying that everyone else were willing to join an "evil" company that treats people as "weak minded cash cows". When we make personal statements of values and their justifications ("I don't eat meat because I don't like murdering innocent animals, blood on my hands"), we naturally raise the hairs of those who make different decisions. EDIT: Normally I just bear those downvotes, but in this case I find them a little disturbing. The whole narrative around this has taken on a distinctly "we are the 99%!" type of schism. The CEO is a human being too, and there is no reason to value or respect the opinion of Pierce.
- hipsterelitist 15y ago
  I'd hardly call Dan a "very green" CEO. http://www.linkedin.com/in/danporter http://www.linkedin.com/in/danporter
- blankenship 15y ago
  "Very green" is a bit of a misnomer here—Porter's been the CEO of OMGPOP since 2009, and was a SVP at Richard Branson's Virgin Group before that. "Moment of weakness" maybe, but not from an inexperienced guy.
  - huggyface 15y ago
    Porter's been the CEO of OMGPOP since 2009, and was a SVP at Richard Branson's Virgin Group before that. "SVP" of "Virgin USA", which was an absolutely minuscule offshoot. He has been a CEO of a tiny company for two years, prior to that acting essentially as a glorified salesperson. That is absolutely green.
    - jaylevitt 15y ago
      And president of Teach for America in 1994? That was a pretty well-known organization even at the time, at least in DC.
    - jkolko 15y ago
      He has 20 years of executive leadership. Irrespective of what you think of the actual job activities or of a particular title, how can you possible color that "green"?
    - danilocampos 15y ago
      I've never been CEO of anything and even I know when I'm being an asshole.
- whateverer 15y ago
  It's very childish, to say the least, to take offense and lashing out upon hearing of someone else's morals. Or more accurately, it's self-centered, oblivious and aggressive. I'm more than content with the outcry all over the net.
  - huggyface 15y ago
    It's very childish, to say the least, to take offense and lashing out upon hearing of someone else's morals. Many would see Pierce's media efforts as childish and unprofessional. I originally saw it presented with the title "The one smart OMGPOP employee", and it was pretty obvious what the deal was (when you make demands and the other side ignores you, it means you aren't in a position to make demands). Further his "morals" went so far as demanding that they provide some sort of oddball waiver for him, which they didn't feel worthy of the time required. I'm not sure if you're reading a different story than I am, but the one I read had him completely fine with joining Zygna until they said stuff it, at which point he retroactively gained a higher calling.
    - whateverer 15y ago
      Many would see Pierce's media efforts as childish and unprofessional. Well, he explained publicly why he opted out of the employment offer. when you make demands and the other side ignores you, it means you aren't in a position to make demands And so what? Should I look down upon him because he's "weak" when compared to Zynga? Further his "morals" went so far as demanding that they provide some sort of oddball waiver for him, which they didn't feel worthy of the time required. I'm not sure if you're reading a different story than I am, but the one I read had him completely fine with joining Zygna until they said stuff it, at which point he retroactively gained a higher calling. Well, it was your post which introduced differing morality into the question, as a justification for Porter's tantrum. Pierce himself waives any claim to being an "idealist", in his words[1]. On the "oddball waiver" I won't comment; that's a Silicon Valley thing, don't wanna be culturally insensitive. 1. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167244/Turning_down_Zynga_Why_I_opted_out_of_the_210M_Omgpop_buy.php http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167244/Turning_down_Zynga...
    - 15y ago
- Lightbody 15y ago
  You're over analyzing it: it's not a "we are the 99%" schism. It's just a guy in a leadership position being a first class douche bag. It's also independent of whether the other guy was "right" or "wrong". I've had plenty of moments of weakness in my life, and none of them compelled me to rip in to former coworkers on Twitter.
- rogerjin 15y ago
  Reluctant to comment, since this is circumstantial and may be seen as not adding to the discussion, but for what its worth, I've heard (long before this incident) many cases in which Dan Porter has exhibited this type of behavior (immoral actions), and that this headline in itself is not an isolated incident.
j_baker 15y ago
Out of all the ways I can think of to describe Pierce's article, "incredibly polite and graceful" is probably at the bottom of the list. Pierce branded a potential employer "evil" because of a minor detail in his contract (granted, a minor detail he had every right to turn the contract down for). Zynga isn't exactly well known for having the most integrity as a company, but it's certainly neither polite nor graceful for him to publicize his dispute with them like that. A better way to phrase it would be to say "Pierce's article says something impolite and ungraceful in the most polite and graceful way possible".
- binxbolling 15y ago
  An ant throws a pebble at an elephant, and the elephant stomps on the ant in response. How courageous of you to side with the elephant here.
  - j_baker 15y ago
    I said no such thing. What I did do is question whether it was a good idea for the ant to throw the pebble at the elephant. The pebble did little to harm the elephant and might have earned the ant a reputation for being a pebble-thrower.
    - potatolicious 15y ago
      So... live your life in constant fear of the elephant. Whatever the elephants says, goes. Gotcha.
- calpaterson 15y ago
  Being able to keep legal ownership of what you have done in your spare time in the past is not really a minor detail. I think it's important.
  - bhickey 15y ago
    Wouldn't it be possible to create a trust (or even a corporation), transfer all of your IP to the trust and then appoint trusted third parties as trustees? There seems to be a world of difference between personally holding IP and being the sole beneficiary of a trust that holds IP. For my part, I'll stick to working for employers with reasonable terms of employment.

by scott_w 15y ago

huggyface 15y ago

"Earlier this week – days after Zynga bought OMGPOP for $210 million – a now former OMGPOP engineer named Shay Pierce wrote a column for gaming news Web site Gamasutra explaining that he would not join Zynga because it is "evil." He said that companies like Zynga think of users as "weak-minded cash cows."" Come on. OMGPOP was a fast rising company with a very green CEO. Expectations that they're going to act like the CEO of Oracle (boom, bad example) or something seems out of place. The CEO is a person just like everyone else, and had a moment of weakness. The CEO took it personally. And rightly so, because in his implications Pierce was saying that everyone else were willing to join an "evil" company that treats people as "weak minded cash cows". When we make personal statements of values and their justifications ("I don't eat meat because I don't like murdering innocent animals, blood on my hands"), we naturally raise the hairs of those who make different decisions. EDIT: Normally I just bear those downvotes, but in this case I find them a little disturbing. The whole narrative around this has taken on a distinctly "we are the 99%!" type of schism. The CEO is a human being too, and there is no reason to value or respect the opinion of Pierce.

hipsterelitist 15y ago
I'd hardly call Dan a "very green" CEO. http://www.linkedin.com/in/danporter http://www.linkedin.com/in/danporter
blankenship 15y ago
"Very green" is a bit of a misnomer here—Porter's been the CEO of OMGPOP since 2009, and was a SVP at Richard Branson's Virgin Group before that. "Moment of weakness" maybe, but not from an inexperienced guy.
- huggyface 15y ago
  Porter's been the CEO of OMGPOP since 2009, and was a SVP at Richard Branson's Virgin Group before that. "SVP" of "Virgin USA", which was an absolutely minuscule offshoot. He has been a CEO of a tiny company for two years, prior to that acting essentially as a glorified salesperson. That is absolutely green.
  - jaylevitt 15y ago
    And president of Teach for America in 1994? That was a pretty well-known organization even at the time, at least in DC.
  - jkolko 15y ago
    He has 20 years of executive leadership. Irrespective of what you think of the actual job activities or of a particular title, how can you possible color that "green"?
  - danilocampos 15y ago
    I've never been CEO of anything and even I know when I'm being an asshole.
whateverer 15y ago
It's very childish, to say the least, to take offense and lashing out upon hearing of someone else's morals. Or more accurately, it's self-centered, oblivious and aggressive. I'm more than content with the outcry all over the net.
- huggyface 15y ago
  It's very childish, to say the least, to take offense and lashing out upon hearing of someone else's morals. Many would see Pierce's media efforts as childish and unprofessional. I originally saw it presented with the title "The one smart OMGPOP employee", and it was pretty obvious what the deal was (when you make demands and the other side ignores you, it means you aren't in a position to make demands). Further his "morals" went so far as demanding that they provide some sort of oddball waiver for him, which they didn't feel worthy of the time required. I'm not sure if you're reading a different story than I am, but the one I read had him completely fine with joining Zygna until they said stuff it, at which point he retroactively gained a higher calling.
  - whateverer 15y ago
    Many would see Pierce's media efforts as childish and unprofessional. Well, he explained publicly why he opted out of the employment offer. when you make demands and the other side ignores you, it means you aren't in a position to make demands And so what? Should I look down upon him because he's "weak" when compared to Zynga? Further his "morals" went so far as demanding that they provide some sort of oddball waiver for him, which they didn't feel worthy of the time required. I'm not sure if you're reading a different story than I am, but the one I read had him completely fine with joining Zygna until they said stuff it, at which point he retroactively gained a higher calling. Well, it was your post which introduced differing morality into the question, as a justification for Porter's tantrum. Pierce himself waives any claim to being an "idealist", in his words[1]. On the "oddball waiver" I won't comment; that's a Silicon Valley thing, don't wanna be culturally insensitive. 1. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167244/Turning_down_Zynga_Why_I_opted_out_of_the_210M_Omgpop_buy.php http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167244/Turning_down_Zynga...
  - 15y ago
Lightbody 15y ago
You're over analyzing it: it's not a "we are the 99%" schism. It's just a guy in a leadership position being a first class douche bag. It's also independent of whether the other guy was "right" or "wrong". I've had plenty of moments of weakness in my life, and none of them compelled me to rip in to former coworkers on Twitter.
rogerjin 15y ago
Reluctant to comment, since this is circumstantial and may be seen as not adding to the discussion, but for what its worth, I've heard (long before this incident) many cases in which Dan Porter has exhibited this type of behavior (immoral actions), and that this headline in itself is not an isolated incident.

j_baker 15y ago

Out of all the ways I can think of to describe Pierce's article, "incredibly polite and graceful" is probably at the bottom of the list. Pierce branded a potential employer "evil" because of a minor detail in his contract (granted, a minor detail he had every right to turn the contract down for). Zynga isn't exactly well known for having the most integrity as a company, but it's certainly neither polite nor graceful for him to publicize his dispute with them like that. A better way to phrase it would be to say "Pierce's article says something impolite and ungraceful in the most polite and graceful way possible".

binxbolling 15y ago
An ant throws a pebble at an elephant, and the elephant stomps on the ant in response. How courageous of you to side with the elephant here.
- j_baker 15y ago
  I said no such thing. What I did do is question whether it was a good idea for the ant to throw the pebble at the elephant. The pebble did little to harm the elephant and might have earned the ant a reputation for being a pebble-thrower.
  - potatolicious 15y ago
    So... live your life in constant fear of the elephant. Whatever the elephants says, goes. Gotcha.
calpaterson 15y ago
Being able to keep legal ownership of what you have done in your spare time in the past is not really a minor detail. I think it's important.
- bhickey 15y ago
  Wouldn't it be possible to create a trust (or even a corporation), transfer all of your IP to the trust and then appoint trusted third parties as trustees? There seems to be a world of difference between personally holding IP and being the sole beneficiary of a trust that holds IP. For my part, I'll stick to working for employers with reasonable terms of employment.