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She was interviewing November 2023 to January 2024. She declined the WordPress.org role on January 26, 2024. I even invited her to my 40th birthday on Jan 11, a

She was interviewing November 2023 to January 2024. She declined the WordPress.org role on January 26, 2024. I even invited her to my 40th birthday on Jan 11, another text message she decided not to share.

Mystery-Machine 2y ago
Why you don't share it? You said there's much more emails and messages, but you never shared any. Why not?
- photomatt 2y ago
  Why doesn't she share messages that prove she declined a WordPress.com job in 2022? You're holding me to a different standard. I'm here, I'm talking to journalists. They're not.
  - spellsaidwrong 2y ago
    The question you need to ask yourself is whether you _should_ talk to journalists during a legal matter, instead of trying to fight the court of public opinion.
    - photomatt 2y ago
      I'm very comfortable with the truth of everything being public, it's on our side. The legal case will drag out for years.
      - spellsaidwrong 2y ago
        You know legal case documents will eventually become public, right?
      - chris_wot 2y ago
        Literally everybody is telling you to STFU. The problem as I see it, is that you might feel incredibly confident in your case, but you are so close to things that you have convinced yourself of your own righteousness. That’s not necessarily reality, and you are not as righteous as you believe. Even if you are - your words could be misconstrued. I cannot understand why your legal team is not advising you to stop making public comments. Or perhaps they are, and you aren’t listening to them? Either way, you are being incredibly foolish.
      - ErwinAI 2y ago
        You're aware that the messages shown in that document (if authentic) can be interpreted as extortion, right?
      - geerlingguy 2y ago
        Regardless, I'd take some time and go offline, instead of posting reactionary comments on HN right now.
        mysecretaccount 2y ago
        He seems rather level-headed to me. I would rather a CEO address this lawsuit candidly personally.
        _heimdall 2y ago
        Have you ever been party to or close to an important legal proceeding? Anything said and documented prior to the hearing will be combed through. Even tiny inconsistencies will be cherry picked and entered as evidence to raise doubt of the claims made. I'm all for the sentiment behind a CEO addressing ongoing lawsuits candidly, but in reality its just a bad idea. Statements made without being fully vetted by council, with the context of all other statements already made, will inevitably have issues that could throw a wrench in the case.
        favorited 2y ago
        Any lawyer would tell him it's a bad idea (as has happened in this thread!), but I'm glad you think it's a good idea.
        mysecretaccount 2y ago
        I don't think it's a good idea, but it is preferable for me as a bystander trying to understand his position on and the details of the case.
        saagarjha 2y ago
        Oh I would much rather that because it is amusing. However if I used Wordpress I would definitely think differently.
        netsharc 2y ago
      - 3np 2y ago
        What I think you don't realize is, the minor discrepancies in statements of facts are inconsequential in the court of opinon. Even if (which TBH don't find implausible at all) everything you said and posted is true and I agree in principle, that doesn't resolve the issues around CoI and they way you have been communicating over the last couple of weeks, including the WPConf bombshell and the abrupt discontinuation of service. The fallout of the drama and the way you have been playing your hand vastly overshadow whatever your motivations for "going nuclear" was. I don't believe you will gain anyone's sympathy by resolving a misunderstanding about who-said-what-when in some inconsequential matter somehow apparently also part of this drama. Some if it seems like pure distraction that I don't see why anyone outside of the individuals involved should have ever heard about in the first place. I second the sentiment that you don't appear healthy and could suggest maybe let someone else take a seat in one of the (3? 4?) chairs for a change? At least from the outside, you still seem free to choose your focus yourself. Maybe that window will be closing...
        dataspun 2y ago
        [flagged]
      - ebcode 2y ago
        hmm.. no, I don't think it is all on your side, sad to say. I was with you until I read this message you sent to Heather Brunner: >> If you decline, on Monday morning, I tell Greg Mondres: * Lee's refusal to negotiate terms to resolve our conflict. * Your interviewing with Automattic over the past year. * I will possibly tell the press all of the above. That's just so obviously threatening and uncalled for. Even if Brunner were considering jumping ship, you shouldn't threaten someone into accepting an offer. Now, you don't know me from Adam, but I want you to strongly, strongly consider that this thing that you've been afraid of happening, has actually already happened. And that is, that you have become Evil Matt -- with the little horns on your head and everything. And to get back to being Good Matt, you're going to have to let some things go. "No problem is so formidable that you can't walk away from it." -- Charles Schulz
        Suppafly 2y ago
        >That's just so obviously threatening and uncalled for. And honestly in the territory of being legally actionable.
      - pensatoio 2y ago
        Have you spoken to a lawyer, Matt? That’s a terrible course of action. It’s like talking to the police. You never do so, no matter how innocent you are.
      - wordofx 2y ago
        lol I honestly can’t wait for the world to crumble around you and reality to set in.
  - angoragoats 2y ago
    At least on this site, you may be “here” but you’re not responding meaningfully to most of the questions/comments posed to you. This seems more like a weird approach to PR than any kind of attempt to clarify or justify your position.
  - ChallengeEup237 2y ago
    What does her position have to do with the lawsuit? It could have been a developer position, it doesn't materially change anything.
  - 9dev 2y ago
    There’s a German saying that goes: Being in the right and getting justice are two different things. The only thing you are doing right now is lessening your chances at getting justice, regardless of how objectively right you may be.
  - gillesjacobs 2y ago
    You're taking this very personally and in the public domain even though it will hurt your company. Maybe there gets a point you become so wealthy, that ego is all that matters. But you're supposedly a smart guy who cares about his products, community and company, why not take the practical and economically safe route of duking it out in court?
DannyBee 2y ago
Matt - i'm not your lawyer, but you should shut up. Employers generally have an obligation to keep personal data confidential, especially sensitive information like a job application. Whether that applies in this particular case or not, i'm not going to offer an opinion, but you really should shut up. I get that it's particularly frustrating and hard to feel like you are being unfairly treated or whatever, but shut up anyway.
- serial_dev 2y ago
  Just let the man speak, he probably didn’t listen to his own lawyers why you think he will listen to you? As the audience, with no horse in this race, I’m glad he keeps talking.
  - kstrauser 2y ago
    I understand that. As an uninvolved outsider, this is a first-row seat I don’t usually have. It’s fascinating! But my better angel wants me to duck tape his mouth shut before he does himself dirty. Edit: Or if you’re a WPE fan, my better angel says to keep talking! Explain it all away! Share it all!
  - edanm 2y ago
    > As the audience, with no horse in this race, I’m glad he keeps talking. You really shouldn't, IMO. For one thing, what parent poster is saying is that he might be violating someone's privacy. I get that that's fun from the sidelines, but I certainly don't think we should encourage employers to violate other people's privacy. For another, we have a court system with lots of rules around it for a reason. These threads help people form opinions, but the truth is that none of the protections in place in a courtroom apply here. He, or his opposite party, could literally be lying about everything they're saying here and there's no way for us to know or evaluate it. He could be bringing up totally irrelevant facts while not talking about the actual important things, with his counterparty correctly not talking about it, but leaving the impression that there is nothing there. Etc.
    - 2y ago
kstrauser 2y ago
Were I her lawyer: “oh, so after you invited her to hang out in a private setting, she declined the job?” That does not help your position. IANAL, but stop talking.
moonmagick 2y ago
[flagged]
- awb 2y ago
  > you really, really suck as a human That’s really, really harsh. Regardless of your reasons for feeling this way, this is not the appropriate forum for a personal attack like that
  - moonmagick 2y ago
    [flagged]
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

Mystery-Machine 2y ago

Why you don't share it? You said there's much more emails and messages, but you never shared any. Why not?

photomatt 2y ago
Why doesn't she share messages that prove she declined a WordPress.com job in 2022? You're holding me to a different standard. I'm here, I'm talking to journalists. They're not.
- spellsaidwrong 2y ago
  The question you need to ask yourself is whether you _should_ talk to journalists during a legal matter, instead of trying to fight the court of public opinion.
  - photomatt 2y ago
    I'm very comfortable with the truth of everything being public, it's on our side. The legal case will drag out for years.
    - spellsaidwrong 2y ago
      You know legal case documents will eventually become public, right?
    - chris_wot 2y ago
      Literally everybody is telling you to STFU. The problem as I see it, is that you might feel incredibly confident in your case, but you are so close to things that you have convinced yourself of your own righteousness. That’s not necessarily reality, and you are not as righteous as you believe. Even if you are - your words could be misconstrued. I cannot understand why your legal team is not advising you to stop making public comments. Or perhaps they are, and you aren’t listening to them? Either way, you are being incredibly foolish.
    - ErwinAI 2y ago
      You're aware that the messages shown in that document (if authentic) can be interpreted as extortion, right?
    - geerlingguy 2y ago
      Regardless, I'd take some time and go offline, instead of posting reactionary comments on HN right now.
      - mysecretaccount 2y ago
        He seems rather level-headed to me. I would rather a CEO address this lawsuit candidly personally.
        _heimdall 2y ago
        Have you ever been party to or close to an important legal proceeding? Anything said and documented prior to the hearing will be combed through. Even tiny inconsistencies will be cherry picked and entered as evidence to raise doubt of the claims made. I'm all for the sentiment behind a CEO addressing ongoing lawsuits candidly, but in reality its just a bad idea. Statements made without being fully vetted by council, with the context of all other statements already made, will inevitably have issues that could throw a wrench in the case.
        favorited 2y ago
        Any lawyer would tell him it's a bad idea (as has happened in this thread!), but I'm glad you think it's a good idea.
        mysecretaccount 2y ago
        I don't think it's a good idea, but it is preferable for me as a bystander trying to understand his position on and the details of the case.
        saagarjha 2y ago
        Oh I would much rather that because it is amusing. However if I used Wordpress I would definitely think differently.
        netsharc 2y ago
    - 3np 2y ago
      What I think you don't realize is, the minor discrepancies in statements of facts are inconsequential in the court of opinon. Even if (which TBH don't find implausible at all) everything you said and posted is true and I agree in principle, that doesn't resolve the issues around CoI and they way you have been communicating over the last couple of weeks, including the WPConf bombshell and the abrupt discontinuation of service. The fallout of the drama and the way you have been playing your hand vastly overshadow whatever your motivations for "going nuclear" was. I don't believe you will gain anyone's sympathy by resolving a misunderstanding about who-said-what-when in some inconsequential matter somehow apparently also part of this drama. Some if it seems like pure distraction that I don't see why anyone outside of the individuals involved should have ever heard about in the first place. I second the sentiment that you don't appear healthy and could suggest maybe let someone else take a seat in one of the (3? 4?) chairs for a change? At least from the outside, you still seem free to choose your focus yourself. Maybe that window will be closing...
      - dataspun 2y ago
        [flagged]
    - ebcode 2y ago
      hmm.. no, I don't think it is all on your side, sad to say. I was with you until I read this message you sent to Heather Brunner: >> If you decline, on Monday morning, I tell Greg Mondres: * Lee's refusal to negotiate terms to resolve our conflict. * Your interviewing with Automattic over the past year. * I will possibly tell the press all of the above. That's just so obviously threatening and uncalled for. Even if Brunner were considering jumping ship, you shouldn't threaten someone into accepting an offer. Now, you don't know me from Adam, but I want you to strongly, strongly consider that this thing that you've been afraid of happening, has actually already happened. And that is, that you have become Evil Matt -- with the little horns on your head and everything. And to get back to being Good Matt, you're going to have to let some things go. "No problem is so formidable that you can't walk away from it." -- Charles Schulz
      - Suppafly 2y ago
        >That's just so obviously threatening and uncalled for. And honestly in the territory of being legally actionable.
    - pensatoio 2y ago
      Have you spoken to a lawyer, Matt? That’s a terrible course of action. It’s like talking to the police. You never do so, no matter how innocent you are.
    - wordofx 2y ago
      lol I honestly can’t wait for the world to crumble around you and reality to set in.
- angoragoats 2y ago
  At least on this site, you may be “here” but you’re not responding meaningfully to most of the questions/comments posed to you. This seems more like a weird approach to PR than any kind of attempt to clarify or justify your position.
- ChallengeEup237 2y ago
  What does her position have to do with the lawsuit? It could have been a developer position, it doesn't materially change anything.
- 9dev 2y ago
  There’s a German saying that goes: Being in the right and getting justice are two different things. The only thing you are doing right now is lessening your chances at getting justice, regardless of how objectively right you may be.
- gillesjacobs 2y ago
  You're taking this very personally and in the public domain even though it will hurt your company. Maybe there gets a point you become so wealthy, that ego is all that matters. But you're supposedly a smart guy who cares about his products, community and company, why not take the practical and economically safe route of duking it out in court?

DannyBee 2y ago

Matt - i'm not your lawyer, but you should shut up. Employers generally have an obligation to keep personal data confidential, especially sensitive information like a job application. Whether that applies in this particular case or not, i'm not going to offer an opinion, but you really should shut up. I get that it's particularly frustrating and hard to feel like you are being unfairly treated or whatever, but shut up anyway.

serial_dev 2y ago
Just let the man speak, he probably didn’t listen to his own lawyers why you think he will listen to you? As the audience, with no horse in this race, I’m glad he keeps talking.
- kstrauser 2y ago
  I understand that. As an uninvolved outsider, this is a first-row seat I don’t usually have. It’s fascinating! But my better angel wants me to duck tape his mouth shut before he does himself dirty. Edit: Or if you’re a WPE fan, my better angel says to keep talking! Explain it all away! Share it all!
- edanm 2y ago
  > As the audience, with no horse in this race, I’m glad he keeps talking. You really shouldn't, IMO. For one thing, what parent poster is saying is that he might be violating someone's privacy. I get that that's fun from the sidelines, but I certainly don't think we should encourage employers to violate other people's privacy. For another, we have a court system with lots of rules around it for a reason. These threads help people form opinions, but the truth is that none of the protections in place in a courtroom apply here. He, or his opposite party, could literally be lying about everything they're saying here and there's no way for us to know or evaluate it. He could be bringing up totally irrelevant facts while not talking about the actual important things, with his counterparty correctly not talking about it, but leaving the impression that there is nothing there. Etc.
  - 2y ago

kstrauser 2y ago

Were I her lawyer: “oh, so after you invited her to hang out in a private setting, she declined the job?” That does not help your position. IANAL, but stop talking.

moonmagick 2y ago

[flagged]

awb 2y ago
> you really, really suck as a human That’s really, really harsh. Regardless of your reasons for feeling this way, this is not the appropriate forum for a personal attack like that
- moonmagick 2y ago
  [flagged]

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]