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Well, this is Arjun, I put the whole conversation, unedited, up for a reason... so that people can decide for themselves. I'm not happy that you think it's ske

Well, this is Arjun, I put the whole conversation, unedited, up for a reason... so that people can decide for themselves. I'm not happy that you think it's sketchy, but it's your right to say that if you believe it. No one is a perfect ethical person, and making ethical decisions is non-trivial. There are ethical problems with your approach as well... in the sense that if I were NOT to try an incite Patrick to leave I would not be giving him the free choice to listen to my argument and make his own decision. To say that Patrick is not capable of a reasoned decision would be patronizing, though I am not accusing you of that in any way. The root of all ethics can only be free choice. In that sense, I had the free choice to try and convince Patrick, and he had the free choice to try and be convinced.

pfisch 14y ago
"Either way, signing a contract does not make you a slave to the company.. you can just walk away. Yes they could technically sue you for damages, but this never happens in real life. It's too much hassle and expense for the company (especially a startup) to go through." I think it was fine to attempt to convince Patrick to join, but it is not ok to tell him he can just bail on previous commitments because his employer will not sue him for it. Either you said that because you believe it, or you only said it to convince him, which is even worse because it means you are willing to say whatever you need to to get the results you want. And it seems like I was right before. You in fact did decide not to pay him the agreed upon salary immediately after he arrived.
- argumentum 14y ago
  I didn't tell him to "bail." All I said is that he should weigh the options and try to determine what would be best choice for his life. Though it didn't work out with us, Patrick had a fruitful summer with PlanGrid (according to his own article). We remain good friends, and I hope to one day work with him again.

pfisch 14y ago

"Either way, signing a contract does not make you a slave to the company.. you can just walk away. Yes they could technically sue you for damages, but this never happens in real life. It's too much hassle and expense for the company (especially a startup) to go through." I think it was fine to attempt to convince Patrick to join, but it is not ok to tell him he can just bail on previous commitments because his employer will not sue him for it. Either you said that because you believe it, or you only said it to convince him, which is even worse because it means you are willing to say whatever you need to to get the results you want. And it seems like I was right before. You in fact did decide not to pay him the agreed upon salary immediately after he arrived.

argumentum 14y ago
I didn't tell him to "bail." All I said is that he should weigh the options and try to determine what would be best choice for his life. Though it didn't work out with us, Patrick had a fruitful summer with PlanGrid (according to his own article). We remain good friends, and I hope to one day work with him again.