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I've known Andrew for years, and I know he's a good guy. If you spent an hour talking to him, you'd be mortified to have said what you just said.

by pg 13y ago

bambax 13y ago
> I know he's a good guy That's not an argument. That's what his father would say, or his grandmother. PS1: What does "good guy" even mean? Most people are "good guys" in that they don't spend their weekends torturing small animals in their attic. Most bad things are done by "good guys" because there isn't enough bad guys to do all the evil that's being done. PS2: Like many others, I did enjoy / admire his exit letter; but I still have a problem not just with accounting practices at Groupon, but the essence of what Groupon was trying to do.
- pg 13y ago
  His father would have a bias that I don't.
  - bambax 13y ago
    We form an opinion on people in the first 10 seconds we meet them; this opinion rarely ever changes. There was a study where students were asked to rate their professor right while the professor was entering the classroom for the first time, and then at the end of the semester. Opinions from students hardly changed at all after a semester of class. It's very difficult for you to know if you're biased. It's impossible for me to know you're not.
    - Flenser 13y ago
      It's also been shown that we like to be consistent with what we've already said, so perhaps unstated opinions are more subject to change than stated ones.
- smky80 13y ago
  I think it was Dale Carnegie that pointed out if you asked everyone if they themselves were dishonest, you would discover the surprising result that in fact there never has been a dishonest homo sapien in the history of this planet.
mbesto 13y ago
I thought his very sincere Groupon exit memo[1] is what made me think he is a good guy. I've never met him, so my opinion is based solely on what I read here. However, the backlash against Andrew is akin to Jason Calacanis's battle with DHH [2] and Jason Cohen's "King vs Rich"[3]. No one here is "right" but I suspect many more people in this community are far more motivated to want to become kings than be rich, hence the backlash. [1] - http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/one-thing-could-save-groupon-175358151.html http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/one-thing-could-save... [2] - http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2219-jason-calacanis-vs-david-heinemeier-hansson-on-this-week-in-startups http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2219-jason-calacanis-vs-david... [3] - http://blog.asmartbear.com/rich-vs-king-sold-company.html http://blog.asmartbear.com/rich-vs-king-sold-company.html
dsdfoajsldkf 13y ago
I hear Hitler was a pretty nice guy too, in person. People should be judged by their actions not by how nice they feel when you meet them in a friendly context.

I've known Andrew for years, and I know he's a good guy. If you spent an hour talking to him, you'd be mortified to have said what you just said.

by pg 13y ago

I've known Andrew for years, and I know he's a good guy. If you spent an hour talking to him, you'd be mortified to have said what you just said.

bambax 13y ago

> I know he's a good guy That's not an argument. That's what his father would say, or his grandmother. PS1: What does "good guy" even mean? Most people are "good guys" in that they don't spend their weekends torturing small animals in their attic. Most bad things are done by "good guys" because there isn't enough bad guys to do all the evil that's being done. PS2: Like many others, I did enjoy / admire his exit letter; but I still have a problem not just with accounting practices at Groupon, but the essence of what Groupon was trying to do.

pg 13y ago
His father would have a bias that I don't.
- bambax 13y ago
  We form an opinion on people in the first 10 seconds we meet them; this opinion rarely ever changes. There was a study where students were asked to rate their professor right while the professor was entering the classroom for the first time, and then at the end of the semester. Opinions from students hardly changed at all after a semester of class. It's very difficult for you to know if you're biased. It's impossible for me to know you're not.
  - Flenser 13y ago
    It's also been shown that we like to be consistent with what we've already said, so perhaps unstated opinions are more subject to change than stated ones.
smky80 13y ago
I think it was Dale Carnegie that pointed out if you asked everyone if they themselves were dishonest, you would discover the surprising result that in fact there never has been a dishonest homo sapien in the history of this planet.

mbesto 13y ago

I thought his very sincere Groupon exit memo[1] is what made me think he is a good guy. I've never met him, so my opinion is based solely on what I read here. However, the backlash against Andrew is akin to Jason Calacanis's battle with DHH [2] and Jason Cohen's "King vs Rich"[3]. No one here is "right" but I suspect many more people in this community are far more motivated to want to become kings than be rich, hence the backlash. [1] - http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/one-thing-could-save-groupon-175358151.html http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/one-thing-could-save... [2] - http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2219-jason-calacanis-vs-david-heinemeier-hansson-on-this-week-in-startups http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2219-jason-calacanis-vs-david... [3] - http://blog.asmartbear.com/rich-vs-king-sold-company.html http://blog.asmartbear.com/rich-vs-king-sold-company.html

dsdfoajsldkf 13y ago

I hear Hitler was a pretty nice guy too, in person. People should be judged by their actions not by how nice they feel when you meet them in a friendly context.