3 ms·
Why not call it "Board of Directors"? The word "overseer" still pretty much only refers to the middle-managers of slave plantations.
by jnks 12y ago
Why not call it "Board of Directors"? The word "overseer" still pretty much only refers to the middle-managers of slave plantations.
- seeingfurther 12y agoI think that's incorrect. Overseer is generally a term the English use when referring to administration of the poor. Not sure if it's still in use today. Can you tell I liked me some Charles Dickens?
- 001sky 12y agoHere's the disambiguation from wikipedia: In professions [1] A supervisor or superintendent; one who keeps watch over and directs the work of others, often in the context of forced labor or slavery [2] In law, a person appointed by the testator to supervise or assist the executor(s) of a will (mostly obsolete) [3] Overseer of the Poor, an official who administered poor relief It's muddled at best, but the usage in reference to a supervisory role in a professional context [1] is distinct from what you allude to [3], and [1] has the qualifier "often in the context of forced labor or slavery".
- seeingfurther 12y agoVery interesting. Raised in New England, college in Louisiana. I should know that!! My cautious rebuttal... Startups are generally poor when they arrive at YC. Maybe that's just Sam injecting a little sly humor like he did with that last line?
- EricaJoy 12y agoThis is what I thought when I saw "overseer". I would not have chosen to use that word.
- tlb 12y agoIt's common in academic institutions. http://www.harvard.edu/board-overseers http://www.harvard.edu/board-overseers
- Jun8 12y agoYou may find this interesting (or not): The way the Egyptian hieroglyph for overseer as commonly written has a visual pun, and literally means "one who is in the mouth" (http://books.google.com/books?id=aroQ0Zrl8J4C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34#v=onepage&q http://books.google.com/books?id=aroQ0Zrl8J4C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA...).
- zaidf 12y agoBoard of Directors usually meet once a month. Their job is much more than deciding to hire/fire/keep the CEO.
- thinkerer 12y agoAgreed. Advisors would be better but perhaps they were bored at the "normal" names...