3 ms·

From the new york times article: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bits/2014/11/13/reddit-chief-executive-resigns-as-company-shuffles-top-ranks/?_r=0&referrer= h

From the new york times article: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bits/2014/11/13/reddit-chief-executive-resigns-as-company-shuffles-top-ranks/?_r=0&referrer= http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bits/2014/11/13/reddit-chief... "Mr. Wong also recently had a public argument with a former employee of the site in which he laid out the terms of his former employee’s termination in excruciating detail. That incident, according to people close to the company, made some of Reddit’s current employees uncomfortable." This was not some minor gaffe. This was a very public, major lapse in leadership judgment from the CEO.

sillysaurus3 12y ago
It's possible, but Occam's Taser (I've decided that's a cooler name) seems to apply. Either Sam and reddit employees and everyone else are risking their public reputation of being trustworthy people by saying things that were obviously untrue (like "Yishan really did resign because he felt like it"), or Yishan left because he chose to. I have a lot of respect for you, and you're not just some random person. Do you feel there's a nonzero chance we're living in a world where nobody can say the truth, and everyone chooses to play along with a social game of "Oh, yes, this is what I really believe, wink wink"? I mean, it's possible, but why believe that? Isn't the simplest explanation that Yishan didn't want the job anymore? If this is a case where the simplest explanation is mistaken, is there any evidence?
- 001sky 12y ago
  Notwithstanding any relevance here, the entire concept of 'manipulation' is to put forth an easy to follow line of logic that is at once intuitively appealing and deliberately false. With respect to context, the principals involved are too sophisticated to be treated as simpletons-- the principal owners of Reddit are the owners Conde Nast et al. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Publications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Publications
  - sillysaurus3 12y ago
    Only simpletons would simply tell the truth? I don't understand what you mean. All I'm saying is that I have direct, personal experience with Sam, and it seems more likely that we didn't visit the moon than that Sam is manipulative in a "I'm telling real lies that people would care about if discovered" sort of way. That'd make pg manipulative by definition, for one, since he appointed Sam as his successor. Everyone is manipulative to an extent, but going on record with "Yes, this really did happen in this way" is the line between social graces and the type of manipulation people spend their lives trying to avoid. So are we fools for believing them? Or, given the propensity of people to call people sheeple, do you think that maybe the simplest explanation might be the better one here?
    - 001sky 12y ago
      PG and SAMA have good facts I'm sure -- but those are not interchangable with their public writings. Divining one from the other is at best a speculative enterprise. And in this case, poor logic is not a substitute for good facts.
    - lmm 12y ago
      > it seems more likely that we didn't visit the moon than that Sam is manipulative in a "I'm telling real lies that people would care about if discovered" sort of way All the best manipulators seem that way; most people vastly overestimate their own ability to judge character. (I don't have a viewpoint on the larger question, but "seemed decent when I personally met him" is not at all convincing)
- codinghorror 12y ago
  There are many ways to tell an incomplete, partial truth. It's still truth. It just isn't the whole story.
LordHumungous 12y ago
It looks like he was under a lot of stress and he snapped. If I was the CEO of Reddit I'd be tempted to tell the users to fuck off on a daily basis.
- necrowlight 12y ago
  You see that's the reason you can never attain such heights. Alot of professionality is required at that level which means maintaining your composure. Thats why companies have PR manager.
  - LordHumungous 12y ago
    You're right, but Reddit's user base seems particularly... difficult.
jacquesm 12y ago
> This was a very public, major lapse in leadership judgment from the CEO. And there may have been others. What bugs me about this whole discussion is that Reddit is not exactly a publicly traded company. If the CEO decides to quit and/or is fired then that's a company internal affair and their obligation to explain it to the world stops at 'nothing'. If both the CEO and a major investor take time out to give an explanation that apparently dove-tails why on earth would we not just believe them and move on. There is absolutely nothing to gain by trying to prove that he left because of some other reason because all the parties involved appear to be in agreement. If they weren't then that would be another matter (but it still would not be a productive discussion).

sillysaurus3 12y ago

It's possible, but Occam's Taser (I've decided that's a cooler name) seems to apply. Either Sam and reddit employees and everyone else are risking their public reputation of being trustworthy people by saying things that were obviously untrue (like "Yishan really did resign because he felt like it"), or Yishan left because he chose to. I have a lot of respect for you, and you're not just some random person. Do you feel there's a nonzero chance we're living in a world where nobody can say the truth, and everyone chooses to play along with a social game of "Oh, yes, this is what I really believe, wink wink"? I mean, it's possible, but why believe that? Isn't the simplest explanation that Yishan didn't want the job anymore? If this is a case where the simplest explanation is mistaken, is there any evidence?

001sky 12y ago
Notwithstanding any relevance here, the entire concept of 'manipulation' is to put forth an easy to follow line of logic that is at once intuitively appealing and deliberately false. With respect to context, the principals involved are too sophisticated to be treated as simpletons-- the principal owners of Reddit are the owners Conde Nast et al. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Publications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Publications
- sillysaurus3 12y ago
  Only simpletons would simply tell the truth? I don't understand what you mean. All I'm saying is that I have direct, personal experience with Sam, and it seems more likely that we didn't visit the moon than that Sam is manipulative in a "I'm telling real lies that people would care about if discovered" sort of way. That'd make pg manipulative by definition, for one, since he appointed Sam as his successor. Everyone is manipulative to an extent, but going on record with "Yes, this really did happen in this way" is the line between social graces and the type of manipulation people spend their lives trying to avoid. So are we fools for believing them? Or, given the propensity of people to call people sheeple, do you think that maybe the simplest explanation might be the better one here?
  - 001sky 12y ago
    PG and SAMA have good facts I'm sure -- but those are not interchangable with their public writings. Divining one from the other is at best a speculative enterprise. And in this case, poor logic is not a substitute for good facts.
  - lmm 12y ago
    > it seems more likely that we didn't visit the moon than that Sam is manipulative in a "I'm telling real lies that people would care about if discovered" sort of way All the best manipulators seem that way; most people vastly overestimate their own ability to judge character. (I don't have a viewpoint on the larger question, but "seemed decent when I personally met him" is not at all convincing)
codinghorror 12y ago
There are many ways to tell an incomplete, partial truth. It's still truth. It just isn't the whole story.

LordHumungous 12y ago

It looks like he was under a lot of stress and he snapped. If I was the CEO of Reddit I'd be tempted to tell the users to fuck off on a daily basis.

necrowlight 12y ago
You see that's the reason you can never attain such heights. Alot of professionality is required at that level which means maintaining your composure. Thats why companies have PR manager.
- LordHumungous 12y ago
  You're right, but Reddit's user base seems particularly... difficult.

jacquesm 12y ago

> This was a very public, major lapse in leadership judgment from the CEO. And there may have been others. What bugs me about this whole discussion is that Reddit is not exactly a publicly traded company. If the CEO decides to quit and/or is fired then that's a company internal affair and their obligation to explain it to the world stops at 'nothing'. If both the CEO and a major investor take time out to give an explanation that apparently dove-tails why on earth would we not just believe them and move on. There is absolutely nothing to gain by trying to prove that he left because of some other reason because all the parties involved appear to be in agreement. If they weren't then that would be another matter (but it still would not be a productive discussion).