4 ms·

When did YC companies change from being the little guys/underdogs to being the big strong evil Lord Business? I don't know if it's schadenfreude, or simply tha

When did YC companies change from being the little guys/underdogs to being the big strong evil Lord Business? I don't know if it's schadenfreude, or simply that HN is full of people who resent YC because they didn't get in (myself somewhat included) But, this propensity to try to destroy someone who wronged you, without a pragmatic outcome you are trying to achieve, other than to be punitive, goes completely against my own moral compass, and It really bothers me that no one else here seems to agree. and the excuse that "we have a right to know" or that "if they did this, what else are they dishonest about...we need to know who they are to protect ourselves." etc... are all built on a house of cards with a foundation called, "we like to watch the mighty fall." I try to never bring up religion, but there is a beautiful Jewish Law called Shemiras Halashon (guarding your tongue) that bans "Gossip, bad mouthing people, and talking about others in a way that can be construed negatively, even if its true... unless there is what's called, "Toeles" which is a set of criteria the story must meet to be justified to share... http://www.torahmediaatlanta.com/assets/Uploads/MiriamFeldman/5-partShmirasHalashonSeries%205771/Shmiras%20Halashon%20%2801%29%2011-03-10.pdf http://www.torahmediaatlanta.com/assets/Uploads/MiriamFeldma... This idea that our words don't hurt is a falacy, and while I am certainly guilty myself... when it's an egregious effort to be punitive, with no pragmatic goal...it just seems wrong to me.

omni 12y ago
Punishment has a very simple pragmatic goal: to discourage this behavior from other people in the future.
- justin66 12y ago
  In this case the "punishment" (seriously?) had the immediate effect of forcing them to change the design they stole.
  - davemel37 12y ago
    Yes,but not immediately, the initial reaction of the perpetrator was to defend the decision on twitter, thats what happens when you attack someone, they go on the defensive... ..but that same objective could have been achieved privately. A nice email from the victim stating that they see they copied their design and would greatly appreciate them changing it ASAP...would have likely yielded a quicker and cleaner result. Regardless, my initial comment was less addressed to the victim here, but rather to the HN community for pouncing all over it.
    - justin66 12y ago
      I don't disagree that people get weird about YC companies here, but let's be honest: YC can take it. This startup can take it. A week of bad publicity is a minimal amount of adversity compared to what they'll endure in the future, and there were a few lessons they needed to learn. What we're seeing isn't some kind of lynch mob, it's a few people shooting the breeze on the internet. More importantly, I think the notion that a victim - a real victim, making a truthful accusation - is obligated to remain silent is very badly thought out.
- davemel37 12y ago
  Do you really think this story will prevent someone who plans on stealing a design from stealing it? It's one thing if you seeked punitive damages from a court...but just tooing your horn on a blog, twitter and HN...will not only not yield results, but will likely be forgotten tomorrow by everyone else. Besides, even if the victim's intention was altruistic and intended to prevent others from stealing designs in the future, who made society or the HN community responsible for raising that flag? You can disagree, but I would put my money on the notion that your argument is built on a schadenfreude foundation, not a "I care about the world" platform.

omni 12y ago

Punishment has a very simple pragmatic goal: to discourage this behavior from other people in the future.

justin66 12y ago
In this case the "punishment" (seriously?) had the immediate effect of forcing them to change the design they stole.
- davemel37 12y ago
  Yes,but not immediately, the initial reaction of the perpetrator was to defend the decision on twitter, thats what happens when you attack someone, they go on the defensive... ..but that same objective could have been achieved privately. A nice email from the victim stating that they see they copied their design and would greatly appreciate them changing it ASAP...would have likely yielded a quicker and cleaner result. Regardless, my initial comment was less addressed to the victim here, but rather to the HN community for pouncing all over it.
  - justin66 12y ago
    I don't disagree that people get weird about YC companies here, but let's be honest: YC can take it. This startup can take it. A week of bad publicity is a minimal amount of adversity compared to what they'll endure in the future, and there were a few lessons they needed to learn. What we're seeing isn't some kind of lynch mob, it's a few people shooting the breeze on the internet. More importantly, I think the notion that a victim - a real victim, making a truthful accusation - is obligated to remain silent is very badly thought out.
davemel37 12y ago
Do you really think this story will prevent someone who plans on stealing a design from stealing it? It's one thing if you seeked punitive damages from a court...but just tooing your horn on a blog, twitter and HN...will not only not yield results, but will likely be forgotten tomorrow by everyone else. Besides, even if the victim's intention was altruistic and intended to prevent others from stealing designs in the future, who made society or the HN community responsible for raising that flag? You can disagree, but I would put my money on the notion that your argument is built on a schadenfreude foundation, not a "I care about the world" platform.