4 ms·

Maybe we can keep the speculation and character smearing to another thread? I have no connection to the author, but he's written a very personal post about a s

Maybe we can keep the speculation and character smearing to another thread? I have no connection to the author, but he's written a very personal post about a subject that isn't often discussed, so I don't feel like this thread is an appropriate place to attack him.

sridca 12y ago
My apologies, I didn't mean to attack Zach. I am actually hoping that he was not fired in connection to the Horvath incident.
NotOscarWilde 12y ago
It seemed to me the post was tiptoeing around the reason of the dismissal, and the author even alludes to the story behind it with: > Seemingly everyone’s got stories of being stuck under shit managers, or dealing the fallout from things out of their control. I don't support "character smearing" or "attacking" in any way, but as a reader of the post, I would like to know more about the reasons for his firing, even in the form of less-than-reliable internet research -- as long as no attacking takes place.
- nirvdrum 12y ago
  One of the reasons you usually don't hear about why people get fired is the employee is offered a severance package in exchange for signing a non-disparagement agreement. Usually that agreement cuts both ways, so you're happy to sign it. You get some money to help you decide what's next, while you and your employer exit on as best terms as reasonably possible. The only thing you need to give up is venting on the Internet, which usually wouldn't work out so well for you anyway. Naturally, I don't know what if any arrangement was made here. But that's a big part of why you hardly ever hear about why someone was fired.
  - chimeracoder 12y ago
    > One of the reasons you usually don't hear about why people get fired is the employee is offered a severance package in exchange for signing a non-disparagement agreement. Obligatory: I am not a lawyer, I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Just FYI, nondisparagement agreements have fallen out of favor in recent years, as they're interpreted very narrowly by courts[0]. Even if your company presents you with one (which they may not), you can usually negotiate it out pretty easily. Especially in industries or jobs in which reputation and "social capital" are highly valued, companies are tending to leave these out, because they're actually massive liabilities for both parties, and there are already enough restrictions around defamation, sharing of confidential information, etc., that it's usually not worth the risk. I have no idea what happened in this case, but it's worth mentioning since you bring this up. [0] As in, this blog post would almost certainly violate a standard nondisparagement agreement, even though it's relatively innocuous at first glance!
    - nirvdrum 12y ago
      Good to know. I'm not a lawyer either. I'm just drawing from experience with companies in the Boston area. Maybe my info is just out of date or maybe it's regional. But usually your two options, in my experience, are don't sign the agreement and received no severance, or sign it without modification and soften the blow with the cash. Granted I've never seen anyone try to negotiate at that point -- most just sign the paper and leave.

sridca 12y ago

My apologies, I didn't mean to attack Zach. I am actually hoping that he was not fired in connection to the Horvath incident.

NotOscarWilde 12y ago

It seemed to me the post was tiptoeing around the reason of the dismissal, and the author even alludes to the story behind it with: > Seemingly everyone’s got stories of being stuck under shit managers, or dealing the fallout from things out of their control. I don't support "character smearing" or "attacking" in any way, but as a reader of the post, I would like to know more about the reasons for his firing, even in the form of less-than-reliable internet research -- as long as no attacking takes place.

nirvdrum 12y ago
One of the reasons you usually don't hear about why people get fired is the employee is offered a severance package in exchange for signing a non-disparagement agreement. Usually that agreement cuts both ways, so you're happy to sign it. You get some money to help you decide what's next, while you and your employer exit on as best terms as reasonably possible. The only thing you need to give up is venting on the Internet, which usually wouldn't work out so well for you anyway. Naturally, I don't know what if any arrangement was made here. But that's a big part of why you hardly ever hear about why someone was fired.
- chimeracoder 12y ago
  > One of the reasons you usually don't hear about why people get fired is the employee is offered a severance package in exchange for signing a non-disparagement agreement. Obligatory: I am not a lawyer, I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Just FYI, nondisparagement agreements have fallen out of favor in recent years, as they're interpreted very narrowly by courts[0]. Even if your company presents you with one (which they may not), you can usually negotiate it out pretty easily. Especially in industries or jobs in which reputation and "social capital" are highly valued, companies are tending to leave these out, because they're actually massive liabilities for both parties, and there are already enough restrictions around defamation, sharing of confidential information, etc., that it's usually not worth the risk. I have no idea what happened in this case, but it's worth mentioning since you bring this up. [0] As in, this blog post would almost certainly violate a standard nondisparagement agreement, even though it's relatively innocuous at first glance!
  - nirvdrum 12y ago
    Good to know. I'm not a lawyer either. I'm just drawing from experience with companies in the Boston area. Maybe my info is just out of date or maybe it's regional. But usually your two options, in my experience, are don't sign the agreement and received no severance, or sign it without modification and soften the blow with the cash. Granted I've never seen anyone try to negotiate at that point -- most just sign the paper and leave.