That's a good point. I hadn't realized Justine Sacco was director of communications. I can see how the controversy would have made less effective at her job eve

That's a good point. I hadn't realized Justine Sacco was director of communications. I can see how the controversy would have made less effective at her job even if she was otherwise good at it. Likewise it's probably true that a director of communications will need to know how not to ever say anything that could fuel such a mob. I still think it's a bad thing that a mob can elevate a comment not meant for public distribution to an out-of-context, unironic, public statement. This other comment on the thread clarifies what changed: comments can now be moved from private to public context far more easily than in the past https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=9722990 https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=9722990 By the standards of twitters mobs, almost everyone I know has at one point said something at least as "bad" as what Justine Sacco said.