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Comment by Jonanin | Hacker News Reader

From your profile:

> I trade private equity stakes in technology companies. Former aerospace investment banker and before that, algorithmic equity derivatives trader.

You're also the one who submitted this article. Somehow I doubt you are actually helping friends at FB find new jobs. I think it's much more likely that you are short FB. There's a lot of your type out there spreading articles like this as much as possible.

Maybe you should spend some time thinking about what contributions you investment banker types are making to society, if there is any. Good riddance...

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I graduated six years ago, have worked at Microsoft and Dropbox, and anecdotally around a quarter of my friends at either of them wouldn't work at Facebook now. Parent comment is not obviously wrong, and you shouldn't assume bad faith.

Your last submission was titled "We're lucky Mark Zuckerberg is in charge" and around half your comment history is devoted to defending Facebook. At least if you're going to question someones motives, you should state yours.

Lol I can still remember when Microsoft was the big Bogeyman.

Most epic burn of HN history.

Did you actually do a poll of your coworkers on this topic? :)

I think it's pretty reasonable to assume an investment banker isn't going to be much help to FB employees in finding a new job. Claiming that "Facebook will be known for having hired mediocre sell-outs a few years from now." is at best a baseless slander. How in the world is that not in bad faith?

Spreading misinformation to aid one's short position is a much worse case of bias, in my mind, than what I've said in defense of the company.

1. No, it's not reasonable to assume a technology-sector investor isn't going to be able to help techie friends find jobs.

2. The "slander" was supported by an anecdote. And this is a comment section -- opinionated statements will be found.

3. What might be closer to slander is the fantastic assumption that the other commenter is shilling for a short position in Facebook. That's a mind-boggling assumption to make on the flimsiest of evidence. Even setting aside that trying to promote your short in a random HN comment is laughable

4. You're curiously silent on your own bias, well noted by pantaloons

I'm not "curiously silent" on my own bias. What do you want me to say exactly? You're trying really hard to paint the same picture you're criticizing, namely that I'm some sort of shill.

I think the idea that everyone at FB who doesn't leave immediately is a "mediocre sell-out" is very far from the truth, and contrary to my own experience. Thus I'm suspicious of people who claim such.

There's already enough people on HN that will type out a borderline vitriolic four point list of why anyone who defends FB is wrong.

Why don't you look at JumpCrisscross' post history? This isn't the only anti-FB article he's submitted. Or are you a bit biased here? :) He has even commented on FB's stock price and predicted it will go down more in the future.

My bias is that I think there's another side to the story.

> I think the idea that everyone at FB who doesn't leave immediately is a "mediocre sell-out" is very far from the truth, and contrary to my own experience. Thus I'm suspicious of people who claim such.

You are so self-assured about your position that you immediately take the contrary assertion to be in _bad faith_? This seems silly to me, but perhaps we'll have to agree to disagree.

But seriously, what are your motives in defending Facebook so much?

Why wouldn’t an investment banker be able to help? I work at a large investment bank, and we hire from the same pool of top engineers as the FAANGs.

> I doubt you are actually helping friends at FB find new jobs

I did.

> it's much more likely that you are short FB

I don’t own a single share, nor am I short a single share, of any public company. I play in private companies’ equities and debts. That’s my day job, and it (along with super-safe bonds) are where I put my money. You may be confusing bankers with fund managers.

> you should spend some time thinking about what contributions you investment banker types are making to society

I think about this frequently. Many bankers waste their oxygen. But I don’t think I do.

At best, someone at Facebook might do something I strive to—help bring something new to the world that is good and wouldn’t have otherwise existed. At worst, I lose money. (Never fun, but by legal requirement I can only lose the money of those with very much of it.) At worst, Facebook prompts violent atrocities.

Excuse me, I disagree with the parent and think their views of FB are completely wrong...

But that's absolutely not reason enough to blatantly impugn someone's motives, and suggest outright that they are doing something illegal.

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