Fyifv: A Microsoft Urban Legend (2001)

My experience with engineers who made too much money in an IPO (not at MSFT) was the opposite - they mostly wanted to sit in the corner and play with whatever cool toys and have no clear job description. They didn't need to threaten leaving because they were furniture.

I was at Microsoft from 1985-1991, and this agrees with my experience. FYIFV was mostly something people said that other people could say. I never heard anyone express the sentiment directly and certainly never saw it on a button, pin or shirt.

However, it was possible to be "fully vested" in a practical sense. If you didn't review well, your initial option grants would dwarf your continuing grants. Even more so if you were an acqui-hire.

A more common expression, in my circle at least, was "I would shovel shit for what they're paying me now," in reference to the fact that the closer you get to your next six-month option vesting date, the more you're getting "paid" for each day of work. A reminder to balance your frustrations against the fact that you'll be collecting $50K, $100K, $200K a day to just shut up and keep your head down for a few more days.

God, I miss kuro5hin

I substantially based the Wikipedia article on this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FYIFV