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Comment by DonHopkins | Hacker News Reader

You too: Eich was not fired. Get your facts straight, and stop spreading misinformation.

https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/04/05/faq-on-ceo-resignat...

Q: Was Brendan Eich fired?

A: No, Brendan Eich resigned. Brendan himself said:

“I have decided to resign as CEO effective April 3rd, and leave Mozilla. Our mission is bigger than any one of us, and under the present circumstances, I cannot be an effective leader. I will be taking time before I decide what to do next.”

Brendan Eich also blogged on this topic.

Q: Was Brendan Eich asked to resign by the Board?

A: No. It was Brendan’s idea to resign, and in fact, once he submitted his resignation, Board members tried to get Brendan to stay at Mozilla in another C-level role.

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I think it’s disingenuous to split hairs like this. Eich didn’t exhibit any plans t resign until the episode and pressure that resulted in his resignation. I think that’s the same thing and I would also use this term any time a CEO “resigns to spend more time with her family” instead of being fired.

How is quoting the official Mozilla FAQ "splitting hairs"? It doesn't claim he's leaving to spend more time with his family, it literally asks if he was fired, and answers no, then asks if he was asked to resign, and answers no. How more explicit can you get? Do you have reason to believe the FAQ is lying?

> How is quoting the official Mozilla FAQ "splitting hairs"?

This just sounds like willful ignorance to be honest. It was obvious that Eich did not have the backing to remain as CEO.

The whole situation was an embarrassment and a disgrace for everyone involved to be honest. No one came out of it looking good.

So you're calling Eich willfully ignorant to claim he was not fired or forced out, when he actually was? Has he said that himself, or are you putting words into his mouth?

If you're a CEO of a company why would you resign? Just for fun? The idea of a resignation does not come randomly and the closest reason why Eich decided to resign appears to be extremely petty.

If you're a CEO of a company why would you be against gay marriage? Just for fun? The idea of a destroying someone else's marriage does not come randomly and the closest reason why Eich decided to destroy other people's marriages appears to be extremely petty.

It's obvious that he was urged to resign. Aka fired but with a face saving facade.

If he was forced to resign, then that makes him a liar, because he explicitly stated that he was not forced to resign. And if he's a liar, then he certainly shouldn't be the CEO of Mozilla.

He was forced to do it voluntarily. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse". Or bullying till resignment.

Applies to the current CEO then too. Baker shouldn't be CEO.

> He was forced to do it voluntarily.

There is something very wrong about that sentence of yours.

No. Like I said, resigning to safe face for him and/or Mozilla. But not by "choice". It's obvious really.

Sorry, but no. You can't 'force' someone to do something 'voluntarily'.

The obvious reality is that Eich realized he fucked up and could no longer effectively lead Mozilla, given that they are as much about their self reinforced myth of being the internet good guys as they are about tech.

And so he stepped down.

The kind of scene that you are envisioning occurs in Maffia movies but not IRL. Eich was under a lot of pressure, but most of that as a direct consequence of the inherent conflict between Mozilla's stated external position and Eich's personal actions. When you are CEO of such a large company you know that you can't combine the two unless you mean it.

Props to Eich for doing what was right instead of further harming Mozilla.

So it was forced uppon him. Like you said "pressure". How can a choice under pressure be "voluntary"?

That's outside pressure. Not inside pressure. Mozilla board + employees actually wanted Eich to stay.

Anyway you seem to be quite stuck on your interpretation, all of the people involved have a single consistent story and instead you want to believe your own. You are of course welcome to your opinion.

It's flabbergasting what intellectually dishonest mental gymnastics and strained misinterpretations and denials of proven facts that homophobes will resort to in order to bravely stand up for each other and proudly justify their bigotry.

Puzzles the crap out of me. Logic doesn't seem to enter into it.

I don't care what Eich thinks about homosexuality.

Pressure nontheless. Seeing that he went to another browser company I don't think he would have gone voluntarily.

Which isn't Mozilla. Anyway, I'm out of here. Good luck with your reality.

Technicality. Eich was a victim of cancel culture and he was effectively fired. Anything else is revisionist bs.

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