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Comment by elohesra | Hacker News Reader

Find out why the other programmer left. He left knowing full well that it'd leave the company in the lurch, and that's a pretty bad sign because it means that they've upset him enough that he doesn't care about hurting them.

Giving some basic armchair analysis, I'd assume that the mathematician gets a lot of kudos for his 'genius' inventions, and the programmer is treated like a second-rate code monkey who's just there the aid the oh-so-godly mathematician. If this is the case, then it's obviously not worth joining, but make sure to find out why the other programmer left.

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The other possibility is that the other programmer discovered some kind of technical hurdle that was high enough to sink the whole project, and he figured there was no point in hanging around any longer. If he communicated it to the math guy and the CEO, they could have very likely brushed off his concerns in their overconfidence. Anyway, the programmer abruptly leaving is a sign of potential trouble.

There is a lot of speculation here. There could be plenty of plausible reasons as to why he would leave the company e.g. a better offer from elsewhere, family reasons.

My feeling is that there was nothing bad going on with his decision. He lives quite far and had to travel every day two times about 2h, which i suppose is the main reason. However, your questions and concernes are reasonable and i will try to ask him.

Yep. You absolutely need to talk to this guy.

Also ask the company "why did he leave?" Then see how it matches his perspective.

This is actually a very good idea in general. If the programmer left because of some sort of perceived problem, and the company doesn't see the perceived problem as actually being an issue, then they're unlikely to change their mind when you join. If the programmer left over something that's also going to upset you, and the company doesn't agree that they need change, then it's a bad idea to join.

Alternatively, if the company also perceived the problem as an issue that needed solving, but were -- for whatever reason -- incapable of doing so, then they might be worth a shot. Just don't join and then expect them to change the way they do business in order to suit your needs.

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