[PLUG-TALK] [PLUG] Alternatives to Firefox & Thunderbird

[Keith Lofstrom]

Rich - thanks for moving this here where it belongs.

On Fri, 4 Apr 2014, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
>I hope Mr. Eich finds a higher-paying job working for a company whose
>ideals match his own. That way, my ideological friends will know not to
>seek employment or send money there. Better yet, I hope he thinks through
>his ideals and corrects them occasionally, as we all should (including
>liberals). Wisdom is a process, not an endpoint.
 
On Fri, Apr 04, 2014 at 10:40:17AM -0700, Rich Shepard wrote:
>   This is not a solution, but an avoidance of what is, IMNSHO, the
> underlying issue best expressed by Mozilla's Board Chair. In a democracy we
> _must_ put up with, and work with, people who hold beliefs and values
> contrary to our own. We don't have to like them or their prejudices, but as
> long as they do the job they were hired to do we work with them. Mr. Eich's
> donations to the anti-same-sex marriage measure in California apparently did
> not raise any concerns when he was the CTO, so why should it when he's the
> CEO?

A corporation, even a non-profit one, is not a democracy.  It is a collaboration
of individuals, following directions from a hired CEO, and guided by a board. 
The CEO hires and fires and manages employees, and controls working conditions; 
the board hires and fires CEOs.  CEO opinions about employee behavior affect
policy - they cannot be irrelevant to employee morale or tenure.

In a properly run organization (few are), the CTO does none of the CEO tasks 
besides choosing her own staff within her budget and responsibilities.  
Sometimes, a CTO has no staff, but strongly influences the technological
direction of the company.  I don't know which kind of CTO Eich was, but in
neither case do his opinions about gay marriage have much effect on the
careers of individuals within Mozilla.

Indeed, it was really stupid of the board to move him out of that productive
position and into the CEO slot.  I imagine they did so for the same reason
many non-profit boards choose bad CEOs - they don't have the money to hire
a good CEO for $$$$, and they took the lazy path rather than scour the world
for a frugal visionary. 

A non-profit CEO has many jobs:  encouraging people to do great work for
karma instead of money, encouraging outsiders to donate lots of money and
resources to the non-profit for karma, promoting and protecting the brand
through quality control.  PSU is having a meltdown because their president
is not peddling enough karma to staff or donors, so the staff wants more
money (instead of karma) and donors aren't trading money for karma.  Bad
president.  Go back to Europe and the legislative dole, please.  In
America, a non-profit CEO must ooze moonshine by the barrel.  When they
do it right we love them for it, and love writes checks that pay wages.

Back to Mozilla Foundation and Eich.  Mozilla is going to hurt for their
bad CEO internal hiring decision.  They will be penalized for correcting
it.  We who wish for their success are going to hurt with them.  Some of
our friends working there may lose their jobs because this will hamper
donations from conservatives, who should love open source, too.
Progressives can be stingy about putting their own personal money where
their mouth is (please, please donate and prove me wrong!).  However,
this firing (technically, Eich quit before he was fired) will probably
cause less attrition overall, and do less long term damage to the
donation stream.  Eich's CEO job is not the only one at stake. 

If Eich was a good CTO for Mozilla, he can be a good CTO for thousands
of other better funded organizations.  He isn't being arrested and sent
off to a camp.  I've been nagged for playing the Neimöller card.  It does
not apply here, either.  This the legal perogative of a corporate board,
freedom of association, career advancement, or employee satisfaction;
pick your pleasure, there's something in this regime change for everyone.

Two wrongs do not make a right.  A second wrong, delaying Eich's
dismissal until discord rips Mozilla apart,  would help nothing. 
There are many possible second wrongs here, and the second wrong the
rest of us should NOT make is continuing to punish the Mozilla
Foundation for a mistake their board did their best to rectify.  But
then, humans - left, right, and minarchist - can be vindictive shits
who nurse grudges until they die (sooner because of grudges).  

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com