Pando Editor Sells Site, Quits Journalism, Citing Sexual Harassment and Threats in Silicon Valley (businessinsider.nl) 137
Former TechCrunch writer Sarah Lacy started PandoDaily in 2012. But now she's "selling the company, quitting journalism, and ditching Silicon Valley after 20 years," reports Business Insider, citing Lacy's blog.
She says her decision comes from years of sexual harassment and threats in her two decades covering Silicon Valley. "I have absorbed so many more stories than I have reported, more than I can ever report, about the dark side of Silicon Valley," she said in the blog post...
"It's a place where I've been lied about, where VCs have arm-twisted editors to fire me, where billionaires have threatened those doing business with me to cut all ties. It's a place where I've had people turn on me again and again and again simply for doing my job. It's a place I've been betrayed by people I trusted. It's a place where one-time friends threatened my children because I wrote about things they did."
Some incidents she mentioned were related to Uber's threatening her over her reporting of the company's misconduct.
Lacy's blog adds that "of course I'm not the only one, and my experience was far from the worst: In the last few years I have been overwhelmed by stories of sexual assault and harassment told by so many incredible women in the Valley..."
The blog post also notes journalistic travails she's faced over the years. ("We withstood a combined threatened $400 million in baseless legal fights.") But in a reminiscent passage, she also calls Silicon Valley "a place where I've gotten to know some of the most fascinating people on the planet and made many lifelong friends. It's a place where people have believed in me enough to give me millions and millions of dollars to build my own companies....
And yet..."
"It's a place where I've been lied about, where VCs have arm-twisted editors to fire me, where billionaires have threatened those doing business with me to cut all ties. It's a place where I've had people turn on me again and again and again simply for doing my job. It's a place I've been betrayed by people I trusted. It's a place where one-time friends threatened my children because I wrote about things they did."
Some incidents she mentioned were related to Uber's threatening her over her reporting of the company's misconduct.
Lacy's blog adds that "of course I'm not the only one, and my experience was far from the worst: In the last few years I have been overwhelmed by stories of sexual assault and harassment told by so many incredible women in the Valley..."
The blog post also notes journalistic travails she's faced over the years. ("We withstood a combined threatened $400 million in baseless legal fights.") But in a reminiscent passage, she also calls Silicon Valley "a place where I've gotten to know some of the most fascinating people on the planet and made many lifelong friends. It's a place where people have believed in me enough to give me millions and millions of dollars to build my own companies....
And yet..."
You could have reported this (Score:1, Insightful)
And I wonder how many stories didn’t get covered or didn’t get looked into because that’s same people were her friends up until they weren’t. I’m sure she had her reasons for keeping quiet in those cases.
As much as he’s reviled we real
Did you read the summary? (Score:5, Insightful)
When you have that happen a few times you learn to keep your mouth shut or you leave the industry. The only other option is to try and strike out on your own like The Young Turks did on YouTube, but you're constantly under threat from wealthy and powerful people would just want you to go away and have the wherewithal to make it happen.
I don't blame her for getting out.
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Sure, that's her side. I think there's probably a middle ground between her Silicon Valley Deep State and "don't believe anything anyone says!" I'm sure she's been harassed -- nobody disrupts without ruffling feathers, as VCs and startups we'll know -- but it's her decision how to react and respond to that as well. If she doesn't want to deal with that, that's her decision to make, but it's still a decision, not something that anybody forced her to do.
Re:Did you read the summary? (Score:5, Insightful)
It says right there that she repeatedly had wealthy people twisting arms to get her fired, using business contracts as leverage.
Then actually report on that and expose it to the rest of the world. That's what journalists are supposed to do. Maybe the first time something like this happens to you, it catches you off guard. But if it's happening so consistently you think you have to leave then you're just not doing a good job. The free press is the most powerful instrument in a democracy for fighting against the wealthy and powerful and when you give in to their threats instead of fighting back that instrument has become horribly blunted.
The only other option is to try and strike out on your own like The Young Turks did on YouTube
And they were quite successful at it as well. No one stopped them and they've built up their own brand and get to write whatever stories they want. I'd argue that they're just as slanted and biased as the rest of the mainstream news media and ultimately no better because of it, but that's their own choice that they got to make.
I don't blame her for getting out.
I don't either, but if you let yourself be pushed around that's what people are going to keep doing to you. Expose a few of these people who are threatening you and they aren't going to bother with a tactic that clearly doesn't work.
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Then actually report on that and expose it to the rest of the world.
Gosh if only she'd spent the last 20 years reporting on the misdeeds of the rich and powerful in silicon valley.
OH WAIT SHE HAS.
I don't think you understand what kind of place (Score:2)
So she is understandably terrified of being blackballed. She's leaving the industry rather than risk that.
Not everybody has what it takes to go up against the Uber powerful. It's terrifying. I could ask "why don't _you_ do it?" and you'd say "I'm not a Journalist". Well, now neither is she.
Ok, so I think you're underestimating the forces (Score:2)
It's a little like saying "Why don't all those Russians who don't like Putin just Stand Up" or "Why don't all those North Koreans in labor camps just Stand Up".
America is a little le
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It's almost like you haven't even bothered to research ,well, anything about her work.
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I don't blame her for getting out.
She came to Silicon Valley, hustled, got rich, got out. Lucky her, she's rich now and can complain about how she doesn't like it. No sympathy from my ear, though.
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...because she is so close to you that you know everything about her "hustling", right? Or, maybe, was it possibly just jumping huge leaps to achieve your conclusion, with no information whatsoever? Oh nooooo....
Re: Did you read the summary? (Score:2)
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Ok, right...
Re:You could have reported this (Score:5, Insightful)
Smart people threaten your kids in person so that there is no evidence for you give to the police.
And until quite recently the police would just ignore this stuff anyway. Remember that with Weinstein they actually got one of the women to wear a wire and had recordings of him pressuring her to go to his room and more, and still didn't prosecute.
Everyone knows the rich are above the law because they can afford better lawyers than their victims.
Re:You could have reported this (Score:4, Interesting)
The thing about someone who's going to threaten another person's kids is that they're not the kind of person who's only done something like that once. It's the same thing with rapists, domestic abusers, and other criminal types. They don't ever do it just that once and keeping quiet about it only ensures that they're going to be able to do it again.
I'm reminded of the quote "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil was that good men should do nothing." She did nothing for all of those years and look what she got, the same exact thing happening over and over again. Maybe the next person in her shoes will realize that sitting on your hands and doing nothing for you whole career does nothing. As another quote goes "If you can't be a good example, you can always be a horrible warning." So here's another horrible warning that when you roll over and take the abuse that's all you can expect to get.
Maybe that all seems harsh, but it's true. The world is not a kind place and reality cares little about your expectations of how things ought to be. But learn from this example so that if you should find yourself in a similar situation you make certain to document everything and to get the information out there. Social Media has made it easier than ever before to fight back against the rich and powerful and if you don't think Twitter wouldn't jump all over a story about rich silicon valley types threatening someone's kids you've been living under a rock.
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"get it published in the press" you say, as you read about it in the press and post your complaint in the comments section.
Re:You could have reported this (Score:5, Insightful)
She did nothing for all of those years
Nothing apart from reporting as a journalist, founding a news organisation and running it while reporting on stuff. Jesus Christ man, what the fuck do you expect of her? Actual literal blood?
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I know what you wrote, but what I hear is:
Clearly, the world needs hard-hitting journalists with your steadfast personal integrity. Feel free to get in the game.
What do you do when they own the press (Score:2)
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Call the police! Lol! And what precisely do you expect that you do other than a big fat pile of nothing?
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As much as he’s reviled we really need more people like Alex Jones that aren’t afraid to get in someone’s face and push back, or who doesn’t care if they ruffle feathers.
No, I don't think so
Like the Hugh Mongus [youtube.com] lady?
She wasn't afraid to get into people's faces. Or like the Jerry Springer show?
We don't need more people like that.
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Alex Jones is reviled for good reason. You could not hold up a worse example to emulate.
This generation has its Woodwards and Berensteins. They are the ones who should be held up as paragons of their profession.
So let's see, one line about sexual harrasment (Score:5, Insightful)
So then, let's run the headline about Sexual Harassment. Because that's the story here, that a snowflake got melted. Not that after years of fighting pressure from the top [youtube.com] she got tired and gave up.
Re:So let's see, one line about sexual harrasment (Score:4, Insightful)
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TYT did some pretty amazing reporting around Pete Buttigeig's scandal [youtube.com] around firing a black mayor. So much so that their reporting will be used by the local city counsel as part of an investigation into said sc
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Basically when I want actual journalism I'm often turning to itty bitty independents now. It's crazy.
Welcome to where conservatives were...in 2002.
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Not only conservatives.
The reality today is that going by the rhetoric of mainstream democrats and progressives in the US, anyone who insufficiently fails their purity tests are conservative. Thus 'alt-right' or 'nazis' ymmv of course.
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Yeah, it's Psychopath Vatican. We know. (Score:2)
I think everybody knows that.
But the fact that they do nothing, shows that they are not much different.
Celebrity is hard (Score:2)
You need to have a thick skin to be a celebrity. Do a search for "celebrity death threats", for example - no shortage, and that's just what is reported. Even the creator of Flappy Bird [youtube.com] gave up his lucrative income stream just to become a normal, less known person again. There are too many haters, crazy people, obsessive fans, gold diggers, etc. - you have to know what you're getting in to. How many celebrities live wondering whether their friends are really friends or if they're just hanging around beca
If your experience the same problems no matter whe (Score:2)
If your experience the same problems no matter where you go, then the problem is likely with _you_, not with other people. Some people never get this and continue to piss into the wind for their entire lives without acknowledging or addressing the root cause. In fact, I'd say this to some extent applies to everyone, including myself. It just applies to a much greater extent to people who are less self aware and those with the victim complex.
Re:If your experience the same problems no matter (Score:5, Insightful)
While that's a good rule of thumb, it does not necessarily follow. There are problems that are widespread. Suppose you were a black person who had to travel for business in the 1950s. Everywhere you went, you'd have trouble booking rooms, eating at restaurants and getting harassed by cops. By your logic, the problem then would reside in your behavior.
Societies, like people, can have character flaws.
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Great reply, much better than what I would have thought of writing - which is why I feel satisfied not making my own reply, since yours already delivered what I would've wanted to say. Would mod up, but have no mods.
Hearth crunching story (Score:2)
Lo and behold (Score:2)
Greed makes even the best of us sick. It turns good people into horrible monsters. All the money in the world can't replace good people relationships. Good societies. It must be a very sad and depressing state of mind to be unbelievably rich and have no one that truly cares about you. You can't buy that shit. You can pay people to act like it, and maybe that'll be enough for your sad, small, lonely heart; but in general, people want more than that.
Good for her for realizing there's more to life than billion
til (Score:2)
TIL Silicon Valley is just the same as any other industry.
surprise, surprise.
Read "Live Work Work Work Die" by Corey Pein (Score:2)
Corey Pein's book on Silicon Valley, "Live Work Work Work Die", is indispensable. If you still had any romance in your head about Silicon Valley being a place of excellence and innovation.
It has several topics I'd enthuse about - mostly, in the final chapters where he highlights how most venture capital isn't about investing in the best product, but in any random product where you figure you can buy a monopoly by subsidizing them long and well enough. But the relevant one today is that he says that mos
pando (Score:2)
Not being familiar with Pando, I checked it out. The site content appears to be 65% witch-hunting feminazism; 33% salivating over and pandering to anyone in Silicon Valley with a big stack of cash; and 2% useful business news.
The site appears to be targeted at a small and geographically localized silverspoon & wannabe-rich "Progressive" Nazi demographic. So I'm wondering how much it actually sold for. What's the dollar value for access to a gaggle of useless and vicious parasites?
Painting pictures... (Score:2)
But I say that as an industry insider who knows most of these people, their friends, investors and in some cases their families. And I surely have my own personal biases. Whether we boycott an organization or not as consumers shouldn’t hinge on everyone getting to know them. On the other hand, it’s all too easy to get into witchhunt territory, particularly when it comes to something like parsing college emails.
Let’s face it: The press (or, occasionally, filmmakers like Aaron Sorkin) freque
Slashdot at its most Slashdotiest (Score:2)
"Women need to just deal with being harassed - also the tech industry doesn't have an attitude problem towards women."
Seriously, a woman complaining is Slashdot's biggest trigger I swear.
Re: Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:5, Insightful)
She did handle it, for 20 years, got paid, and got out. Good for her.
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:5, Insightful)
This. She wrote about people acting like dicks, and they responded by acting like dicks towards her. And yet she continued. Good for her indeed.
I'm impressed that she put up with it for as long as she did. But she should not have had to put up with it at all.
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:4, Interesting)
But she should not have had to put up with it at all.
You're right! People shouldn't be mean, even when you publish their dirty laundry.
Unfortunately, reality doesn't change itself to comport with what we think reality should be.
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Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:4, Insightful)
It's a rich person complaining about being mistreated. There is no injustice here.
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She told a story in order to sell a company with a limited future, why sell it would never be worth as much as it once was, why exaggerate all the other stuff, to hide that and keep the price up, never even heard of it. I would be curious as to how much was paid for yesterday's asset.
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To be fair, the place is a meat grinder to everyone. It just turns out that sexual harassment was perhaps one of the flavors she experienced. Men experience the meat grinder there as well, just perhaps as other flavors. SV is a place that you get in, and get out. You either build a resume for a career elsewhere. Or you make some millions on a startup and call it done. Or if you aren't the sane type for one of those, you stick it out and fight with the other insane people that stay there forever.
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm normally kneejerk anti-SJW and get what you're saying but imo you're being too harsh, there's a middle ground.
The best disinfectant is sunlight, she needs to spill every last detail with as much backup data as possible, scorched earth style and let the accused respond. None of this "I have more stories than I could ever report" bullshit.
That's what has been missing in all this SJW/trans/etc. drama over the last decade, facts that the majority of rational people can gauge as being too far from acceptable behavior or just spoiled overly-dramatic bullshit by immature people (like that recent hyperventilating screed against Stallman by the MIT chick).
There's no way of knowing if she's one of those. The way she doesn't get lumped in is by getting the cards on the table in an adult manner. And the future folks like her too, it's the only way out of this mess.
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:5, Insightful)
You're being an ass.
Yesd she has more stories than she can report but we know it's not bullshit because she had successfully reported a metric fuckton of them. The evidence is clear, just visit her news organisation.
Of course she left a ton un reported: I've never met a productive person yet who has ever finished everything on their plate because productive people continually find important things to fill their paste with. Claiming that someone retiring should have finished everything is a tactic designed to hold someone to unrealistic and unimportant standards so you can easily dismiss what they have to say.
Her track record is clear and she had reported many many stories. It's simply not credible that she'd have nothing substantial left at the point she moved on.
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Of course she left a ton un reported: I've never met a productive person yet who has ever finished everything on their plate because productive people continually find important things to fill their paste with.
Plus of course there's the professional integrity that means she can't report on some stories as she lacks adequate sources.
That doesn't meant the stories aren't true, especially the ones that involve her personally, it just means that they don't meet the threshold a good journalist and editor require for publication.
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"we know it's not bullshit because she had successfully reported a metric fuckton of them"
That's a pathetically low bar. You should know they're not bullshit because there is corroborating evidence. By your metric, bullshit becomes real if somebody just shovels enough of it.
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There's no way of knowing if she's one of those. The way she doesn't get lumped in is by getting the cards on the table in an adult manner. And the future folks like her too, it's the only way out of this mess.
And how could she do this without you labelling her evidence a "hyperventilating screed?"
in $current_year nobody believes women (Score:5, Interesting)
This has been a record year for #MeToo witch hunting. Non-stop wolf crying- with a very big, very expensive media megaphone. This is most unfortunate for those few women who do suffer genuine abuse.
In $current_year, NO ONE "believes women". Anyone who says he does is either a) so dumb he can't tie his own shoes; or more likely b) lying.
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Gratuitous pro-rape-culture misogyny modded to +5...it may be time to abandon Slashdot to the centipedes.
Re: in $current_year nobody believes women (Score:2)
Those are some stylish Velcro shoes you've got there, buddy.
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Clearly she didn't have the fortitude to deal with it.
She lasted 20 years amigo. I would love to know who you would put forward as an example of someone who satisfies your criteria for fortitude.
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Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:5, Insightful)
Considering autocorrect, shitty mobile input methods, and the billions of people who don't have English as a first language, correcting minor mistakes is really just jumping out of nowhere and yelling "See what a giant ass hat I can be while managing to not contribute anything to the world."
Thanks for being blunt enough to inform us exactly how little we can value your future commentary.
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Autocorrect usually introduces errors for me, particularly because it never, ever supports Oxford spelling.
Re: Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:2)
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Most people, when trying to write or speak a language they aren't fluent in, appreciate and expect to be corrected by native speakers. It's called respect for someone else's culture and not wanting to look ignorant.
I suppose it's safe to believe you're that special form of douche that just talks louder and adds lots of O's to the end of words because you're too shallow to actually learn. Or maybe you just enjoy clinging to your ignorance, like an infant that won't let go of their blankie because then they
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:4, Funny)
But by the rules of the internet, if your notice your opponent has made a minor spelling error it means you automatically win...
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because they get more sex than their opponents all the time just look at Trump.
Lol OK
Re:Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:4, Funny)
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Well, sure, anyone can PAY for sex. Of course, that is back when he had money. Now he can't afford for his wife to hold his hand in public.
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Between utopia and dystopia there is a range of realistically achievable outcomes. Reporters Without Borders ranks countries by safety of reporters and freedom of the press; including instances of racial and sexual harassment. The top five countries are Norway, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, and Denmark. The bottom five countries are (worst to best): Turkmenistan, North Korea, Eritrea, China and Vietnam.
The United States is ranked 48 out of 180, between Chile and Romania above, and Senegal and the Organizat
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Re: Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:2)
Sure, you can find assholes everywhere. But in the top 5 countries, baseless legal fights are much harder to start and even then will lead to financial punishments from the judges more often than not.
Also, threats over Twitter and mail are considered grounds for police action once they cross the line.
Ir doesn't always go well, but since these countries have enough police to deal with this crap, it does get handled and people do get arrested for threats over Twitter.
And that makes a big difference.
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Are *you* aware of any utopian place on Earth where reporting on the misdeeds of certain people won't get you threats? Sounds like a completely mundane thing to me. Certainly it doesn't sound to me like something that makes Silicon Valley special.
...so please don't talk about Silicon Valley. We don't want to be known for this, and it's not like it doesn't happen elsewhere, so please don't talk about us. Because there's nothing special about Silicon Valley - but don't forget to talk about us when WE want to tell you exciting new special things happening in Silicon Valley. Right?
That this sounds "like a completely mundane thing" to you just speaks of how toxic place a modern society has become. And you think that it should be hushed out.
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That this sounds "like a completely mundane thing" to you just speaks of how toxic place a modern society has become.
"Has become"? This is as old as history itself. I find it hard to believe that the situation is not slowly improving rather than "becoming toxic".
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Haaaa see what I did there! I totally used a cool hashtag word omg they’re totally gonna praise me at the amen corner! I’ll be like ‘then I said, hey incel, I bet you’re an incel, aren’t you incel’ and I
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I appreciate your commitment to satire.
Re: Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:2)
+1 Timely
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TLDR
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Re: Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:2)
And you _aren't_ playing to type as a perpetually friendzoned white knight?
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Projecting a lot aren't we?
Re: Can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen (Score:2)
Yes, you are.
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lol
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Who's this God? She sounds like a nice person.
A Deadly Sin (Score:1)
Re:So like with politicians? Big oil? Tobacco? (Score:5, Insightful)
Really, how is this any different from talking shit on Big Corp in any other industry? Politics? Oil? Tobacco? Pharma?
It's not.
What an utterly inept, incapable person.
They get threatened, harassed, gaslighted, and sometimes even killed. All for very little pay, less staff, and a decreasing budget every year.
I don't see you wanting to do their job. Does that mean you're "utterly inept" and "incapable" yourself? Or does that mean you've chosen a less confrontational profession for yourself and your family?
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Couldn't you RTFA? Lawlz I must be new etc etc, but then you'd be able to make up your own mind.
If you actually care, read it, follow up on the stories and you'll see what stories they broke. Turns out it's quite a lot and good ones.
Re: Never heard of pando (Score:2)
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Joining the thread to proudly proclaim my ignorance too! I'm ignorant just like you and like you I think it's really important that I let the world know that I don't know things.
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If you were smart, you would have explained to them why it was important and the scope of the story. Instead you decided to pull out ye olde passive-aggressive BS. And likely after my reply, you'll wonder "why are people saying this to me."
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If you were smart, you would have explained to them why it was important and the scope of the story.
If I were smart I wouldn't be wasting time on slashdot. On the other hand I'm smart enough to know I don't have time to do other people's thinking for them.
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If I were smart I wouldn't be wasting time on slashdot. On the other hand I'm smart enough to know I don't have time to do other people's thinking for them.
Well you said it not me. Personally I'm just here for the amusement during downtime and slow periods. On the other hand, if you want to convince people of something, you explain it. Otherwise you're just opinionated and unable to defend it.
Re: Never heard of her (Score:4, Insightful)
Meh...canâ(TM)t know everyone or everything.
Knowing women in SV who eat people out and then complain when they suffer consequences is not real high on my target knowledge list either.
Re: Never heard of her (Score:2)
Eh...rat...rat people out.
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Knowing women in SV who [rat] people out and then complain when they suffer consequences
Yeah, journalists, who needs them eh. All they do is tell us stuff and as we already established we both revel in our ignorance. Being told stuff is the antithesis to that.
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Yeah, I'm sure she doesn't know this and you really should contact her to tell her this. It's not like that's exactly what she is talking about or anything... The subject line has me actually questioning your mental age.
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Yeah sure, whatever you need to tell yourself to make you feel comfortable in this world.