Should not have dismissed Eich

[Bill Garrett]

Your decision to dismiss Eich is unfortunate.  He was a respected man in the business and you bowed to pressure from folks who could not care less about Mozilla's future.  Mozilla has become a tool that the board has placed at the service of an outside pressure group. 

William M. Garrett
Washington, DC

[David Rajchenbach-Teller]

Thank you for your comments and your stand on freedom of speech. It
seems, however, that you were misinformed. Brendan Eich was not fired,
nor forced out by Mozilla. Brendan Eich chose to step down, as he felt
that the controversy was damaging for the mission of Mozilla.

We will keep fighting the good fight for freedom of speech, for privacy
and for the open web. It is my hope that Brendan will keep contributing
to this fight, whether as part of Mozilla or as part of some other venture.

Best regards,
David

> _______________________________________________
> governance mailing list
> gover...@lists.mozilla.org
> https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
>


--
David Rajchenbach-Teller, PhD
Performance Team, Mozilla

[F1...@nospampobox.com]

On 4/4/2014 7:48 AM On a whim, David Rajchenbach-Teller pounded out on
the keyboard

(in regard to your multiple responses) Copy and paste, copy and paste,
no thought or concern involved... :-(



--
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.

[Jorge Villalobos]

David is just trying to help. Most of the recent posts are based on the
incorrect assumption that Brendan was dismissed, when in reality (as far
as we know) he stepped down on his own initiative. So, David is trying
to keep people informed. Writing a custom response for every thread
would take a lot of energy and wouldn't end up being all that different.
It's better than no response at all, I suppose.

Regards,

Jorge

[Bill Garrett]

Thanks for your prompt response.  I did not intend for my choice of words to suggest that I thought Eich was "fired." Eich's own statement reveals
that no firing took place and I did not use the term anywhere in my email message. 

That aside, it is not unheard of for a beleaguered executive to accept a voluntary dismissal as part of a negotiated arrangement with the company.  Your chairwoman's comments on the blog (in particular her apology on behalf of Mozilla) would certainly suggest that something like this occurred in connection with Eich's departure. 

So, in light of your message, should I understand your comments to imply that the
board exerted no pressure on Eich to resign?  If so, it would seem to me that Ms. Baker should consider amending her blog entry and other public comments in the interest of transparency.     

________________________________
From: David Rajchenbach-Teller <dte...@mozilla.com>
To: Bill Garrett <wmg...@yahoo.com>; "gover...@lists.mozilla.org" <gover...@lists.mozilla.org>
Cc: Bro. John Devaney OP <jackde...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Friday, April 4, 2014 10:48 AM
Subject: Re: Should not have dismissed Eich

Thank you for your comments and your stand on freedom of speech. It
seems, however, that you were misinformed. Brendan Eich was not fired,
nor forced out by Mozilla. Brendan Eich chose to step down, as he felt
that the controversy was damaging for the mission of Mozilla.

We will keep fighting the good fight for freedom of speech, for privacy
and for the open web. It is my hope that Brendan will keep contributing
to this fight, whether as part of Mozilla or as part of some other venture.

Best regards,
David

On 4/4/14 1:20 AM, Bill Garrett wrote:
> Your decision to dismiss Eich is unfortunate.  He was a respected man in the business and you bowed to pressure from folks who could not care less about Mozilla's future.  Mozilla has become a tool that the board has placed at the service of an outside pressure group. 
>
>
> William M. Garrett
> Washington, DC
> _______________________________________________
> governance mailing list
> gover...@lists.mozilla.org
> https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
>

[Till Schneidereit]

Bill,

I very much understand that it's a natural guess/assumption that Brendan
was, implicitly or explicitly, forced to resign by the board. I don't have
any insight knowledge on what was said in their meetings, but reading this
post by someone who does, I believe that this truly was a decision Brendan
made on his own:
http://commonspace.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/mozilla-is-human/

I understood Mitchell's blog post to say that she agrees with Brendan that
the situation made it impossible for him to be an effective CEO, and that
it was therefore the right decision to step down.

[David Rajchenbach-Teller]

I am afraid that I cannot say for sure, as I am not privy to the
conversations between the board and the CEO.

However, I believe that Brendan realized that the controversy around his
person was damaging the community that he took 16 years to create and
that he decided that the best course of action was to resign. It is my
hope that, in time, once the controversy has died out, he will be able
to resume his contributions, either as part of Mozilla or as part of
something new.

You are right, Mitchell Baker should probably make things clearer in her
blog post.

Best regards,
David

On 4/4/14 6:59 PM, Bill Garrett wrote:
> Thanks for your prompt response. I did not intend for my choice of
> words to suggest that I thought Eich was "fired." Eich's own statement
> reveals that no firing took place and I did not use the term anywhere in
> my email message.
>
> That aside, it is not unheard of for a beleaguered executive to accept a
> voluntary dismissal as part of a negotiated arrangement with the
> company. Your chairwoman's comments on the blog (in particular her
> apology on behalf of Mozilla) would certainly suggest that something
> like this occurred in connection with Eich's departure.
>
> So, in light of your message, should I understand your comments to imply
> that the board exerted no pressure on Eich to resign? If so, it would
> seem to me that Ms. Baker should consider amending her blog entry and
> other public comments in the interest of transparency.

[Bill Garrett]

Alright, thank you both David and Till (especially for the link to Surman's blog entry).  Your responses have been very helpful.  I look forward to the release of the new phone product.  Have a good weekend.   

________________________________
From: Till Schneidereit <ti...@tillschneidereit.net>
To: Bill Garrett <wmg...@yahoo.com>
Cc: David Rajchenbach-Teller <dte...@mozilla.com>; "gover...@lists.mozilla.org" <gover...@lists.mozilla.org>
Sent: Friday, April 4, 2014 1:37 PM

Subject: Re: Should not have dismissed Eich

Bill,

I very much understand that it's a natural guess/assumption that Brendan was, implicitly or explicitly, forced to resign by the board. I don't have any insight knowledge on what was said in their meetings, but reading this post by someone who does, I believe that this truly was a decision Brendan made on his own:
http://commonspace.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/mozilla-is-human/

I understood Mitchell's blog post to say that she agrees with Brendan that the situation made it impossible for him to be an effective CEO, and that it was therefore the right decision to step down.

On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 6:59 PM, Bill Garrett <wmg...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Thanks for your prompt response.  I did not intend for my choice of words to suggest that I thought Eich was "fired." Eich's own statement reveals
>that no firing took place and I did not use the term anywhere in my email message. 
>
>That aside, it is not unheard of for a beleaguered executive to accept a voluntary dismissal as part of a negotiated arrangement with the company.  Your chairwoman's comments on the blog (in particular her apology on behalf of Mozilla) would certainly suggest that something like this occurred in connection with Eich's departure. 
>
>
>So, in light of your message, should I understand your comments to imply that the
>board exerted no pressure on Eich to resign?  If so, it would seem to me that Ms. Baker should consider amending her blog entry and other public comments in the interest of transparency.     
>
>
>
>

>________________________________
> From: David Rajchenbach-Teller <dte...@mozilla.com>
>To: Bill Garrett <wmg...@yahoo.com>; "gover...@lists.mozilla.org" <gover...@lists.mozilla.org>
>Cc: Bro. John Devaney OP <jackde...@hotmail.com>
>Sent: Friday, April 4, 2014 10:48 AM
>Subject: Re: Should not have dismissed Eich
>
>
>
>Thank you for your comments and your stand on freedom of speech. It
>seems, however, that you were misinformed. Brendan Eich was not fired,
>nor forced out by Mozilla. Brendan Eich chose to step down, as he felt
>that the controversy was damaging for the mission of Mozilla.
>
>We will keep fighting the good fight for freedom of speech, for privacy
>and for the open web. It is my hope that Brendan will keep contributing

>to this fight, whether as part of Mozilla or as part of some other venture.
>
>Best regards,
>David
>
>

>On 4/4/14 1:20 AM, Bill Garrett wrote:
>> Your decision to dismiss Eich is unfortunate.  He was a respected man in the business and you bowed to pressure from folks who could not care less about Mozilla's future.  Mozilla has become a tool that the board has placed at the service of an outside pressure group. 
>>
>>
>> William M. Garrett
>> Washington, DC
>> _______________________________________________
>> governance mailing list
>> gover...@lists.mozilla.org
>> https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
>>
>
>

>--
>David Rajchenbach-Teller, PhD
>Performance Team, Mozilla
>

[clayc...@gmail.com]

Mozilla's craven capitulation over OKStupid's Pathetic little protest is deeply disappointing - it can only be seen as a victory for the hysterical gay thought-police that want to shame, blame and turn to dust individuals whose personal views do NOT interfere with the running of a company.

Mozilla's credibility has been well and truly shot.

[pdgol...@gmail.com]

It appears that Eich was forced to resign regardless of the claim that he resigned voluntarily. Many of us will assume that Mozilla does not value freedom of expression unless they do much more than they have to prove that the resignation was voluntary.

[Mark Ross]

So Mr. Mozzila, where is your opposition to the "media frenzy" in the press? Where does Mozilla support him? Your silence except while doing damage control on your forum is deafening! Tell us the media is unjust, and maybe you might gain an ounce of respect. Until then, you are nothing but a political hack.

[David Rajchenbach-Teller]

William, Pdgolden,

I understand your concern. I hope that both Brendan and the Board will
issue a statement explaining in more details what has happened. I hope
that this will alleviate our concern.

If you have any question, do not hesitate to reach out, as you have just
done.

Best regards,
David

On 4/4/14 9:51 PM, pdgol...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, April 3, 2014 6:20:47 PM UTC-5, Bill Garrett wrote:

> It appears that Eich was forced to resign regardless of the claim that he resigned voluntarily. Many of us will assume that Mozilla does not value freedom of expression unless they do much more than they have to prove that the resignation was voluntary.

[David Rajchenbach-Teller]

Mark,

You can find evidence of our support on the Mozilla Planet, which is the
de facto voice of the community (http://planet.mozilla.org) – you'll
have to scroll back a few days to see the articles that came before
Brendan's resignation, but you will see many of us (including me)
standing up for Brendan.

I haven't checked but I'm sure you can also find plenty of evidence on
Twitter and Facebook.

That we failed to get any of it heard by the media is both our failure
and a sad testimony of the state of journalism in many outlets.

Does this answer your question?

Best regards,
David

On 4/8/14 3:52 AM, Mark Ross wrote:

> So Mr. Mozzila, where is your opposition to the "media frenzy" in the press? Where does Mozilla support him? Your silence except while doing damage control on your forum is deafening! Tell us the media is unjust, and maybe you might gain an ounce of respect. Until then, you are nothing but a political hack.

[Nicholas Nethercote]

On Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 6:59 PM, David Rajchenbach-Teller
<dte...@mozilla.com> wrote:
>
> You can find evidence of our support on the Mozilla Planet, which is the

> de facto voice of the community (http://planet.mozilla.org) - you'll

> have to scroll back a few days to see the articles that came before
> Brendan's resignation, but you will see many of us (including me)
> standing up for Brendan.

Here are a few:

http://subfictional.com/2014/03/24/on-brendan-eich-as-ceo-of-mozilla/
http://mykzilla.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/qualifications-for-leadership.html
http://www.glazman.org/weblog/dotclear/index.php?post/2014/03/25/Welcome-Brendan
http://www.bitstampede.com/2014/03/29/on-brendan-eich-as-ceo-of-mozilla/
http://bholley.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/on-brendan-eich-and-the-thought-police/
https://ozten.com/psto/2014/03/28/pick-your-battles/

This is also worth reading, from after the resignation:

https://medium.com/p/7645a4bf8a2

Nick