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Welcome Home, Garry Tan

submitted by todsac+(OP) on 2022-08-29 13:04:44 | 749 points 249 comments
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33. panicp+ve[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 14:18:49
>>cheeko+Dd
He did in the form of Posthaven [1] but I'd say please keep it updated. The last post on the Posthaven blog is five years old.[2]

[1] https://posthaven.com/ [2] https://blog.posthaven.com/read-about-how-fly-has-helped-wit...

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34. ignora+ze[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 14:18:56
>>garry+b2
Interesting you chose to become a VC given your reservations about growth v. sustainability: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5229805 (:

Either ways, good luck!

(btw, love the production quality of your videos on youtube; and now, YC-- Dalton, Michael et al-- who do have fantastic content, can use a bit of that production magic).

37. syrusa+yi[view] [source] 2022-08-29 14:38:11
>>todsac+(OP)
I'm incredibly happy with this move.

I got to chat with Initialized (Garry was one of the co-founders) a while ago and I must mention that I was greatly impressed by Garry down-to-earth questions, knowledge, kindness and humility. I've been following him since on his Youtube channel... it's a gold mine for any entrepreneur out there.

Excited for what lies ahead for YC.

[1]: https://youtube.com/garrytan

43. maram+0m[view] [source] 2022-08-29 14:54:38
>>todsac+(OP)
“Garry Tan is a moral canary in a coal mine. When people hate on Garry Tan, they out themselves as either evil or stupid, because in fact Garry is as close to a 100% good guy as you get”. —Paul Graham https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1460931338131890180 ————

Congratulations Garry! Your blogs were my inspirations when I was running my startup. I always remember this line:

“The ideal startup team involves really two major roles — builder, and hustler. I used to say it took three roles (designer, engineer, hustler).....In reality, I think designer / engineer can be abstracted to builder”.

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74. cedric+yA[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 16:14:49
>>throwa+yy
Jen Wolf and Brett Gibson

https://blog.initialized.com/2022/08/jen-wolf-and-brett-gibs...

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78. system+eD[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 16:27:58
>>stakku+Ox
I've studied Thiel, he's just not mainstream left. If you want to listen to him with good faith, I enjoyed this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM9f0W2KD5s

Doesn't come across evil to me unless by evil you mean just not mainstream left, which might be the correct in the valley.

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98. 12_thr+gP[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 17:22:02
>>hellom+dn
Besides the "block anyone remotely progressive" approach to social media (including industry folks like Anil Dash [1]) - he seems extremely uncivil and rude [2]. And Sam Altman has explicitly referenced his politics as a reason for this decision [3].

This gives me the impression that there's a specific political agenda being advanced at YC ...

[1] https://twitter.com/anildash/status/1564285359755874304?s=20...

[2] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FH6Y9DCUYAEkV1p?format=png&name=...

[3] https://twitter.com/sama/status/1564256798323851265

edit: deleted a not very clear link about certain politically charged individuals.

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101. dang+FQ[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 17:28:59
>>12_thr+AQ
(Edit: the GP comment was edited after I wrote this - more about that below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32642696.)

Hardened political rhetoric and seasoned talking points aren't on topic here (regardless of which way the political vector is pointing). If you check out the site guidelines, it should be clear why: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

You don't have to agree with anyone's views but this style of argument is deathly to the curious conversation we want here. Curious conversation requires, among other things, respect across differences—wanting to learn more about how someone thinks, and why they think that way, and trusting that they have good reasons for all that even if, in the end, they're wrong. And, of course, you and your views deserve the same consideration.

If you want to argue against someone's views here (Garry's or anyone else's), you'll get much further by making your substantive points thoughtfully. We're trying to avoid the online callout/shaming culture here, at least to the extent possible on the open internet.

The culture of political attack goes very much the other way, of course—people save screenshots of the worst things they can find, bring them up at every opportunity, and so on. Guilt by association is another common tactic. None of this helps us really understand each other—anyone can be made to look bad that way, so it really doesn't have much persuasive power. It does get one's own side riled up (in a yay way) and the opposing side riled up (in a boo way), but riler-uppers are what we're trying to avoid on HN, because they destroy the curious conversation I was just talking about.

(I hope it's clear that all of the above should and does apply equally to opposing political sides.)

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102. chx+UQ[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 17:30:08
>>system+eD
Not "mainstream left"? I guess the right, what was once the far right but today is just the right is indeed not "mainstream left". Make no mistake where he stands: he was one of the largest donors of Trump, served on his transitional team and has once written "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible".

https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio...

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110. preomm+yT[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 17:42:25
>>hacker+Rz
It's from the twitter thread by paul graham that the OC linked. It was a response to someone asking who dislikes Garry Tan, to which Paul Graham replied:

"The extreme left in SF politics (which in SF = the Establishment)"[1]

[1] https://twitter.com/stevemushero/status/1461013669114892288

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112. NCC170+lU[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 17:45:57
>>syrusa+yi
I actually found his channel with the alternative YouTube recommendations database I'm working on. He was one of the top links off the list for Y Combinator's channel.

The list for his channel includes some likely suspects like TechCrunch, Y Combinator, and a16z but also some smaller names doing business advice like Section4 and David Perell:

https://channelgalaxy.com/id%3DUCIBgYfDjtWlbJhg--Z4sOgQ/

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118. system+LX[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 18:05:51
>>chx+UQ
There were hundreds of doners to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, let alone 2016 campaign. If not directly, then through other superPACS including FAANG companies [1].

https://www.opensecrets.org/2020-presidential-race/donald-tr...

If your viewpoint is so myopically constrained by a single data point, I don't know what to say.

I find intellectuals from all corners of political spectrum to be interesting. Usually, when people dismiss intellectuals not for their arguments, but by some ostensible thinly veiled morality or the media zeitgeist; it is already an indicator that something interesting is out there. Anyways, all I am saying is that Peter is not evil in any stretch of the definition as the media portrays him. He is just not your typical conformist thinker.

[1] They only paused after Jan 6th, they were happily donating to both parties: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-corporate-go...

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121. sentto+0Z[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 18:11:08
>>extent+Cr
>I wouldn’t point to “HODL diamond hands” crypto hype (suddenly disappeared..)

This is my biggest worry. I'd have preferred a non-crypto-junkie.

This is Gary saying that ETH will go up to $10k soon: https://twitter.com/garrytan/status/1402648829732614146

It went to $1k instead.

At times, following Gary on Twitter felt like following a dumb crypto bro.

Everyone looks like a genius during a bull market and 0% interest rate environment.

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126. sandof+r01[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 18:17:57
>>garry+1G
I'm seeing many people say you've blocked them without ever having interacted with you. Many have jumped to the conclusion that you simply block people who disagree with your politics. I don't tweet about SF politics, but after I tweeted this, you replied tell me it's funny but wrong, and then blocked me: https://twitter.com/sandofsky/status/1491167231467999236

Which is fine. I block plenty of people. I also mute people, because a block carries a message. And if I found myself in role that gets considerable scrutiny, I'd probably reevaluate my entire approach to social media.

131. TimCTR+D21[view] [source] 2022-08-29 18:28:47
>>todsac+(OP)
On the light end here, Aproova Mehta once said; "I learn't two important lessons, First and foremost, Gary Tan loves his beers..haha"

We probably wouldn't have instacart where it is if it weren't for Gary. Thanks Gary.

https://youtu.be/wkmR7TYUt_c?t=653

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150. dang+Oi1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 19:49:53
>>12_thr+kR
Callout/shaming culture is a stock phrase I use to describe the sort of internet culture we don't want here [1]. Maybe the word 'shaming' isn't so applicable in this case, though I do think shaming is part of why online warriors like to preserve the worst internet traces left by those they dislike, and copy them into each fresh discussion.

Re 'facts': this is a red herring. There are infinitely many facts. They don't select themselves; humans do that, and they do so for non-factual reasons [2]. As a matter of fact, "but it's a fact" is the most beloved defense of trolls—not that you mean it that way. (Edit: incidentally, I have no idea whether your claims about Garry, including the ones you deleted, were facts or not - but I'm assuming they are for present purposes because it makes the moderation point stronger.)

The problem with your post is that it was obvious online agitprop—in fact one couldn't find a more classic case (edit: before you edited it—it's less that way now). That's off topic on HN, but not because of trying to protect YC from criticism (we don't moderate HN that way [3] – plenty of people criticize YC here), nor because of political disagreement (there's room for a wide range of views, as long as people are using the site as intended)—but rather because it makes threads more predictable and nastier, and therefore more boring. We're trying to optimize for something else on HN [4].

Edit: I just noticed that you edited your GP comment to take out a couple of extreme guilt-by-association references and to add a relevant tweet by sama. Those are two steps towards an on-topic sort of political argument (good), but if you're going to edit comments after they've gotten replies, it's only fair to do so in a way that doesn't deprive other posts of their original meaning. My description ("hardened political rhetoric and seasoned talking points") was accurate about your original post and is less so now. In other words, you subtly changed the thread to make the moderation look less neutral and fair than it originally was. I hope that was just an accidental side effect, and that your motive for making those edits was a sincere desire to use HN as intended.

[1] https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&type=comment&dateRange=a...

[2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

[3] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

[4] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...

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162. chx+Uw1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 21:08:19
>>system+X11
It is neither wrong nor is it misinformed.

Do you remember why Thiel invested in Confinity which became PayPal? Because he thought a digital wallet could lead to “the erosion of the nation-state”. If it's not self evident to you why that's a bad thing perhaps read https://eand.co/how-america-collapsed-and-became-a-fourth-wo...

Max Chafkin argues that Thiel “has been responsible for creating the ideology that has come to define Silicon Valley: that technological progress should be pursued relentlessly—with little, if any, regard for potential costs or dangers to society.” continued with “Palantir, his second company, popularized the concept of data mining after 9/11 and paved the way for what critics of the technology call surveillance capitalism”.

And of course there was gawker. No, what gawker did was not right but Thiel's reaction was not right either. That's some straight up vigilante BS.

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163. pain_p+hy1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 21:16:22
>>hellom+dn
I am blocked by Garry despite having zero interactions with him on Twitter (nor ever tweeting anything controversial). I see numerous reports of other people stating the same both in this thread and on twitter: https://imgur.com/a/MOPDVSl
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168. Nelson+UD1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 21:50:39
>>sandof+r01
I'm in the blocked club and have no idea why. Here's the one tweet I ever sent @garrytan, responding to his reply to me: https://twitter.com/nelson/status/1185919273065041925. (I'm happy to report that business reopened with new owners and the rumor was the old owners just went broke.)

I agree blocking people is fine and should be stigma free. But Mr. Tan's framing of his reasons for blocking seems at odds with the visible pattern. Fair enough; feel free to block me just because you're tired of my bullshit.

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179. smcl+tK1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 22:31:42
>>smcl+EI1
I can't do shit on Twitter:

https://imgur.com/a/OBnVpUI

Cool! Ok so, confirmed. Garry Tan is a sinister guy. Glad I asked here!

Edit: Sorry but how is this downvoted to zero? I have done nothing except add five "likes" to Twitter and my account is now banned there. This is insane. I was pro-or-neutral-Garry at the start of this convo, he was just the Posterous guy. Now my Twitter is gone. What the hell?

Edit 2: uhh so how do you get an account back?

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181. dang+TM1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 22:50:42
>>wahnfr+Zi1
Please keep generic ideological rhetoric off HN, regardless of ideology. It's repetitive and therefore tedious and therefore not what this site is for.

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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182. dang+cN1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 22:52:21
>>gitfan+Lc1
Please don't cross into personal attack. You can make your substantive points without that.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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184. sentto+UN1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 22:59:03
>>SamRei+eG1
>1. He didn't say it will go up to $10k "soon." That video is talking about long-term performance.

I remember reading his LinkedIn post on this $10k topic. In it, I think he said something along the lines of "soon".

But it really doesn't matter. Saying $10k ETH is the same as a random crypto bro saying $100k BTC soon. There are no fundamentals. Just shilling. Marketing. Ponzi-like behavior.

I don't doubt that ETH might go up to $10k eventually, given enough time. After all, crypto is basically trading with Nasdaq nowadays.

>2. ETH is down just 27% since that video, and has moved farther up than down.

Down 40.97%

>3. It's only been a year since the video, which is talking about The Merge as one of the factors behind this belief, and The Merge hasn't happened yet.

He said the biggest factor is that ETH is deflationary: https://youtu.be/jo58qEoThSs?t=381

He suggests that this makes ETH "ultra sound money".

I'm not going to argue for or against this idea.

>4. Quote from the video: "It's not really gonna be that smooth a ride to $10000."

Sure. Anyone who's been in crypto long enough knows crypto isn't a smooth ride. It doesn't say anything.

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185. smcl+FO1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-29 23:03:47
>>garry+1G
Hey garry it seems you blocked me on twitter today! I didn't say anything bad, I'm really confused. I guess it's a mistake - see https://twitter.com/sracka_omacka
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190. jacque+3X1[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 00:14:34
>>smcl+tK1
It could simply be that twitter is having issues. I see weird stuff as well. ("something went wrong" messages all over the place).

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32644427

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196. system+u02[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 00:46:43
>>chx+Uw1
I disagree with Max Chafkin, I've watched probably every single Thiel interview (there is a Spotify podcast of collection of his interviews) and I do not share whoever this Max Chafkin guy is.

If you want a proper critique of Thiel, proper as in properly sourced/researched, not opinions of what someone has made up in their mind: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right...

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215. Apocry+Dc2[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 02:57:48
>>hacker+Vz
By the time of the LoTR timeframe, when have the palantiri ever been used for good? Seems like malevolently misleading things happen even to the evil characters after they use it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palant%C3%ADr#Characteristics

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218. chx+If2[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 03:33:06
>>blast+JM1
He is smarter than saying those words but read https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-p...
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219. wpietr+Tg2[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 03:49:45
>>system+eD
A counterpoint to consider: "The Enigma of Peter Thiel": https://johnganz.substack.com/p/the-enigma-of-peter-thiel
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221. wpietr+9i2[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 04:04:10
>>preomm+Rw
20 years in SF, and I can promise you that the extreme left is not the establishment here. As an example, we had a relatively progressive prosecutor who tried occasionally to hold cops to account. After an acrimonious campaign, he was just recalled with extensive support from a chunk of the establishment. His replacement, selected by the mayor, volunteered as an active proponent in the recall. Except that it came out later that she received $100k in "consulting" fees from a billionaire via a sister organization to the recall campaign: https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/reports-sf-da-brooke-jen...

San Francisco gets a lot of press as being radical, but the government strikes me as pretty middle-of-the-road and wealth-focused. i can't think of a policy here that would be out of place in any other sensibly run city in the US. And we're definitely to the right of places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. And that goes back a long way; CA's current governor was a centrist mayor here back in the day.

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226. abalon+xz2[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-08-30 07:22:54
>>arctic+co2
I’m old enough to remember when the Square CEO campaigned for the gross receipts tax. It was the tech industry’s idea.[1]

Bonus points for saying “hobo”!

[1] https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/SF-Citi-video-plugs-...

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