My understanding of MPEP 2126-2128[0] is that prior art published to a website can be disqualifying.
I don’t like patents, because given the world population, any idea was had by someone that didn’t have the resources to file it. Publishing a timestamped design is, I believe, one of the least expensive ways to create prior art without creating patents.
If I am not mistaken, there have been many cases where prior art was available (and in some cases quite well known within the field) but did not come to the attention of the examiner (or the examiner did not recognize its relevance), and the patent was granted anyway. In fact, there was one such case on the HN top page today.
Getting it revoked is likely harder than successfully defending against a suit. Many aggressors will fold at the "here is obvious prior art, go find someone dumber to extort" phase.
First-to-file doesn't mean what I think you think it means.
Prior art, whether from another patent or from some other source, will still establish that the applicant is not an inventor and not eligible for a patent.
First-to-file (FTT) only differs from first-to-invent (FTI) when there is an "interference". That's when two or more separate parties are simultaneously applying for patents on the same invention.
Under FTI your priority date was the date you conceived the invention if you then worked diligently toward reducing the idea to practice up until you filed your patent application. If you stopped working diligently on reducing the idea to practice and then resumed it, the date you resumed became your new priority date.
What counts as a break in working toward reduction to practice sufficient to reset your priority date? How much documentation do you need to prove you were working continuously on it from your claimed priority date?
Figuring all that out can be expensive and time consuming and often gives results that seem wrong. It's almost random whether the priority date by this method actually matches who seems to morally most deserve the patent.
FTF gives priority to whoever files first. It doesn't produce any worse outcome than FTI and saves a lot of time and money for both the patent office and applicants.
Well USPTO did move to first-to-file under Obama.
Is there a patent filed before this one?