"Congrats" - All that makes me feel personally is that the people who pushed for this are extremists as well.
I don't know if that's a good move by Mozilla as well, although my guess is that it's a personal move from Eich who couldn't handle the pressure and the death threats (which, to be honest, I understand - even if some will say a CEO is supposed to be stronger than that).
> the people who pushed for this are extremists as well.
Suffragettes were extremists. Worker-rights supporters were extremists. Gandhi was an extremist. M. L. King Jr. was an extremist. Sans-culottes were extremists.
In the history of civilisation, there are winners and there are losers, and when the revelation of who is who eventually comes, it can be a bit ugly to watch.
This is true. I've always liked the distinction made here: http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbli... between extremism and fanaticism. Extremists are those with views beyond the mainstream, and fanatics are those with views that, mainstream or otherwise, are so strongly held that they cannot accept disagreement.
Eh, I think everyone has a pain tolerance and he definitely met his.
Personally, I would have preferred he said his mind had changed over the intervening years and that he had made a mistake. Then stayed CEO, of course.
I think the real reason he left is the fact he had enough ethical integrity to realize his brand damaged Mozilla's brand. That, and his beliefs were unchanged so he could not offer a genuine retraction.
Death threats are terrible, frankly, but I've received death threats on the Internet for saying things about a video game. I hope he reports these incidents to the police because they are serious and the people involved should learn that threatening people with death is not something we allow in a civilized society. Perhaps I should have done the same. It has become far too acceptable to threaten people with death.
Also, your link does not say that Mr. Eich received death threats, though other Mozilla employees do report receiving such threats.
I don't know if that's a good move by Mozilla as well, although my guess is that it's a personal move from Eich who couldn't handle the pressure and the death threats (which, to be honest, I understand - even if some will say a CEO is supposed to be stronger than that).