They did not report his location to the authorities and allowed him to work across state lines without any changes to his employment agreement.

I later asked Github HR what their policy on domestic violene is. This is what they sent.

"Microsoft is committed to working with employees who are victims of domestic violence to prevent abuse from occurring in the workplace. Employees who are concerned about violence occurring in the workplace should immediately discuss their concerns with the Human Resources (HR) manager assigned to their group. The Microsoft Global Security group can provide guidelines and suggestions for increasing your safety in the workplace.

Employees who are experiencing domestic violence outside of work are encouraged to seek assistance from Microsoft Cares. Microsoft Cares provides information regarding counseling and treatment resources. Perpetrators of domestic violence are also encouraged to seek assistance from Microsoft Cares.

In some situations, employees may be eligible for time off work or other accommodation to manage medical issues and other negative consequences arising from domestic violence. Contact Benefits for more information."

They officially accommodate "perpetrators of domestic violence" as Microsoft-owned Github.

In fairness, they do need procedures to accommodate such people. Your other employment-related rights don't end just because you've done bad stuff, and you need to treat perpetrators of domestic violence differently to ordinary employees (e.g. being really suspicious of them).

I like bashing Microsoft as much as the next person, but I doubt this situation had much to do with Microsoft's domestic violence policies.

I’m guessing if this guy actually contacted Cares, they’d be more likely to help him turn himself in without violence, than to arrange a getaway to Cuba.

[I used such a referral once with a different employer to assist a family member in a legal matter (not involving interpersonal violence)].

To take action against someone based on an unproven accusation of conduct outside of the workplace seems like the perfect way to get you sued. I'm sure if convicted he will become persona non grata. But until that point he should be entitled to the presumption of innocence.

The justice system is complex for a reason (oversight, transparency, accountability, fairness, etc. - or at least that's the goal, however bad they are at achieving it, unaccountable private institutions will be even worse).

Furthermore, Alex was reported to Github HR by multiple people for verbal abuse and nothing was done about it under Nat Friedman's leadership.

I was saying the blanket statement than the mere presence of any allegations of any form are enough to indicate a high probability of guilt, and we should therefore enforce punishment on an individual is dangerous. Historically, this sort of attitude has led to a lot of injustice. Black men being put in jail for crimes they never committed on the word of a white woman who was embarrassed to be caught in an affair, for instance. Taken to the extreme, it leads to things like witch hunts.

A lot of that same stuff got turned into threats eventually.

I read the entire string of messages. You pulled inflammatory things out of context to DAMN him, and posted it all over twitter, etc. Who does that? What does that say about you to post negative gossip about someone from a private intimate relationship ? Do you ever ask yourself why you’re posting malicious things about someone? Is it justice you seek? It almost sounds like a HUMBLE BRAG to get attention, like “oh I’m hot stuff bc I dated the Hackpad founder?” If Alex wasn’t famous, would you still post this stuff? I don’t think so.

And do you really think you’re doing justice by posting about some fight you guys had on twitter out of context? Who are you saving from alleged abuse? Someone who googles you or Alex like a stalker the way you do?

And ask yourself why it’s still 2 years and you’re still suffering and obsessed? You clearly need some intervention, love. Please focus on forgiveness, healing, and loving others and yourself

Allegedly misogynistic != actually misogynistic, and I’d personally not want Microsoft to be the arbiter of truth.

Also, it’s just wrong and immoral. If the allegations are true, him losing his job is to small of a punishment; if they’re false, it’s too big of a punishment.

If he’s innocent (i.e. “not guilty”), yes.

It’s funny how people are all about “restorative justice” and “rehabilitating criminals after they serve their sentences” except, you know, when it comes to actually doing it.

I've spoken to many people that say the same thing.

I think this confirms we're in some sort of inter-terrestrial waking-nightmare Office Space alternative universe variety show.

That is a somewhat bizarre sentence that should be brought to the editorial attention of whoever wrote that. I don't think it's intended to support some of the kinds of interpretations that imagination might assign to it.

definitely not what I expected to read, that's... huh.

I'd expect MS would divulge his IP address from VPN logs if served by a warrant, to locate the fugitive. I wonder if this happened, and if not, what legal responsibilities or liabilities MS has to help or hinder outside warrant compliance, when the victim isn't an employee but the perp is.

(I work for MS but not GitHub, I had no idea about any of this.)

In what capacity? How did you come by your knowledge of the warrant?

Why would this matter at all? It seems like you're casting suspicion on [name redacted], although I can't begin to imagine what there is to be suspicious of.

I can't either

I dont know who the people tagged in the tweet are, but that still seems like a shitty way to report a problem.

Nonreporting, whether or not one believes it is immoral, isn't the same thing as assistance in evading arrest. The government can conscript citizens into active assistance in enforcing the law, but issuing a warrant doesn't do that.

Nonreporting is legal, assistance is a crime (“accessory after the fact” is the general term.)

Texas Penal Code Sec. 38.05 Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution (a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the arrest, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for an offense or, with intent to hinder the arrest, detention, adjudication, or disposition of a child for engaging in delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of the state, or with intent to hinder the arrest of another under the authority of a warrant or capias, he: (1) harbors or conceals the other; (2) provides or aids in providing the other with any means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape; or (3) warns the other of impending discovery or apprehension.

https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._penal_code_section_38...

I appreciate the rest of the details you've provided on the thread!

No, nonreporting is not. Active concealment/assistance is, and you just quoted a long bit of statute that says exactly that.