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Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by pjc50 on Monday November 09, 2026 @10:48AM (#50427194)
> "Authors, maintainers, editors and distributors of “this software” would pledge to ensure the software remained free and publicly accessible, and would also vow to “take his or her own life with a sword upon failure to uphold any of the pledges in this license,” the illustration read. It was labeled “Source Seppuku License,” an apparent reference to a traditional Japanese ritual suicide.

When the document went out on that Friday in March, employees were told to commit to the principles in the mandate by Monday or quit their jobs, according to the lawsuit brought by Kayleen Fulton, a Boulder woman who was fired from the Ethereum Foundation after she led employee resistance to the suicide pledge."

.. wow. When your employer starts posting like Yukio Mishima of course you sue them. I have a new entry in "most unprofessional thing I've ever seen". And no, using the "should not be taken seriously" defense is also hugely unprofessional.

Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by xnorswap on Monday November 09, 2026 @10:51AM (#50427226)
"Don't take it seriously" especially doesn't work when you start firing people who won't sign it.
Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by dostick on Monday November 09, 2026 @10:57AM (#50427308)
It's got to be figurative speech, right? Added for dramatic effect knowing that upholding the license may not always be verifiable or enforceable.
Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by Arodex on Monday November 09, 2026 @11:02AM (#50427387)
Was the firing figurative, too?
Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by jurgenburgen on Monday November 09, 2026 @11:16AM (#50427591)
Seppuku is a two person job. Does accepting the contract mean you volunteer to be the second (the person finishing the job by decapitation) for someone else’s ritual suicide?
Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by BoxOfRain on Monday November 09, 2026 @12:53PM (#50428941)
That sounds like a thankless task, little gain in getting it right but a lot of embarrassment in screwing it up.

I would at least want hazard pay added to my contract if my job description was to include such a role.

Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by foobarian on Monday November 09, 2026 @11:01AM (#50427380)
Tbh the seppuku thing is the one thing I wouldn't pay attention to among all the other red flags, because of how obviously impractical it is.
Re:Crypto foundation demanded employees endorse suicide pledge by my-huge-pony on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @03:45AM (#50437654)
I don't care about "being professional" all the time. The most skilled people I know were also the most weird, eccentric and quirky. I've only skimmed the document, but it looks exactly the kind of organization I'd like to work with.

...well, except the fact that they fire people over it, and don't listen to concerns where people don't feel comfortable with some of the clauses. Yeah at this point this crossed into a cult behavior and is unacceptable. But the problem here is not memes, at least for me.