Hacker ideals? Really? Sharing experiences is fundamental in building knowledge and anticipating the future. I enjoy these 'whiny, sensationalist drivel' because as a coFounder of a noob startup I don't hear enough of failed/failing startups. Instead all I hear is 'chest pounding howls' on why it's so cool to do a startup, seek VCs, join an incubator and make a killer exit. I welcome a different story. Especially a story everyone can learn from.

Completely agree.

well said

Can we stop being negative please? This guy is definitely NOT whiny (give or make a long, high-pitched complaining cry or sound) and the level of sensationalism he's transmitting goes with the subject matter - plus it's apropos for marketing.

I theorize nobody here, at least those doing a startup, really want to think about the possible failure of their company at some point. I appreciate him documenting his thoughts as he goes through this all-too-common process.

Humans learn through a variety of means, including other's failures. Your perception of 'ideals' here feels like you are trying to skew the topics away from this means of learning. And, it's contrary to what appear to be common hacker ideals, which include:

- Sharing

- Openness

- Decentralization

- Free access to computers

- World Improvement

"whiny" means to complain in a childish way. Complaining about not being followed on twitter by investors is childish, especially when the author should be doing the adult thing and own up to the company's employees what's going on and what their options are. They put a lot of faith in the founder and with that comes the responsibility to treat them fairly.

Having views of only successful startups on HN will lead to select bias. I would prefer to see some articles here of the startups going through rough patches since they are so under-reported.

Censorship is the opposite of a hacker ideal.

Well, you could always think of the guy's question as to do with whether the reputation system is actually working properly?

I have mixed feelings too. But I'm still interested in the story...