This is one of those stories that make me wonder how out of touch these ebay employees were. To throw their careers away over such pettiness is insane.

Then I stop and realize it's not impossible for me to end up in a bizarre bubble like that. What a world.

This is the part that struck me. I honestly think this could happen to more people than are willing to admit. One weird feedback loop in a bubble away, like you say.

Link to gov release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-ebay-executive-ple...

"Senior executives at eBay were frustrated with the newsletter’s tone and content, and with the tone and content of comments posted beneath the newsletter’s articles. The harassment campaign arose from communications between those executives and Baugh, who was eBay’s senior security employee."

Now what about these frustrated "senior executives". This is mafia in age of internet. Cringe.

Careful, they might go after you next!

Obviously sarcastic, but drives home just how insane the scenario even is.

Also, how do senior executives even find the time?

Crazy to do this for your employer. They wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.

I wonder what it's like to have absolutely no fear of consequences.

Previous discussion.

495 votes and 126 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28046491

This is insanity, just goes to show how far money can corrupt.

Making death threats on people's families for writing articles online.

Taking it to the next level by trying to destroy someone's marriage.

Just disgusting, and under the blessing of the top brass as well.

Whatever the judge decides, will avoid giving money to eBay.

How was their harassment traced back to them? We're the execs dumb enough to send vulgar Twitter messages through their own private accounts? Through company accounts?

So when is this incident getting its own sordid tech tell-all miniseries?

Hulu Original: "Final Bid: A Real American Horror Story."

Netflix's limited docuseries: "Buy it. Sell it. Stalk it."