Apparently Y Combinator is on high alert about the book. Wouldn't surprise me if they fuck up and actually make it a bestseller.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34848475)

From a techie perspective, this is a guy who not just survived his own murder, but came out far stronger. This is an attractive narrative anywhere. Four thousand years ago, if you survived your own death in battle, you could start a religion.

It helps him that he's a good writer and programmer, because it means that he can actually carry that reputation. But that was never what made him famous in the tech industry.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34849547)

My first taste of what one could call “fame” came in March 2011. A now-deleted essay hit Reddit and got 30,000 views in two days. In July 2012, I wrote “Don’t waste your time in crappy startup jobs.” At the time, I wasn’t advising people to avoid startups– only to be selective about which ones to work for. That post received 135,000 views in one day, and about 250,000 over its entire life.

Through this, I made some enemies. Advising tech employees to negotiate with employers does not earn love from all corners.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34848490)

He's the main reason Paul Graham retired, and PG was the only thing holding YC together.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34848529)

Michael has had people go to ridiculous extremes to damage his reputation and settle scores, mostly related to his activist position and his irreverence toward authority. On the other hand, he survived the onslaught. He's in Chicago, making more money than most people outside of tech or finance and many in those fields, and if I were to guess, the fact that he was personally attacked by Paul Buchheit and martyred on Quora is going to help him in the long run because, let's face it, that wouldn't have happened if he were a nobody with uninteresting ideas. I have much more good than bad to say about Michael O. Church, but he is definitely milking the free publicity.

So, what are you afraid of? Having a negative experience at a notable company like Google? That can happen, and it's not unique to one person. Losing 5- or 6-figures of opportunity cost on a startup? That can also happen, and it's far from unique to him. Being attacked by Paul Buchheit and banned from Quora? If you're 19, then neither of them will be relevant when you're starting your career. Paul Buchheit and Y Combinator will die with the 2010-17 bubble and Quora will be on the way down. It'll be someone else you have to worry about. And yes, Silicon Valley is rife with petty drama and sometimes (rarely) it affects careers but I wouldn't rule out an entire industry just because there are a few stupid people in it.

Keep in mind, also, that the sort of petty drama that I'm talking about is at a fever pitch because we're in a tech bubble. It won't last. When there's a lot of easy money floating around, reputation and connections mean everything, and the tech industry feels like a high school. When the easy money goes away, substance matters a lot more. The corollary advice is that you almost certainly shouldn't leave college to do a startup now and that there will quite possibly be a lot less petty drama when you're entering this game in 3 years.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34853110)

if this isn't mike then please speculate on how jane st makes their $

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34848885)

That said, I've enjoyed his screeds on occasion.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34849333)

But the craziest part? You can see the megacolony from SPACE.

It spells out MICHAEL O CHURCH.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#34850899)

The BPD tech screeds are ~90% accurate, however.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3819243&forum_id=2#36785351)