I am indifferent on Shaw, the man, but from what I have seen of him, he only discusses controversial ideas.
He was never the face of Dropbox, not a founding member, doesn't sit on the board, and absolutely has zero visibility wrt Dropbox. Inquiring about his fate with them and his employment status (and digging for gossip) is nothing but prying on the man's privacy, and making his career a public spectacle for his gleeful adversaries.
Sure, he brought this upon himself for being opinionated, but let's cut down on the tall-poppy syndrome here. The man is entitled both to his opinions, and his privacy.
Your comment is a good warning against making generalizations about people's behavior considering you spent the next three paragraphs doing just that ;-)
he only discusses controversial ideas
> small minds discuss people.
> average minds discuss events
There's no familial or social need, or any self-preservation need, to gossip about Zed Shaw.
Or maybe I am wrong, maybe gossip and backstabbing are perfectly on-topic here. Dunno.
Of course not, when your daughter is young it is entirely appropriate to talk about things she and her friends of done, or what her favorite actress or pop star has done. I think the "small minds discuss people" was referring to older people with a potential for more important discussions, and what they do in fact discuss.
Then again, posting on this particular HN post doesn't say a lot about my large-mindedness either, so I'll just shut up now. :)