The horror.

  • CthulhusIntern [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Honestly, he should've just said "yes, I have", when he was told it's a yes or no question. Because bug fixes and the like ARE "changing the source code".

    • stinky [any]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      I knooooow. He’s being so freaking polite. I would’ve just started snarking and gotten the app banned by now.

      • edge [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        The idiotic US government is really making me have a tiny ounce of respect for a CEO, it feels horrible.

        But of course he's possibly a billionaire (I'm seeing some conflicting numbers, it might "just" be $200 million), so fuck him.

      • CthulhusIntern [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        If asked "how did you ask them to change the source code", give an incredibly technical answer full of jargon, and then end it with a condescending "and if there's anything I just said that you didn't understand, feel free to ask".

        • 1000mH [she/her, they/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Bill Gates has a similar attitude during his deposition for US v. Microsoft after being asked whether he wanted to "control Java", the programming language, and snapped back claiming he didn't understand what it would mean to control java, drawing an analogue with not knowing what it would mean to control COBOL or BASIC.

          The interviewer, being some suit, obviously doesn't know what those words mean so he ignores them and moves on.

    • chickentendrils [any, comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      I think there was a little more context before this question as to what "source code" they're talking about (but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't, based on how coherent these US hearings usually are).

      Out of context though, the CEO being asked both "why not" and "whether" he asked engineers to change the source code is really broad and confusing lol. Which source code? The frontend app? Some recommendation engine/algorithm? Internal staff tools? Who qualifies as an engineer? Their manager? The director of another department who probably communicated the change to their manager?

      • Rod_Blagojevic [none/use name]
        ·
        2 years ago

        As an American, I can assure you that the congressman has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. Asking him what source code he's talking about would not help.

      • ElGosso [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Yeah at the end he says "have you changed the source code from Douyin"