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Intuitive Explanations

Personal blog · intuitiveexplanations.commathprogramming

Intuitive Explanations is a personal blog at intuitiveexplanations.com about math and programming. Since 2018, 33 different Hacker News readers have linked it 36 times, most often “Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project”. The last post was in 2021, but the archive is still widely read.

Visit the blog
36mentions?
33HN people?
2018–2026first – last linked?
Links on Hacker News per year · peak 12 in 2021

Most-linked posts?

  1. Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project
    16 people · 16 mentions · first linked 2021-06-07
  2. How did Replit respond to this blog post?
    3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2021-06-08
  3. Kalyn: A self hosting Lisp compiler for x86-64
    3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2020-06-10
  4. Reverse Engineering the Facebook Messenger API
    3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2021-12-06

What Hacker News says?

  1. Your (non)apology is insincere and it is quite obvious that you don't really mean it. Looking at the latest communications with the intern[1], you are 'giving him permission' which isn't yours to give. And further, you have quoted them out of context. Neither of these actions indicate that you are in any way remorseful, nor do you see what you are doing wrong. You haven't let _us_ down, you are only harming yourself…

    Comment linking /assets/replit-email-9.png

    on “Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project”
  2. Submitted Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project as a story · 4022 points

    HN discussion
  3. > working on a project that does pretty much the same kind of thing they're doing Radon outlined why this isn't true. [1] > basically spreading some of that knowledge you gave them and making it packaged and accessible not only to future contributors of their project, but to all competitors and genuine copycats out there. It appears as if you're advocating that Radon should've treated the open-source code as if it w…

    Comment linking /tech/replit/evidence

    on “Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project”
  4. Submitted How did Replit respond to this blog post? as a story · 300 points

    HN discussion
  5. I tend to agree. It seems like the author of the article already addressed this accusation [0]. I admittedly am biased in favor of OSS authors but I tend to agree with the points he made there. Namely, this product doesn’t clone any design decisions that aren’t already public. More importantly, Replits differentiator isn’t the ability to run code in browser (which tons of other projects already offer), it’s the poli…

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project”
  6. Submitted Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project (2021) as a story · 192 points

    HN discussion
  7. NB, Replit is the outfit that did this: https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “On Leaving Facebook”
  8. Submitted Kalyn: A self hosting Lisp compiler for x86-64 as a story · 40 points

    HN discussion
  9. It doesn't matter if he used replit they don't own the code you write with it and it doesn't matter if he used to work there they don't own former employees either. If you remove the irrelevant details it can be shortened to A personal created what could be construed as a replit competitor this seemed like a bad idea which only makes sense if it's a bar owned by the mafia. Furthermore they didn't respond "with a hea…

    Comment linking /assets/amjad-hn-1.png

    on “Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project (2021)”
  10. Submitted Kalyn: A self-hosting compiler for x86-64 as a story · 10 points

    HN discussion
  11. Important to read this first: https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/#how-did-repli...

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project (2021)”
  12. Submitted Linear Algebra: Intuitive Explanations as a story · 4 points

    HN discussion
  13. Oh, internet drama. I love internet drama! So I looked it up as I never heard this story before. https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/ Looks like this CEO isn't of good character after all. He looks almost like a jerk when looking at the end of the story. Even in his last email he tried to get his (obviously wrong) point. He never apologized for the things that mattered most, only tried to extinguish the so…

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Replit's in-browser coding AI”
  14. Submitted Calculus: Intuitive Explanations as a story · 3 points

    HN discussion
  15. https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/#how-did-repli... At the bottom of the original blog post. He put his project back online and it is still up: https://riju.codes/

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Replit's in-browser coding AI”
  16. Submitted Kalyn: A self-hosting compiler for x86-64 as a story · 2 points

    HN discussion
  17. You might be referring to this: https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/ I'm like you, but every company gets one mulligan from me, so this is replit's.

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Replit.com (YC W18) raises $80M Series B”
  18. Submitted Reverse Engineering the Facebook Messenger API as a story · 2 points

    HN discussion
  19. The most concerning part about that whole interaction was this small detail (here's the full post: https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/ ): In the earlier emails, Amjad Masad (the CEO) offered to hire the intern, was pleasant, etc. And then just a few threads later, when things turned sour, he insulted the former intern, calling him the "most demanding intern we've ever had." It's deeply telling about a per…

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Replit.com (YC W18) raises $80M Series B”
  20. Submitted Reverse Engineering the Facebook Messenger API as a story · 2 points

    HN discussion
  21. When I hear Replit, I remember how the CEO tried to kill an intern's pet project. https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “After nine years of grinding, Replit found its market. Can it keep it?”
  22. Submitted Kalyn: A self-hosting compiler for x86-64 as a story · 2 points

    HN discussion
  23. https://intuitiveexplanations.com/assets/Resume.pdf - author's resume is pretty impressive. Glad to see he's doing well.

    Comment linking /assets/Resume.pdf

    on “Anyone who looks at this code instantly becomes insane”
  24. Submitted Reverse Engineering the Facebook Messenger API as a story · 1 points

    HN discussion
  25. This guy isn't a mold-breaking radical, he's just a garden variety sociopath https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “He was called a 'terrorist sympathizer.' Now his AI company is valued at $3B”
  26. Submitted Replit used legal threats to kill my open-source project as a story · 1 points

    HN discussion
  27. Public opinion on Amjad shifted quite a bit in 2021 when he threatened to sue a former intern for his open-source project. https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “He was called a 'terrorist sympathizer.' Now his AI company is valued at $3B”
  28. Submitted Replit Attempted to Kill an Open Source Project as a story · 1 points

    HN discussion
  29. I think you meant safest from a security perspective? Because replit sued open source competition: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27424195 https://intuitiveexplanations.com/tech/replit/

    Comment linking /tech/replit/

    on “Ask HN: What is the safest way to replicate Repl.it like sites?”
  30. Submitted Intuitive Explanations – Calculus made simple [pdf] as a story · 1 points

    HN discussion

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