[HN Gopher] Toptal trying to sue us for saying there are Toptal ...
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Toptal trying to sue us for saying there are Toptal alternatives
that cost less
Author : al_caan
Score : 95 points
Date : 2022-08-15 17:10 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (twitter.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (twitter.com)
| tothrowaway wrote:
| I wonder if this person knows that you do not have to respond to
| a C&D or submit to its demands? If a party makes a frivolous
| demand like this, yes, they can file a lawsuit against you. But
| the chances of that happening are quite slim. Even the most
| unethical lawyers hesitate to bring junk like this in front of a
| judge.
|
| Unfortunately, if you talk to a typical lawyer, they will always
| say that it is in your best (legal) interest to send a strong
| response back (at a mere $300 hour, or $3000 flat fee).
| Silhouette wrote:
| Is this the same Toptal that
|
| 1. advertises the "top 3% of freelance talent" on its home page
|
| 2. on an inside page says that what that really means is roughly
| the top 3% of freelancers _who apply to join Toptal_
|
| 3. on the same inside page states that it rejects nearly 3/4 of
| those applicants at the first step for unsuitable
| language/communication/personality before they start testing for
| technical ability
|
| 4. also on the same page advertises that applicants will need to
| complete a _1-3 week_ test project before being allowed to join
| their network in addition to passing various earlier screens?
| 988747 wrote:
| There's also even worse, Texas-based alternative called
| ,,Crossover for Work"
| al_caan wrote:
| They have quite a reputation, like this The Information piece;
| https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-booming-toptal-no...
| al_caan wrote:
| The one and the same!
| throwaway81523 wrote:
| One word: SLAPP. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLAPP
| al_caan wrote:
| Precisely what they're attempting with us.
|
| But we won't give into their fear tactics.
|
| They can throw SLAPP suits all they want.
|
| I say bring it on!
| throwaway81523 wrote:
| I was also getting at the possibility of a SLAPP countersuit.
| I don't know where you are but your state might support them.
| In California there is the California Anti-SLAPP Project
| which you could look up.
| PakistaniDenzel wrote:
| What happens if you respond to something like this with a simple
| "Fuck off"?
| iaabtpbtpnn wrote:
| Never heard of Toptal before, but I sure won't be using their
| services now. The Streisand effect is not to be underestimated...
| explaingarlic wrote:
| Not that you or I could afford them to begin with -\\_(tsu)_/-
| dcdc123 wrote:
| ditto
| tnzk wrote:
| Have never used but seen their name quite often as an ad in
| reddit app. Feels like 1 out of 3 times I see them.
| Silhouette wrote:
| On a related note does anyone happen to know how you can
| filter LinkedIn's job lists to exclude specific advertisers?
| The promoted entries already make the lists frustrating to
| use if you're seriously looking to make a move but then
| certain brands including Toptal seem to list dozens of
| generic roles at once that just get in the way. It's almost
| annoying enough to give up on LinkedIn entirely but every now
| and then something actually worthwhile does show up on those
| lists for me so I'd prefer to just reliably filter out the
| items that have no interest for me.
| PenguinCoder wrote:
| More reason to avoid them. I don't fault a company for
| needing to advertise, that's a given. But incessant constant
| barrages of your company name in unrelated spaces, certainly
| aren't the way to do it. Kind of like the same damn ads 3
| times in a row on Pluto TV, or Spotify, etc.
| al_caan wrote:
| Absolutely. When people try to silence and sensor you, it's a
| sign they're threatened by what you have to say. And we've got
| nothing to fear as long as we speak the truth.
|
| These are common scare tactics by large investor backed
| organizations, to try and make all possible competition
| disappear. They especially target small, bootstrapped
| businesses like ourselves that are more favored by
| entrepreneurs for their low-budget hiring requirements. And
| Toptal knows that we'll never be able to battle them out in
| courts. So they try to enforce fear to silence us.
|
| It's not going to work this time. I won't be silenced.
| CM30 wrote:
| Okay, ignoring how obviously this is a frivolous lawsuit and
| likely covered under anti SLAPP laws, it's scummy as hell
| nonetheless, and shows how terrified the folks at Toptal are of
| competition. This is one company whose services I certainly won't
| be using now, even if I did find a use case for their product.
| andersonmvd wrote:
| HN question: at the moment, this post has 31 pts in 1 hour and is
| on the 2nd page. Why other posts with less points are on the
| first page? E.g., post with 28 pts 5 hours ago (4-Die Chess).
| Edit: typo
| Traubenfuchs wrote:
| It's pretty obvious that the powers in charge can make posts
| rise and fall at will.
| al_caan wrote:
| valid question!
| al_caan wrote:
| this is want Ryan Breslow was complaining about as well. How
| his posts again Stripe got de-ranked by HN
| al_caan wrote:
| check this one ; https://share.getcloudapp.com/xQuwG0K7 it's
| ranking above this post as well. it's a funny algorithm
| eloff wrote:
| The ranking algorithm is not simply raw points.
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(page generated 2022-08-15 23:02 UTC)