Thank You Michael Arrington and TechCrunch

I was shocked and saddened reading Michael Arrington's post "Somethings Need to Change" yesterday on TechCrunch. In it, he describes the various ways people interact and react to him and his work, sometimes mobbing him to pitch an idea, sometimes being verbally abusive, and going as far as spitting on him at events and threatening to kill him and his family. That's the part that shocks me.

I've had my fair share of irate prospects and customers fire off heated and sometimes profane and personally attacking messages about some feature or policy or price they didn't agree with. Nine times out of 10 these are delivered via email, giving the sender the protection of fire and forget. I truly believe that email gives them a venue to say what they'd never, ever say face to face with the person to whom it's directed.

Depending on the nature of the communication and whether it was directed to me specifically or to a more general feedback channel that ultimately lands on my desk, I find the right way to respond to the underlying need in a professional manner. Even so, the written attacks wound, and from time to time make me question how well I'm doing my job or if I want to to be doing what I do.

In Arrington's case, this has driven him to decide to take time away from writing. I get the impression he'll be spending that time deciding if it makes sense to continue in his current post. That's the part that saddens me.

TechCrunch, and Arrington as a part of it, is and has been a crucial resource for me as a technology professional. I refer to it every day to understand emerging trends; learn about new companies, products, and approaches to solving customer needs; and read fair and level-headed critiques of both smart and wrong-headed applications of technology. I truly hope Arrington returns. I'm angered that the behavior of a few anti-fans (I don't even know what to call them) could be so extreme that it forces someone to abandon something they're passionate about -- and really good at.

So for my part, I want to say "thank you" to Arrington and to TechCrunch. Please keep doing what you're doing -- because it's valuable, it's needed, and it's appreciated.