One anecdote that appears occasionally is about an email that Travis sent to the company in 2013, when the company had a few hundred employees:
"Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS a) you have asked that person for that privilege and they have responded with an emphatic ‘YES! I will have sex with you’ AND b) the two (or more) of you do not work in the same chain of command. Yes, that means that Travis will be celibate on this trip,"
Its nature is interpreted as evidence Travis is sexist by some HN commenters.
For what it's worth, I've given that incident a bit of thought. He was speaking to a group of 400 people. Unless we're of the opinion that under no circumstances is it ok for one coworker to have sex with another, establishing clear guidelines seems appropriate. The comment about himself seems more tongue in cheek given the overall tone of the rest of the email: https://pastebin.com/RZJkzQd6
In general, it seems more productive to reserve outrage for those who take advantage of employees or founders by using their position of power.
"Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS a) you have asked that person for that privilege and they have responded with an emphatic ‘YES! I will have sex with you’ AND b) the two (or more) of you do not work in the same chain of command. Yes, that means that Travis will be celibate on this trip,"
Its nature is interpreted as evidence Travis is sexist by some HN commenters.