Tech workers in Silicon Valley debated on Friday whether Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich got the comeuppance he deserved or was himself a victim of intolerance when he resigned under pressure this week amid outrage over his opposition to same-sex marriage, the Associated Press reported.
OkCupid.com, a dating website that had urged its users to boycott Mozilla's popular Firefox web browser, cheered Eich's resignation after less than two weeks as CEO of the nonprofit software company, according to the AP. Others viewed him as a victim and called his critics intolerant of people with different views.
OkCupid.com called for a boycott of Firefox and some on Twitter who identified themselves as Mozilla employees called for Eich to resign, too, the AP reported.
Mozilla co-founder Eich, who invented the programming language Javascript, donated $1,000 in 2008 to support Proposition 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage in California, the AP reported. Voters approved the measure, but it was struck down last June by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Eich posted an apology on his blog before he resigned for the pain his stance had caused, according to the AP. His views about gay marriage had been known within Mozilla for nearly two years, but controversy erupted after he was appointed CEO in late March.
Rarebit founders Hampton and Michael Catlin, a gay developer couple, pulled their software apps from Mozilla after Eich's appointment, the AP reported.
On Friday, news of Eich's departure prompted a backlash on Twitter, according to the AP. Many suggested Silicon Valley was intolerant of people with views outside northern California's liberal mainstream.
Even Rarebit's Hampton Catlin said he had not anticipated the issue's escalation and was saddened by Eich's resignation, the AP reported.
"We absolutely believe people should be allowed to have personal opinions, but we also believe that we are allowed to disagree and to try and change someone's mind by expressing our own personal story," the Catlins said in a statement, according to the AP.
