Terms of use
A short page, since the site does little more than publish essays.
Quotations
Each essay reproduces one sentence that someone else said or wrote. That sentence belongs to its speaker, along with any copyright in the book, essay or talk it came from. It appears on the page as the subject of commentary and criticism, credited and kept short. Nothing on the site suggests that the person quoted has read, approved or endorsed the essay about their words. Company and product names mentioned in passing belong to their owners.
Opinion, not advice
The essays argue about ideas: when to ship, what to build, how to work with a team, how to pay for the early months. They are opinion and general commentary. They are not investment, financial, legal, tax or business advice, and they take no account of anyone’s circumstances. A decision about a company, a job or money should rest on advice from someone who knows the details of the situation. Whatever a reader decides after reading a page is that reader’s call.
The essays themselves
The essay text belongs to the site. Quoting a paragraph or two is fine as long as it links back to the essay. Republishing a whole essay, or presenting one under another name, is not.
Links out
A few essays link to the speaker’s own writing or to other sources. Those sites are run by other people, can change without notice and fall outside these terms.
Mistakes and changes
Errors reported through the contact page are checked and, when they turn out to be real, fixed on the page. These terms may be updated, and the version on this page is the current one.