1 August 2017
https://github.com/zack-bitcoinhttps://github.com/zack-bitcoin/amoveo/blob/master/docs/why_I_left.mdWhat is going on? I left Aeternity. Many of you have been wondering why I have been so quiet lately. Usually Zack loves talking about himself. For my own safety I waited until I was far away from the rest of the Aeternity team.
How did this happen? I am young. I didn't think it mattered who owned the company "Aeternity". I didn't find out who owns Aeternity until the token sale was over, and all the $77 million were controlled by the owner of Aeternity.
Things I have done for Aeternity:
I invented and implemented Turing complete state channels.
I invented and implemented off-chain markets, which is Aeternity's killer app.
I invented and implemented an oracle mechanism which is orders of magnitude more efficient than the competition.
I invented and implemented the Aeternity governance mechanism, for updating variables like block-size and block-reward.
I answered technical questions.
I came up with the ideas in the Aeternity white paper.
I gave training in Aeternity technology.
I implemented a merkel trie database for Aeternity.
I implemented a virtual machine with compilers for Aeternity.
I wrote the Aeternity testnet.
I wrote the lightning network on top of the testnet.
I wrote an off-chain marketplace in the lightning network.
I helped Aeternity to raise over $77 million from an ICO.
I gave talks, I flew places to interview people.
I memorized lines and was an actor in the Aeternity movie.
I did livestreams of software development.
I maintained the testnet and github for over 9 months.
I let Aeternity use my name.
What I should reasonably get:
The team that raised the money had about 6 members. Out of these 6 people, I was the only one working on the technology. Since this is a technology startup, I should be controlling at least half of this money. I should be deciding how Aeternity uses it's money in regard to developing the technology. I should be deciding what programmers to hire, and what tasks should be worked on. Instead the anonymous owner of Aeternity is deciding how the money is spent.
How much I was willing to work for:
For about $3.5 million I was willing to work exclusively on Aeternity.
For about $1.7 million I was willing to make Aeternity secure and work on Aeternity non-exclusively.
For about $300 000 I was willing to leave Aeternity, as long as Aeternity didn't use the technology I invented.
To the Aeternity investors:
I am very sorry that this has happened to you. Many of you were tricked because I was tricked first. I shouldn't have let myself fall for this. I apologize.
Timeline
January 2015- I began programming the blockchain that would eventually be called Aeternity. At the time it was called "Flying Fox". I invented turing-complete state channels for this blockchain, and I did the research necessary to be able to build the Aeternity oracle and governance.
March 2017- Aeternity tells me I am the founder and will be highest paid out of Aeternity, and that I will control at least 10% of the budget.
May- I keep bringing up how much I want to get paid, and asking to see how the budget is planned to make sure I can get paid. The owner of Aeternity says that we will discuss it more "tomorrow", or "after my trip", or "after I sleep", or "later". The owner of Aeternity says that if I mention anything to the community about how unstable my relationship is with Aeternity, that Aeternity will not pay me anything, and Aeternity will sue me for damages.
June- Money was collected from the contribution campaign. Other programmers were getting paid regularly, but I have still not been paid. So I went on strike. I stopped answering technical questions, and I stopped helping with Aeternity software. I demanded that Aeternity and I come to agreement about how I will get paid.
August- The owner of Aeternity tells me that I am not a founder. The owner tells me that I am a junior erlang programmer, and that he already has other more experienced erlang programmers who want to work for him. The owner tells me that Aeternity is not interested in using any of the technology I invented, or any of the software I have written. So, he asks me how much I think would be a fair payment under these circumstances. I am comfortable being paid $300 000. If Aeternity doesn't want to use my technology, then this means I have failed, so I am willing to be paid a small amount.
Aeternity developers are still working on the technology that I invented. Aeternity is still describing itself to the public as using the technology that I invented. I think that the owner of Aeternity is lying to me. Aeternity wants to use the technology I invented without paying me.
August 17- Aeternity finally makes an offer to hire me that I am comfortable with. In the process of negotiating my employment, the owner of Aeternity was asking me technical questions, and the honest answers I gave made him angry. He wished that universe worked differently, and he blamed me, the messenger of bad news. The owner of Aeternity was so upset by the technical limitation, that he did something to me that both scared and injured me. I no longer feel safe working with this person. I am walking with a limp a week later.
The owner of Aeternity is someone who punishes people that tell him uncomfortable truths. So, it is impossible for the owner to understand the technology, or to hire people who understand it.
Immediately after the awful experience, Aeternity's owner and three other employees get together to pressure me into signing a contract where I would agree to not talk about what happened to me. They tell me I wont get paid unless I sign. The contract says "Zack agrees that all of his work is worth $300 000, and that Aeternity owes him nothing more". and "Zack agrees to never say anything about Aeternity, or else Aeternity can sue him for damages." I have not signed.
It is very hard for me to program while in a state of fear. I cannot work with people who make me feel this way. I stopped communicating with the community because I was afraid for my physical security.
August-
The Aeternity lawyer spent 5 days with me, begging me to sign the contract. I wonder how much lawyers get paid per hour. He kept saying stuff like "This contract is only for you Zack, it doesn't benefit us at all."
Aeternity hires a "new CTO", as if I was stepping down from some kind of power. In private I was an unpaid "junior erlang dev" with no control over how funds are used, essentially an intern, but in public I was the "technical lead". It is not fair that Aeternity uses my name this way when they don't give me any power. This is a trick so that they can blame me for their mistakes.
September-
I have left Europe. I am in a safe place. I finally feel safe enough to communicate with the community again.
What comes next?
If Aeternity is going to use the technology invented, and they wont pay me to make their software secure, then my only way to get paid is by selling zero-day exploits for people who want to attack Aeternity.
As far as I know, Marion also has not been paid. Aeternity might steal from her too, which could be a disaster.
The Aeternity leadership doesn't understand the technology. So it is impossible for them to hire programmers who do understand. They will be able to sell most of their AE tokens before the blockchain gets launched. So they have little incentive to deliver a working product.
I want to work on blockchains for at least the next decade. Keep an eye on my github.
https://github.com/zack-bitcoin
