From: Steve Jobs. "Great idea, thank you."

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Core story and reactions

  • Commenters found the alias mix‑up and “Great idea, thank you.” reply charming and “wholesome,” with many saying it genuinely made them smile.
  • The initial “Hi – I’m new here. I did something dumb…” email is praised as a model for owning mistakes: clear, fast, un-defensive, and solution‑oriented.
  • Some push back on the “fawning,” arguing that this kind of candid message to a boss should be normal, not exceptional.

Tone of Jobs’s reply

  • Some readers hear sarcasm in Jobs’s “Great idea” line; others who know the context insist it was entirely earnest.
  • Several anecdotes describe short, polite replies from Jobs (“thanks”), and many cases of no reply at all.

Jobs, leadership style, and myth‑making

  • A few point out that stories about his cruelty overshadow quieter gratitude like this; others say a brief acknowledgment email isn’t exactly “a lot of gratitude.”
  • There are contrasting personal stories: from him being dismissive and stubborn in UI debates (e.g., rejecting pie menus) to being intensely enthusiastic and opinionated in demos.
  • A meta‑thread questions idealizing any tech leader this much; others counter that working with a future “legend” naturally makes even small interactions feel special.

Email aliases, misdirected mail, and 1990s security

  • Many share similar alias mishaps at big companies: getting mail for executives, celebrities, or system users like root@…, sometimes revealing sensitive or absurd content.
  • There’s discussion of how, in 1991, small tech companies and the early internet had very loose security and process controls (“wild frontier,” open relays, no firewalls).
  • Debate emerges between valuing freedom/self‑service (easy alias changes, lightweight process) vs modern corporate bureaucracy and privacy/security needs.

NeXT/WebObjects and old Apple culture

  • Several recall the author’s WebObjects demo as one of the most entertaining technical talks, emblematic of a more playful, quirky Apple.
  • WebObjects is remembered as ahead of its time by some; others think it was roughly on par with other frameworks of its era.

Tim Cook and modern Apple

  • Some criticize Cook as distant and transactional, tying him to “enshittification” (ads, App Store behavior, EU “malicious compliance”).
  • Others defend present‑day Apple hardware as the best it’s ever been, noting that Apple’s hostility to open platforms long predates the current era.