Toptal trying to sue us for saying there are Toptal alternatives that cost less

Toptal trying to sue us for saying there are Toptal alternatives that cost less(twitter.com)

157 points by al_caan 3 years ago | 35 comments

I wonder if this person knows that you do not have to respond to a C&D or submit to its demands? If a party makes a frivolous demand like this, yes, they can file a lawsuit against you. But the chances of that happening are quite slim. Even the most unethical lawyers hesitate to bring junk like this in front of a judge.

Unfortunately, if you talk to a typical lawyer, they will always say that it is in your best (legal) interest to send a strong response back (at a mere $300 hour, or $3000 flat fee).

Silhouette 3 years ago |

Is this the same Toptal that

1. advertises the "top 3% of freelance talent" on its home page

2. on an inside page says that what that really means is roughly the top 3% of freelancers who apply to join Toptal

3. on the same inside page states that it rejects nearly 3/4 of those applicants at the first step for unsuitable language/communication/personality before they start testing for technical ability

4. also on the same page advertises that applicants will need to complete a 1-3 week test project before being allowed to join their network in addition to passing various earlier screens?

al_caan 3 years ago | |

They have quite a reputation, like this The Information piece; https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-booming-toptal-no...

mcv 3 years ago | |

> 1. advertises the "top 3% of freelance talent" on its home page

> 2. on an inside page says that what that really means is roughly the top 3% of freelancers who apply to join Toptal

Sounds like that first claim is a blatant lie, and the real top freelance talent cannot be found on Toptal. They won't hire everybody, so the talent they offer is probably solid mid-tier.

988747 3 years ago | |

There’s also even worse, Texas-based alternative called „Crossover for Work”

al_caan 3 years ago | |

The one and the same!

throwaway81523 3 years ago |

One word: SLAPP. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLAPP

al_caan 3 years ago | |

Precisely what they’re attempting with us.

But we won’t give into their fear tactics.

They can throw SLAPP suits all they want.

I say bring it on!

throwaway81523 3 years ago | | |

I was also getting at the possibility of a SLAPP countersuit. I don't know where you are but your state might support them. In California there is the California Anti-SLAPP Project which you could look up.

iaabtpbtpnn 3 years ago |

Never heard of Toptal before, but I sure won't be using their services now. The Streisand effect is not to be underestimated...

tnzk 3 years ago | |

Have never used but seen their name quite often as an ad in reddit app. Feels like 1 out of 3 times I see them.

PenguinCoder 3 years ago | | |

More reason to avoid them. I don't fault a company for needing to advertise, that's a given. But incessant constant barrages of your company name in unrelated spaces, certainly aren't the way to do it. Kind of like the same damn ads 3 times in a row on Pluto TV, or Spotify, etc.

Silhouette 3 years ago | | |

On a related note does anyone happen to know how you can filter LinkedIn's job lists to exclude specific advertisers? The promoted entries already make the lists frustrating to use if you're seriously looking to make a move but then certain brands including Toptal seem to list dozens of generic roles at once that just get in the way. It's almost annoying enough to give up on LinkedIn entirely but every now and then something actually worthwhile does show up on those lists for me so I'd prefer to just reliably filter out the items that have no interest for me.

al_caan 3 years ago | |

Absolutely. When people try to silence and sensor you, it's a sign they're threatened by what you have to say. And we've got nothing to fear as long as we speak the truth.

These are common scare tactics by large investor backed organizations, to try and make all possible competition disappear. They especially target small, bootstrapped businesses like ourselves that are more favored by entrepreneurs for their low-budget hiring requirements. And Toptal knows that we'll never be able to battle them out in courts. So they try to enforce fear to silence us.

It's not going to work this time. I won't be silenced.

explaingarlic 3 years ago | |

Not that you or I could afford them to begin with ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

dcdc123 3 years ago | |

ditto

andersonmvd 3 years ago |

HN question: at the moment, this post has 31 pts in 1 hour and is on the 2nd page. Why other posts with less points are on the first page? E.g., post with 28 pts 5 hours ago (4-Die Chess). Edit: typo

WFHRenaissance 3 years ago | |

There is a secret keyword that you can use in comments to "sage" a post – i.e. using a secret keyword in the comments of a post will prevent it from gaining traction in the article scoring algo. I cannot say the keyword here because it would sink this post, but if you look around at some posts you can find it.

gnu8 3 years ago | | |

Is the word fnord?

Traubenfuchs 3 years ago | |

It‘s pretty obvious that the powers in charge can make posts rise and fall at will.

al_caan 3 years ago | |

this is want Ryan Breslow was complaining about as well. How his posts again Stripe got de-ranked by HN

tomnipotent 3 years ago | | |

You mean the guy that let go of 1/3 of his staff after gross mismanagement? I'm not sure I'd put much weight behind his allegations.

eloff 3 years ago | |

The ranking algorithm is not simply raw points.

al_caan 3 years ago | |

check this one ; https://share.getcloudapp.com/xQuwG0K7 it's ranking above this post as well. it's a funny algorithm

al_caan 3 years ago | |

valid question!

PakistaniDenzel 3 years ago |

What happens if you respond to something like this with a simple "Fuck off"?

LBJsPNS 3 years ago | |

I refer you to the reply given in Arkell v. Pressdram.

https://prunescape.fandom.com/wiki/The_Reply_Given_in_Arkell...

jaclaz 3 years ago | | |

Personally I find that the best reply ever was this one:

https://lettersofnote.com/2011/02/14/regarding-your-stupid-c...

letters of note has also the Arkell vs. Pressdram letter:

https://lettersofnote.com/2013/08/07/arkell-v-pressdram/

though there it says that there never was a proper legal case on the matter.

kadoban 3 years ago | |

They fuck off, or they sue you. And/or they keep being generally annoying. Hard to say which they're likely to do.

CM30 3 years ago |

Okay, ignoring how obviously this is a frivolous lawsuit and likely covered under anti SLAPP laws, it's scummy as hell nonetheless, and shows how terrified the folks at Toptal are of competition. This is one company whose services I certainly won't be using now, even if I did find a use case for their product.