More intra-blogging fun and games, as the knock-on reaction from criticisms over the Le Web 3 conference spreads further (earlier posts here, here and from MediaGuardian's Jemima Kiss here).
Now, listen closely. Last night it seems that Sam Sethi, who set up TCUK, "parted ways" with the company after an argument with founder Mike Arrington. The reason? It seems that Arrington wasn't happy about a thread criticising Le Web which Sethi wrote, and a response which apparently came from conference organiser Loic Le Meur publicly calling Sethi an "arsehole" - and particuarly Sethi's subsequent decision to highlight it.
Techcrunch is listed as a partner for the Le Web event, though apparently there was no financial arrangement. So when Loic Le Meur asked Arrington for the rude comment to be redacted, it was just a personal favour. But instead of following instructions to do so, Sethi chose not to. It's the battle between an editor and his boss, and even using it to publicise his own events would hardly count as unethical behaviour (as Arrington claims) - merely refusing to capitulate to favours your boss is dishing out and acting competitively. Most editors-in-chief would revel in their staff being victimised, not bring the curtains down on them.
Still Arrington - who holds the executive powers - deemed it a step too far, axed Sethi ("he basically fired himself", ie was sacked) and put the blog on hold at the same time. Where all that leaves Mike Butcher, who had recently been appointed as co-editor of the site, is yet to be seen.
It's just the latest piece of weird behaviour from Arrington, who recently accused our media columnist Rafat Ali and the ever-troubled Dave Winer.
The whole episode is frankly bizarre, and the chances are it has killed off any chance of creating a viable Techcrunch community in Britain - it's certainly destroyed my interest. Expect Valleywag, obsessed as it is with Arrington's every cough and sneeze, to have a field day on this one.
So long Techcrunch UK.
