Every big software company needs an ax murderer, on my first day in my first professional job they told me "always write your code as if the person who will maintain it is an ax murderer who knows where you live.". So I guess they gotta staff a couple of those to keep people on their toes.

If you can request a refund after your ad has run its term, doesn't that mean the service is free?

What's the incentive to not request a refund on day 22? (Besides being a tremendous douche.)

Fair enough - most wouldn't have thought it was the business of the advertiser to ensure that employers and employees get on well. I guess you could stop anyone that abused this policy too.

This comment right here merits the removal of "mediocre" from the story title.

P.S., Joel, apparently you hired one of my friends as a summer intern. This guy is smart, earnest, and great to be around. What a good catch. I'm gonna try to finagle a Fog Creek visit through him ;)