The fact that you don't see Bryan Cantrill's public shaming as deliberately and extremely hostile is astounding. It was misleading, it was predicated on a straw man that wasn't remotely supported by the evidence, and it was mind-boggling aggressive. The permanent social and business ramifications for everyone involved are substantial, and if Bryan Cantrill were my employee, I'd have him posting an apology or submitting his resignation.

I'm not sure what sort of culture you have there at Joyent, but if it's a monoculture that fully supports this sort of grossly disproportionate public escalation and aggressive behavior from anyone, especially under the company's name, then I'm happy to keep Joyent off the short list of companies I'd consider working for or with.

Surveying the facts, I'm far more inclined to believe that this event simply provided you with a convenient self-righteous excuse for Joyent to stretch the truth enough to hang what you considered to be a troublesome contributor (and competitor) with his own rope.

[edit] On top of all this, I've had to fire a number of people over the years, and always, regardless of how justified it was, I did so with a heavy heart. The fact that Bryan Cantrill would speak to gleefully of firing anyone is, if nothing else, a testament to the myopia of self-righteousness.