7 ms·

Isn't this what throwaway accounts are for? Sure you can't break NDAs and the like but a throwaway can give a lot of freedom from people piecing together stuff

Isn't this what throwaway accounts are for? Sure you can't break NDAs and the like but a throwaway can give a lot of freedom from people piecing together stuff if you posted using an account you use daily.

Agentlien 8y ago
I could definitely use a throwaway account. The thing is, I still don't want to say anything I'm not allowed to say. I do feel loyalty towards my employer, and I'm only protecting myself if I stay clear of saying anything which identifies me. And that includes referring to knowledge which I didn't realise not many have or just generally expressing myself with my own idiosyncrasies which I may not even be aware of.
- hopler 8y ago
  EA's existential problems are crappy games and customer-hostile business practices, not some secret sauce at risk of being leaked.
  - Agentlien 8y ago
    There are plenty of interesting things I'd love to share and fun topics I'd love to respond to which have nothing to do with what you're referring to. I'm talking about a more broad thing where I also find it difficult to join more positively minded discussions.
    - eps 8y ago
      nevermind (Quick recap, since there are now replies - EA had a policy of owning everything you produce, including the off hours, and with their constant "crunch mode" they expected you to not have time for any pet projects to begin with. An inherently abusive company, and very brazen at that. It was like that when I interviewed with them several years ago, but I doubt things changed much.)
      - mulletbum 8y ago
        I am not from the game industry or anywhere near software mecha. Can you tell me why a company would want to pay you to work on your own pet project with their money without them owning the end result? I am just confused how this is a stipulation at any job. The place I work, if I designed a model for their products on their time, with their money, it is only acceptable that they own said product. Why would they allow me to go off an compete with them?
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
        detaro 8y ago
        the key is on their time. Parent explicitly mentions everything while employed there, in your free time as well.
        Davidbrcz 8y ago
        How the F* can this be legal ?
        crankylinuxuser 8y ago
        Because in this country, contracts signed are almost always enforced. It doesn't matter the unidirectional power assymetry. It doesn't matter if the contract is unconscionable. If you want the job, you sign the contract. And even if its illegal good luck going thru the courts to litigate. The companies also have more money and can outspent than you have to live.
        robin_reala 8y ago
        Which country? The US?
        xtian 8y ago
- jbverschoor 8y ago
  The thing is, your employer probably does not feel loyalty towards you. Protecting yourself is the real reason.
  - cabaalis 8y ago
    Whistleblowing/etc aside, if you sign an NDA you should adhere to it. We should not respect people who don't hold to their agreements just because they have some juicy insider information about nothing of any consequence.
    - everdrive 8y ago
      I think there's some merit to you point, but what about people who "need a job now." Not everyone is in a position to be picky about who hires them.
  - jib 8y ago
    The argument of employers being these evil things that hold no loyalty is tiresome. Loyalty is not a black and white thing. I can list close to 15 years of small experiences that make me feel like my current employer truly cares. I’ve had very few negative experiences, and when I have had them I’ve said “hey that’s not cool”, and the company has fixed it as much as it could be fixed. The fact that I may be fired at some point does not invalidate that. To me, loyalty between a company and an individual is not about the contract of work, it is about the environment that exists while you are working. Both I and the company have the option at any time to terminate the employment, that’s just part of the deal. That does not mean long term loyalty and expectations can’t exist.
    - dvtrn 8y ago
      Seems to me the argument of employer loyalty I think is more than (but still involves the matter of) whether or not an employer will go to bat for you, and speaks more to the leverage an employer has in a situation where they're faced with retaining an employee or firing an employee. As in: most often than not, in more situations than not, they have most if not all of the leverage.
- tuesdayrain 8y ago
  So don't say anything you're not allowed to say. I think the main point of a throwaway here is to say perfectly legal things, just without worrying about potential death threats.
jib 8y ago
For me at least, I would not use a throwaway. The one thing we get asked to do for social media is always be clear that we have ties to the company but don’t speak for the company when commenting on things that could potentially be a conflict of interest. Both sides of that matter - I.e. I don’t want there to be any risk that someone doesn’t know I work at Blizzard when reading a comment (mostly because of native advertising rules) but I also don’t want them to think I speak for the company (mostly for fair disclosure rules). I think that’s a reasonable request and I feel like using throwaways goes against that (and make it seem like there’s something to hide when really there is not).
- el_cujo 8y ago
  You can still be responsible and give people disclosure while using a throw away. The benefit is you don't have to worry about people mining your entire post history to look for stuff they can use to draw negative conclusions about you/blizzard. You can also never look at that account again after that post so you don't have to worry about any crazies sending abusive messages about Diablo Immortal or whatever.

Agentlien 8y ago

I could definitely use a throwaway account. The thing is, I still don't want to say anything I'm not allowed to say. I do feel loyalty towards my employer, and I'm only protecting myself if I stay clear of saying anything which identifies me. And that includes referring to knowledge which I didn't realise not many have or just generally expressing myself with my own idiosyncrasies which I may not even be aware of.

hopler 8y ago
EA's existential problems are crappy games and customer-hostile business practices, not some secret sauce at risk of being leaked.
- Agentlien 8y ago
  There are plenty of interesting things I'd love to share and fun topics I'd love to respond to which have nothing to do with what you're referring to. I'm talking about a more broad thing where I also find it difficult to join more positively minded discussions.
  - eps 8y ago
    nevermind (Quick recap, since there are now replies - EA had a policy of owning everything you produce, including the off hours, and with their constant "crunch mode" they expected you to not have time for any pet projects to begin with. An inherently abusive company, and very brazen at that. It was like that when I interviewed with them several years ago, but I doubt things changed much.)
    - mulletbum 8y ago
      I am not from the game industry or anywhere near software mecha. Can you tell me why a company would want to pay you to work on your own pet project with their money without them owning the end result? I am just confused how this is a stipulation at any job. The place I work, if I designed a model for their products on their time, with their money, it is only acceptable that they own said product. Why would they allow me to go off an compete with them?
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
      - detaro 8y ago
        the key is on their time. Parent explicitly mentions everything while employed there, in your free time as well.
        Davidbrcz 8y ago
        How the F* can this be legal ?
        crankylinuxuser 8y ago
        Because in this country, contracts signed are almost always enforced. It doesn't matter the unidirectional power assymetry. It doesn't matter if the contract is unconscionable. If you want the job, you sign the contract. And even if its illegal good luck going thru the courts to litigate. The companies also have more money and can outspent than you have to live.
        robin_reala 8y ago
        Which country? The US?
        xtian 8y ago
jbverschoor 8y ago
The thing is, your employer probably does not feel loyalty towards you. Protecting yourself is the real reason.
- cabaalis 8y ago
  Whistleblowing/etc aside, if you sign an NDA you should adhere to it. We should not respect people who don't hold to their agreements just because they have some juicy insider information about nothing of any consequence.
  - everdrive 8y ago
    I think there's some merit to you point, but what about people who "need a job now." Not everyone is in a position to be picky about who hires them.
- jib 8y ago
  The argument of employers being these evil things that hold no loyalty is tiresome. Loyalty is not a black and white thing. I can list close to 15 years of small experiences that make me feel like my current employer truly cares. I’ve had very few negative experiences, and when I have had them I’ve said “hey that’s not cool”, and the company has fixed it as much as it could be fixed. The fact that I may be fired at some point does not invalidate that. To me, loyalty between a company and an individual is not about the contract of work, it is about the environment that exists while you are working. Both I and the company have the option at any time to terminate the employment, that’s just part of the deal. That does not mean long term loyalty and expectations can’t exist.
  - dvtrn 8y ago
    Seems to me the argument of employer loyalty I think is more than (but still involves the matter of) whether or not an employer will go to bat for you, and speaks more to the leverage an employer has in a situation where they're faced with retaining an employee or firing an employee. As in: most often than not, in more situations than not, they have most if not all of the leverage.
tuesdayrain 8y ago
So don't say anything you're not allowed to say. I think the main point of a throwaway here is to say perfectly legal things, just without worrying about potential death threats.

jib 8y ago

For me at least, I would not use a throwaway. The one thing we get asked to do for social media is always be clear that we have ties to the company but don’t speak for the company when commenting on things that could potentially be a conflict of interest. Both sides of that matter - I.e. I don’t want there to be any risk that someone doesn’t know I work at Blizzard when reading a comment (mostly because of native advertising rules) but I also don’t want them to think I speak for the company (mostly for fair disclosure rules). I think that’s a reasonable request and I feel like using throwaways goes against that (and make it seem like there’s something to hide when really there is not).

el_cujo 8y ago
You can still be responsible and give people disclosure while using a throw away. The benefit is you don't have to worry about people mining your entire post history to look for stuff they can use to draw negative conclusions about you/blizzard. You can also never look at that account again after that post so you don't have to worry about any crazies sending abusive messages about Diablo Immortal or whatever.