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It looks like this is a case where everybody is happy. A process that was plagued by manual errors now runs smoothly. And there is an admin around to jump in sh

by lolc 5y ago

It looks like this is a case where everybody is happy. A process that was plagued by manual errors now runs smoothly. And there is an admin around to jump in should it break. While the firm might be indignant if they found out, they may actually already know and just accept it. They're unlikely to change it if it runs well. On the other hand, I don't think I could work like that. I always look for ways to improve life, and that includes the life of my customers. Not letting them know that the thing is automated keeps them in the belief that it requires manual action, and that to me is a lie by omission. Likely there are other low-hangig fruit to automate, once you're in the mindset. Another consideration is when the script does something dumb a human wouldn't have done. Is the operator liable for that? Because after all it was not considered part of the job to automate it? Of course, the likelihood of human mistakes weighs more in all likelihood. But when the firm argues (they're lawyers right?) that the mistakes wouldn't have happened if the employee followed protocol, there may be some ugly liability.

leetcrew 5y ago
> While the firm might be indignant if they found out, they may actually already know and just accept it. They're unlikely to change it if it runs well. if they knew, they might be tempted to fire the person and keep the script. OP talks a big game about how it's running on their own hardware, but the company has a legal claim if it was developed during the workday. not smart to play legal games with a law firm.
- Kon-Peki 5y ago
  Maybe, but unlikely. They want someone to be available to fix/update and perhaps do other things too. Part of your salary as support staff is being there when they need you.
  - Hamuko 5y ago
    Yeah, if this is something that is integral to their work, they'd still need to pay someone to be able to respond within X amount of minutes in case something goes tits up even if they got the script in their hands. They could probably do that for less than 90k/year, but it's still gonna cost them.
- bena 5y ago
  It was literally developed for them. He even explains that he has no intention of selling it because it is pretty much custom to the one place.
  - rileymat2 5y ago
    There are some interesting corner cases. For instance say he purchased the script from a third party? Is that different than if he wrote it on his off hours?
    - bena 5y ago
      The problem here is intent. His intention was to write a script for his job. He can't hire himself to do his own job. Which is what he would effectively be doing by claiming he wrote it "off hours". The very act of writing that script put him "on hours". Now, was it unpaid work? That's a different story. Although since he's also technically not doing work during work hours, one could call it a wash. If he bought the script, then the company likely needs to reimburse him the cost of that, because its materials for the job. But he wouldn't want to make that request, because then the jig is up. But then again, we aren't playing "what ifs". There are concrete elements to his story. He did write the script. It is explicitly for this company. It won't work for any other company without large modifications. The non-portability and exclusivity of this script means it was written for the express purpose of doing this thing for this company. And let's be completely fair here, he cobbled this thing together from StackOverflow snippets. If he's ever found out and fired, even if he takes his script, they're probably looking at a day or two to replicate this work. The real question for him is would it be worth it? The firm would be minimally affected and could, in turn, make things incredibly difficult for him. This is a law firm. This is what they do. The cost of suing him is negligible, because they already do so much of the work normally. We're really talking about the additional court and filing fees. Whereas, he'd have to retain a lawyer himself. Who would then bill him for all the work they'd do. Consider, they were paying him $90k to copy files. They have that kind of money to throw at the problem. Do you really want to become a problem?
- CodeyWhizzBang 5y ago
  The reality is, their core business is law. They probably don't hugely care about IT as long as it works. The most likely thing, if they found out, is they'd give him some other IT stuff to do as well to fill his time (which he may also be able to automate). I doubt they'd want to fire him - as long as the task is being done appropriately.

by lolc 5y ago

leetcrew 5y ago

> While the firm might be indignant if they found out, they may actually already know and just accept it. They're unlikely to change it if it runs well. if they knew, they might be tempted to fire the person and keep the script. OP talks a big game about how it's running on their own hardware, but the company has a legal claim if it was developed during the workday. not smart to play legal games with a law firm.

Kon-Peki 5y ago
Maybe, but unlikely. They want someone to be available to fix/update and perhaps do other things too. Part of your salary as support staff is being there when they need you.
- Hamuko 5y ago
  Yeah, if this is something that is integral to their work, they'd still need to pay someone to be able to respond within X amount of minutes in case something goes tits up even if they got the script in their hands. They could probably do that for less than 90k/year, but it's still gonna cost them.
bena 5y ago
It was literally developed for them. He even explains that he has no intention of selling it because it is pretty much custom to the one place.
- rileymat2 5y ago
  There are some interesting corner cases. For instance say he purchased the script from a third party? Is that different than if he wrote it on his off hours?
  - bena 5y ago
    The problem here is intent. His intention was to write a script for his job. He can't hire himself to do his own job. Which is what he would effectively be doing by claiming he wrote it "off hours". The very act of writing that script put him "on hours". Now, was it unpaid work? That's a different story. Although since he's also technically not doing work during work hours, one could call it a wash. If he bought the script, then the company likely needs to reimburse him the cost of that, because its materials for the job. But he wouldn't want to make that request, because then the jig is up. But then again, we aren't playing "what ifs". There are concrete elements to his story. He did write the script. It is explicitly for this company. It won't work for any other company without large modifications. The non-portability and exclusivity of this script means it was written for the express purpose of doing this thing for this company. And let's be completely fair here, he cobbled this thing together from StackOverflow snippets. If he's ever found out and fired, even if he takes his script, they're probably looking at a day or two to replicate this work. The real question for him is would it be worth it? The firm would be minimally affected and could, in turn, make things incredibly difficult for him. This is a law firm. This is what they do. The cost of suing him is negligible, because they already do so much of the work normally. We're really talking about the additional court and filing fees. Whereas, he'd have to retain a lawyer himself. Who would then bill him for all the work they'd do. Consider, they were paying him $90k to copy files. They have that kind of money to throw at the problem. Do you really want to become a problem?
CodeyWhizzBang 5y ago
The reality is, their core business is law. They probably don't hugely care about IT as long as it works. The most likely thing, if they found out, is they'd give him some other IT stuff to do as well to fill his time (which he may also be able to automate). I doubt they'd want to fire him - as long as the task is being done appropriately.