3 ms·

It’s not whether you or I get value out of it. It’s unethical to talk about people you’ve managed publicly. Most managers won’t even get into details in a priva

It’s not whether you or I get value out of it. It’s unethical to talk about people you’ve managed publicly. Most managers won’t even get into details in a private reference check for liability and ethical reasons.

breck 3y ago
It's not unethical to talk about anyone publicly. It IS unethical to keep secrets that could help people, to talk about someone behind their back, or to speak dishonestly about someone, or to criticize someone from an anon account. The OP is doing none of those things. He his both offering FREE highly thoughtful feedback to Rui (which I'm guessing is exactly what Rui was looking for by posting something publicly), and offering all of us who care about open source business models another perspective.
- cornercasechase 3y ago
  > It's not unethical to talk about anyone publicly. If you’re a manager, it most certainly is unethical to talk about someone you’ve managed publicly. I’m hardly the first person to say this. There’s tons of information out there coaching managers on how to talk about ex-employees. Maybe it doesn’t bother you, but I assure you a lot of people care about this and don’t want their ex-boss chiming in on their new projects.
  - breck 3y ago
    > Maybe it doesn’t bother you, but I assure you a lot of people care about this I think you are right on both points: 1) It doesn't bother me 2) a lot of people care about this. Everyone I know has part of their brain that rapidly recoils from criticism. That could be universal. Training your mental muscles to instead be grateful for all feedback, no matter whether it is delivered kindly or poorly, is a good skill, IMO, if you care about the truth. I think the word you should use is "impolite". I would never call someone who speaks a public truth "unethical". Impolite? Maybe (not in this case as I found their comments quite kind). But I prefer ethical people to polite people 10 times out of 10.
  - distcs 3y ago
    Do you realize how you took a kind and genuine comment, made the worst possible interpretation out of it and completely derailed an otherwise interesting thread. From the HN guidelines - > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith. Please do better next time. Glad that your current thread has been flagged and disabled by the community.
    - cornercasechase 3y ago
      Do you realize that what I said is completely valid and true? Managers: Do not discuss your ex-employee’s work in public. It’s risking their reputation and unprofessional.
      - distcs 3y ago
        > Do you realize that what I said is completely valid and true? No, it is not. > Managers: Do not discuss your ex-employee’s work in public. It’s risking their reputation and unprofessional. Do not discuss your ex-employee’s work in public without consent. You missed the consent part. What if both the manager and ex-employee are ok discussing it in public? You have your own value system and rules. But they apply to you. You do not decide for me as an employee what kind of relationship or interaction I should have with my boss.

breck 3y ago

It's not unethical to talk about anyone publicly. It IS unethical to keep secrets that could help people, to talk about someone behind their back, or to speak dishonestly about someone, or to criticize someone from an anon account. The OP is doing none of those things. He his both offering FREE highly thoughtful feedback to Rui (which I'm guessing is exactly what Rui was looking for by posting something publicly), and offering all of us who care about open source business models another perspective.

cornercasechase 3y ago
> It's not unethical to talk about anyone publicly. If you’re a manager, it most certainly is unethical to talk about someone you’ve managed publicly. I’m hardly the first person to say this. There’s tons of information out there coaching managers on how to talk about ex-employees. Maybe it doesn’t bother you, but I assure you a lot of people care about this and don’t want their ex-boss chiming in on their new projects.
- breck 3y ago
  > Maybe it doesn’t bother you, but I assure you a lot of people care about this I think you are right on both points: 1) It doesn't bother me 2) a lot of people care about this. Everyone I know has part of their brain that rapidly recoils from criticism. That could be universal. Training your mental muscles to instead be grateful for all feedback, no matter whether it is delivered kindly or poorly, is a good skill, IMO, if you care about the truth. I think the word you should use is "impolite". I would never call someone who speaks a public truth "unethical". Impolite? Maybe (not in this case as I found their comments quite kind). But I prefer ethical people to polite people 10 times out of 10.
- distcs 3y ago
  Do you realize how you took a kind and genuine comment, made the worst possible interpretation out of it and completely derailed an otherwise interesting thread. From the HN guidelines - > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith. Please do better next time. Glad that your current thread has been flagged and disabled by the community.
  - cornercasechase 3y ago
    Do you realize that what I said is completely valid and true? Managers: Do not discuss your ex-employee’s work in public. It’s risking their reputation and unprofessional.
    - distcs 3y ago
      > Do you realize that what I said is completely valid and true? No, it is not. > Managers: Do not discuss your ex-employee’s work in public. It’s risking their reputation and unprofessional. Do not discuss your ex-employee’s work in public without consent. You missed the consent part. What if both the manager and ex-employee are ok discussing it in public? You have your own value system and rules. But they apply to you. You do not decide for me as an employee what kind of relationship or interaction I should have with my boss.