3 ms·

It was literally written in 2nd sentence of the post I was attending KubeCon on behalf of my then-employer, VMware.

by galkk 3y ago

spondylosaurus 3y ago
Right, but does it follow that "attending on behalf of" equates to "representing the company's official views and opinions"? I guess what I'm really asking is whether an outside observer would genuinely assume her tweets were indicative of VMware's official stances on anything, or whether they'd assume she was just one cog in their employee machine. Or maybe it's somewhere in the middle.
- jzb 3y ago
  It equates to being paid to make the company look good. I wouldn’t take their comments or tweets as official policy, necessarily, but attracting negative attention by dragging on a speaker on the company dime isn’t a great look. Should it be fireable? I’m having trouble there. But they certainly wouldn’t be sent to events for a long, long time.
  - spondylosaurus 3y ago
    Fair enough. As much as I'll defend her right to express those views, I do think making those tweets wasn't the greatest call—especially considering the fallout that ensued :P
- squeaky-clean 3y ago
  Given that it caused the Chief Software Officer of a major customer to view it negatively, I think that proves an outside observer viewed it as representing some of the company's views. For something like government, it doesn't really matter what the official stance of the company is. If you think a single employee is going to try to sneak a backdoor into the software you're buying and the company isn't trying hard enough to prevent it, that's a showstopper.
  - mlatu 3y ago
    is an "employee of a major customer" an "outside observer"?
    - squeaky-clean 3y ago
      I think they're not only an outside observer, but the only kind of observer that really matters.
- lelanthran 3y ago
  > Right, but does it follow that "attending on behalf of" equates to "representing the company's official views and opinions"? Yes. That's the whole point of "representing your employer at $FOO conf".
- galkk 3y ago
  https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+on+behalf+of https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+on+behalf+of > Definitions from Oxford Languages on behalf of phrase of behalf 1. in the interests of (a person, group, or principle). "votes cast by labor unions on behalf of their members". Similar: as a representative of, as a spokesperson for, for, in the name of, in place of, appearing for, representing, in the interests of 2. as a representative of. "he had to attend the funeral on Mama's behalf" 3. on the part of; done by. "this wasn't simply a philanthropic gesture on his behalf"
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

It was literally written in 2nd sentence of the post I was attending KubeCon on behalf of my then-employer, VMware.

by galkk 3y ago

It was literally written in 2nd sentence of the post I was attending KubeCon on behalf of my then-employer, VMware.

Right, but does it follow that "attending on behalf of" equates to "representing the company's official views and opinions"? I guess what I'm really asking is whether an outside observer would genuinely assume her tweets were indicative of VMware's official stances on anything, or whether they'd assume she was just one cog in their employee machine. Or maybe it's somewhere in the middle.

jzb 3y ago
It equates to being paid to make the company look good. I wouldn’t take their comments or tweets as official policy, necessarily, but attracting negative attention by dragging on a speaker on the company dime isn’t a great look. Should it be fireable? I’m having trouble there. But they certainly wouldn’t be sent to events for a long, long time.
- spondylosaurus 3y ago
  Fair enough. As much as I'll defend her right to express those views, I do think making those tweets wasn't the greatest call—especially considering the fallout that ensued :P
squeaky-clean 3y ago
Given that it caused the Chief Software Officer of a major customer to view it negatively, I think that proves an outside observer viewed it as representing some of the company's views. For something like government, it doesn't really matter what the official stance of the company is. If you think a single employee is going to try to sneak a backdoor into the software you're buying and the company isn't trying hard enough to prevent it, that's a showstopper.
- mlatu 3y ago
  is an "employee of a major customer" an "outside observer"?
  - squeaky-clean 3y ago
    I think they're not only an outside observer, but the only kind of observer that really matters.
lelanthran 3y ago
> Right, but does it follow that "attending on behalf of" equates to "representing the company's official views and opinions"? Yes. That's the whole point of "representing your employer at $FOO conf".
galkk 3y ago
https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+on+behalf+of https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+on+behalf+of > Definitions from Oxford Languages on behalf of phrase of behalf 1. in the interests of (a person, group, or principle). "votes cast by labor unions on behalf of their members". Similar: as a representative of, as a spokesperson for, for, in the name of, in place of, appearing for, representing, in the interests of 2. as a representative of. "he had to attend the funeral on Mama's behalf" 3. on the part of; done by. "this wasn't simply a philanthropic gesture on his behalf"

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]