4 ms·

A piece of advice I've taken to heart is whenever I'm sending something in writing, to think about how I would feel if I needed to repeat the same things in cou

by xmprt 2y ago

A piece of advice I've taken to heart is whenever I'm sending something in writing, to think about how I would feel if I needed to repeat the same things in court or if I found those messages in the news. Not that I've ever said anything near that egregious but it still helps.

b800h 2y ago
More importantly these days, have the same thought every time you write a comment on Slack or Teams.
- jdthedisciple 2y ago
  elaborate? was there some specific case?
  - mschuster91 2y ago
    Trouble at many orgs regarding the Israel vs Palestine conflict. No matter on which side of that clusterfuck you are - unless you are in a lobbyist group for either side, someone at your org will be offended and raise a stink.
  - b800h 2y ago
    No, just that there's no reason that your instant messages can't be used against you, and in some organisations, regulations mean that the chat history has to be logged and kept.
- NBJack 2y ago
  And this is exactly why so many of the larger companies are embracing either more ephemeral messaging modes or outright deleting history. https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2024/01/26/feds-warn-companies-not-to-delete-slack-and-signal-chats/?slreturn=20240628201603 https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2024/01/26/feds-warn-compani...
GeoAtreides 2y ago
When putting down something in writing, you should also remember cardinal Richelieu's quote: "If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."
StressedDev 2y ago
This is excellent advice. Another thing I will add is if something is not ethical, misleading, or dishonest, just do not do it. The world will be a better place if people behave ethically. Also, I strongly suspect that long term success in business requires ethical conduct.
ben0x539 2y ago
Whenever I'm discussing something in person I think about how I would feel if it turned out my employer was breaking the law and me not putting it in writing stopped the injured parties from obtaining just compensation.
- hiatus 2y ago
  So send a follow up email post meeting recapitulating the key points.
- dylan604 2y ago
  It sounds like you have a soul and/or morals. The people writing the emails in TFA clearly have neither.
- ornornor 2y ago
  Sorry, you’re not FAANG material.
Kye 2y ago
"Dance like no one is watching; email like it may one day be read aloud in a deposition." - Olivia Nuzzi https://web.archive.org/web/20141214193908/https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/543877654576107520 https://web.archive.org/web/20141214193908/https://twitter.c...
- ryandrake 2y ago
  The way I heard it from a corporate counsel is "The E in E-mail stands for Evidence."
mega_dean 2y ago
"Did you see Brian's hat? He's still fucking wearing it." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2k-BNySLI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2k-BNySLI
- dankwizard 2y ago
  Don't do the voice

by xmprt 2y ago

b800h 2y ago

More importantly these days, have the same thought every time you write a comment on Slack or Teams.

jdthedisciple 2y ago
elaborate? was there some specific case?
- mschuster91 2y ago
  Trouble at many orgs regarding the Israel vs Palestine conflict. No matter on which side of that clusterfuck you are - unless you are in a lobbyist group for either side, someone at your org will be offended and raise a stink.
- b800h 2y ago
  No, just that there's no reason that your instant messages can't be used against you, and in some organisations, regulations mean that the chat history has to be logged and kept.
NBJack 2y ago
And this is exactly why so many of the larger companies are embracing either more ephemeral messaging modes or outright deleting history. https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2024/01/26/feds-warn-companies-not-to-delete-slack-and-signal-chats/?slreturn=20240628201603 https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2024/01/26/feds-warn-compani...

GeoAtreides 2y ago

When putting down something in writing, you should also remember cardinal Richelieu's quote: "If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."

StressedDev 2y ago

This is excellent advice. Another thing I will add is if something is not ethical, misleading, or dishonest, just do not do it. The world will be a better place if people behave ethically. Also, I strongly suspect that long term success in business requires ethical conduct.

ben0x539 2y ago

Whenever I'm discussing something in person I think about how I would feel if it turned out my employer was breaking the law and me not putting it in writing stopped the injured parties from obtaining just compensation.

hiatus 2y ago
So send a follow up email post meeting recapitulating the key points.
dylan604 2y ago
It sounds like you have a soul and/or morals. The people writing the emails in TFA clearly have neither.
ornornor 2y ago
Sorry, you’re not FAANG material.

Kye 2y ago

"Dance like no one is watching; email like it may one day be read aloud in a deposition." - Olivia Nuzzi https://web.archive.org/web/20141214193908/https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/543877654576107520 https://web.archive.org/web/20141214193908/https://twitter.c...

ryandrake 2y ago
The way I heard it from a corporate counsel is "The E in E-mail stands for Evidence."

mega_dean 2y ago

"Did you see Brian's hat? He's still fucking wearing it." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2k-BNySLI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2k-BNySLI

dankwizard 2y ago
Don't do the voice