[ale] [OT] ethics and paranoia questions

[Jim Popovitch]

On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 14:47,  <jcpilman at gmail.com> wrote:
> I work with a proprietary system which has, IMO, limited documentation and
> support.  The manufacturer has a forum, but it is closed to only registered
> users and it does not get much traffic.  I have been considering hosting an
> open, moderated forum to allow the users to discuss issues and hopefully
> solve problems.  Naturally, my interest is for the users and the
> manufacturer to benefit from better information.

I did the same thing 10 years ago for an unheard of proprietary
software product.  At that time I worked for a local Atlanta
consulting company.   The software vendor, a hot dot com, sent a few
people my way to ask me what/why I was creating the forum.  In the
end, their biggest concern was that proprietary content might be
distributed via the forum, and I was asked to do what I could to
prevent that.   Sidenote:  A minor concern, of the software vendor,
was "what if someone posted a picture of the (then) CEO in a dress">
(he's now the CEO of Motorola)

When the consulting company went under in 2001, I was able to get a
job directly with the software vendor because the site I had started
got me positive visibility and recognition.   In 2006 a big 3 letter
IT company bought the software vendor.   It's now been almost 10 years
since I started that forum and I have yet to regret doing so.  I
didn't start it for myself, I started it for others, but I can't
ignore the fact that starting it has benefited me along the way.

> I think I can do this anonymously, but I'm not sure.  If the manufacturer
> or my employer finds out, it would not go well on my annual review.

Why do you believe that?   Is there some contractual obligations that
you have made?  Animosity, for something like this, will only hurt you
in the long run.

-Jim P.