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Re: Can employers forbid you from talking about IETF activities?

2001-05-30 10:00:03
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-Mike

----- Original Message -----
From: "James K. Murray (AMSS Mail)" <amsoft1993(_at_)netzero(_dot_)net>
To: "Mike Haisley" <mikehaisley(_at_)home(_dot_)com>; "Nicolai Schlenzig (DXD)"
<Nicolai(_dot_)Schlenzig(_at_)dxd(_dot_)ericsson(_dot_)se>; "'Scott Bradner'" 
<sob(_at_)harvard(_dot_)edu>;
<ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org>; <pete(_at_)LOSHIN(_dot_)COM>
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 10:28 AM
Subject: Re: Can employers forbid you from talking about IETF activities?


Employers have the inherent option of forbidding any activities NOT
related
to your "conditions of employment".  Now, I am new to the IETF
announcement
list, and it was my impression, which I now concede was the wrong
impression, that I would be informed via Email of any new Internet Drafts.
While I can appreciate members dilemmas, I think these discussions are
better suited for chat rooms.  If I am on the wrong mailing list, please
advise.

James

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Haisley" <mikehaisley(_at_)home(_dot_)com>
To: "Nicolai Schlenzig (DXD)" 
<Nicolai(_dot_)Schlenzig(_at_)dxd(_dot_)ericsson(_dot_)se>; "'Scott
Bradner'" <sob(_at_)harvard(_dot_)edu>; <ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org>; 
<pete(_at_)LOSHIN(_dot_)COM>
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: Can employers forbid you from talking about IETF activities?


Well...I'm sure Cisco, and Microsoft already have individuals on their
staff
who's sole job is to interact with orginizations such as the ietf...
But
of
course this wasn't the original topic of this thread...the fact of if
employers can forbid you from talking about ietf activites...of course
they
can if it's in your contract.  Its much the same as the situation free
software writers get into with companys who think they own their work...
A
fairly clear letter of authorization/wavier of contract rights should be
pursued before begining work on a project to keep yourself in the
clear...

-Mike


----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicolai Schlenzig (DXD)" 
<Nicolai(_dot_)Schlenzig(_at_)dxd(_dot_)ericsson(_dot_)se>
To: "'Scott Bradner'" <sob(_at_)harvard(_dot_)edu>; 
<ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org>;
<pete(_at_)LOSHIN(_dot_)COM>
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 9:02 AM
Subject: RE: Can employers forbid you from talking about IETF
activities?


The alternative, IMO, is to have IETF participants who are
employed by
industry companies such as Cisco and Microsoft viewed as official
representatives of their companies rather than as
individual (and independent)
participants.

would the Cisco rep's opinion count the same as the rep for Bill's
Bits-to-Go apartment-building-wide ISP?

I don't see why not. If any person can argument for his/she's cause
and
that is held up to actual facts - A's opinion would be as good as B's
opinion. You cannot judge a persons knowledge on a given subject by
simply
looking at his workplace.

Of course Cisco or whatever large company probably have chosen their
rep.
with good care and from the first look his opinion would count more. But
going into details you might be surprised how little a "general" rep.
from
a
large company can know about certain topics, but still they have to
represent it because it's their job (Who says they even have an
interest).
The little fellow from bits2go... might as well be an expert on topic as
he/she could have been working on topic for a decades!

Conclusion: John Doe at Big-O-Mighty-World-wide-Company might not know
as
much as Jack Doe from Little-and-Extremely-Competent-Company on a given
topic.

My 2 cents

-NS