Thanks for the warning. Glad you posed that. I knew what an NDA was, but never
really knew the extent of what harm going against it was.
----- Original Message -----
From: Joseph Lee
To: braillenote@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2015 7:16 PM
Subject: [BNU] Admin's letter: early access, intimidation and NDA
Hi all,
A certain member posted a message that might be interpreted as saying, "ha,
I've got what you don't have". In context of what we're discussing now, it may
appear to be intimidating or may give an impression that someone is breaking
non-disclosure agreements (NDA). This letter will go over what NDA is, why it
is necessary and what the list admins will do if we do see NDA's being broken:
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a binding contract that says you need to
keep certain things under wraps until official announcement is made. This is
done to prevent someone from leaking potentially sensitive material to others.
If you are found to have broken an NDA, you might be asked to leave whatever
project you are part of as part of NDA (such as beta testing). I myself was
beta tester for KeySoft and do know how HumanWare is sensitive to NDA leakage.
On this BrailleNote list, breaking NDA will mean severe discipline for
members. If you send a post that may imply that you have broken an NDA, such as
the type of message we've seen today, and upon further investigation, you have
indeed signed an NDA (such as when beta testing KeySoft), you'll get:
· A warning for first offenders.
· Repeat offenders will be placed under no post until the day the
software in question is released.
As for the message in question: If it turns out that person did sign an NDA,
then you'll get a friendly warning. However, few months from now, if that
person signs an NDA again and breaks it, that person will be moderated until
the software is released. Please keep under wraps what needs to be under wraps,
and this includes information on closed betas.
Lastly, if that person sent the message to intimidate the list, then expect
an invitation from admins to "a cup of coffee" offlist. Intimidation is worse
than breaking an NDA, and the admins will not take it lightly. I am known for
writing witty messages and being generous, but there are times when I believe I
need to show that I mean business when the integrity of this list is at stake,
and our head administrator (not me) will have a final say on member discipline.
Thank you very much. As always, if you want to talk to the admins, please
send an email to braillenote-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Cheers,
Joseph
