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Comment by 10g1k | Hacker News Reader

Unless you are the perpetrator of some crime, you just have no reason to ever sign an NDA. Or unless you want the pile of cash they promise you. If there's no clear benefit for you, when someone says signing an NDA is part of the process, the answer is "No".

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I wish we could standardize this as a developer community, but of course there are those who are placed at disadvantage due to their visa status that pretty much have no choice to sign these things, and that sets a pattern that managers expect everyone to comply with..

Is there some way to promote suggested standards in the industry? Maybe if someone like levels.fyi or layoffs.fyi or Blind were to suggest that we all start or stop doing whatever.

Traditionally, unions are used to set standards for employees' relationships with companies.

Our industry seems generally opposed to unions, so a different method might be more effective.

This is one of the most stupid things I've ever read.

Ever heard of trade secrets?

Or patents and public disclosure.

Ie, if you're in the process of developing patentable technology or writing a patent, anyone to whom you disclose details needs to be under NDA, otherwise your patent may be refused due to prior public disclosure.

Or so is my understanding anyways, I am not a lawyer.

I have a patent, but ok.

Hell, even without specific trade secrets to protect, Facebook wants to control the narrative about their project and thus wants to discourage leaks.

I mean, man, Apple is legendary for how hard they work to avoid leaks, but I've never seen anyone around here accuse them of using NDAs and equivalent in order to cover up crimes.

a battle over this has developed in the web go-go days. Developers were purposefully asked to sign NDA not due to patents, but to control the applicants to rival startups. Meanwhile, certain developers were so valuable that they discovered they could make demands themselves.

You're talking about a scenario in which you're getting paid? So there's a clear benefit, which you understand and accept.

There is a clear benefit: you get to hear what they're saying, while without signing the NDA you won't.

On the other hand, there's very little downside to signing an NDA. Sure, it'll prevent you from revealing the information. But without signing the NDA, you don't get access to the information in the first place, and just as unable to reveal the information.

Benefits aren't always clear. How old are you?

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