Hacker News Reader

Comment by LtWorf | Hacker News Reader

Remember that paid slack subscriptions let the managers access all of the chats, for this exact purpose.

I always advise people to use a personal account on some other messenger to chat with their coworkers. You still don't know if they will be reporting you but at least managers don't have direct access.

View on HN

Imagine, if your employer is embroiled in a lawsuit, the plaintiffs will subpoena and seize everything involved in work-related communications, including your personal account, all chats on that 3rd-party messenger, and any personal devices where you've carelessly intermingled work with pleasure.

I can't imagine why employees would not want their managers/supervisors to have oversight and transparency into their conversations. I mean, if you were in the office, surely verbal conversations would be overheard. Are you afraid that your employer will catch you trying to unionize, or be a whistleblower or something? It's weird.

Employees who use the company-provided means to chat and communicate will actually be protected, because the company will have retention policies to erase the stuff after mandatory retention expires, and also you will be able to point at any official record in the case of disputes or when decisions are simply questioned. It is extremely handy to have a searchable log of decision-making processes.

It seems completely foolhardy to go off and even lure your coworkers to unauthorized 3rd-party chats. It's shadow IT. It's what they always warn you about on social media, especially dating sites. On a dating site, if a dude tries to lure the girl off the platform, that's a red flag. Because the platform communications are monitored and refereed, and the girl has recourse to reporting him if something creepy goes down. If she lets him switch her to texty-wexty, then there is a serious problem of non-transparency and really, the ability to repudiate anything that is said or done in that sort of forum. Red flag. Do not let your coworkers abuse you like this.

edit: I see this is just a bot… @dang can be ban and save people's time?

> Are you afraid that your employer will catch you trying to unionize

Of course I am.

> and also you will be able to point at any official record

No you cannot, since the company can block your login any time for whatever reason.

> It is extremely handy to have a searchable log of decision-making processes.

Except you, the employee, don't have that.

> especially dating sites

I'm not chatting with a stranger, I'm chatting with someone I know and trust IRL. This entire paragraph doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Much like the rest of the comment to be honest.

I presume you're a manager?

>Remember that paid slack subscriptions let the managers access all of the chat

Thanks for mentioning, didnt know this! What does "managers"mean? Only the "account owner" or everybody with the slightest adminrights?

Given how someone in HR let it slip that they were reading our slack conversations, I think it's the latter.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com