[TriLUG] from: address? official capacity?

[Mike Mueller]

On Thursday 29 August 2002 14:21, lfwelty wrote:
> Hi y'all,
>
> It appears that many on the list have adopted the attitude that
> any e-mail from a business account implies that person is speaking
> on behalf of their employer.
>
> I would argue strongly that it does not.

I once worked for XYZ Inc.  I talked to the WSJ via email to register an 
opinion and just mentioned that I worked for XYZ.  The reporter wrote in a 
subsequent column something like, "Mike Mueller of XYZ thinks you should 
should do it the other way." A few days later the VP/GM of my division walks 
in to my office with a blown-up fax of the article with my name underlined. 
The fax came to him from a corporate board member. He throws the fax on my 
desk and lets me read it and then asks if it was true.  I said, "Yeah, but 
not exactly like this."  I ended up having to write a retraction of the 
statement and promise not to invoke the name of XYZ when talking outside the 
company again without first clearing the statement with marketing comms.  My 
VP/GM cut me a major break.

When you speak/write to this list, you are stating things publicly.  
Journalists do read this list.  They are within their rights to report that 
John Doe of ABC Inc says so and so.  They would probably call or email you 
first to confirm what you said and ask in closing how things are going at 
ABC.  Bingo!  You just confirmed their quote.

My advice is to be very careful about how you use your corporate email 
account.  Even the disclaimer is not enough IMO.  There is no guarantee that 
the disclaimer will be reported along with your inflamatory statement.  You 
won't be able to get the toothpaste back in the tube.

-- 
mueller, mike

The larger purpose of the economic order, including Wall Street, is to 
support the material conditions for human existence, not to undermine and 
destabilize them.

-Editorial, The Nation, August 19, 2002