Why it's pretty safe to post on CP

People in the office are paranoid that if they even READ CafePharma they'll be fired, or at least get into trouble. Here are the facts:

1. WHERE: Just be careful WHERE you are when you read/post. As long as you're not visiting CP from your Avanir Computer (anywhere), or from a device that's using Avanir's network at HQ (phone, iPad, or your own PC, etc.), Avanir cannot know that you've even been to the CP website. Think about: Are they the CIA, or anybody with ANY fancy spying ability? Nope. So just use your own device(s), and not inside HQ using Avanir's wifi.
2. WHEN: Don't be silly and post during work hours. You're constitutionally guaranteed a right to free speech, and as long as you're not doing it during work time, no problemo. We in the U.S.! Not, say, Egypt, or somewhere like that. (Just as an example.)
3. HOW: Don't write stuff that obviously outs your identity. Like, don't say stuff that's not at least possibly also heard via hearsay in the kitchen, or by coworkers. And be careful of repeating things that only you know or may have been told. Also, don't get all hateful and personal if you can help it. That's just not nice.
   
4. WHY: If you're posting to let people know of bad stuff that's happening, cool. If you're posting to comment on other posts, cool. If you post secret company info, and I mean actual company secrets of the pipeline or financial status, that kind of stuff - NOT COOL.That will lead to trouble.
5. WHO: This is the biggie. CafePharma has some guidelines, and these are what Avanir Legal uses to get posts removed. CP assumes that all senior-level (VP and above) people are fair game for full-name attribution on the blog. So, you can write Wa'el's whole name, or other Exec. Team names, and don't worry so much about abbreviating (e.g. don't do the "Wa'el Hashad" becomes "WH"). The sales force does that in their CP posts, and it drives us here at HQ nuts because we have no idea who you're talking about. BUT if you write first-and-last names of people lower down the totem pole, Legal will tell CP to remove the post or face legal action (which Legal likely won't do, but the threats work anyway). I know about this firsthand because Legal at my last company was able to get posts about ME removed because I wasn't a VP-or-above and the posting party used my first and last names. (Also, he was nuts, or I might be biassed because he was writing about me. hah!)

So that's pretty much it. I'm sure somebody will reply to this post something like, "Yeah, whatever! Avanir IT has spies, and HR knows all, and don't believe what you hear, bla bla bla." But that will be some crap post, probably from somebody who doesn't want you posting anything. Have you EVER heard of ANYBODY getting in trouble (or even getting caught) for posting reasonable comments (or unreasonable ones, for that matter) on CafePharma? Nope. Let's see how long this one stays up. Give the take-down maneuver a whirl, Legal Dept. CafePharma webmaster, please adhere to your policy of free speech, as we know you always do.

 

Great post, and all is true.
Yes, AD Nadine is a great marketing director telling people what to do. She is a the worst sales director I've ever seen. Aziz tops her with worst talent in the position. They are both children trying to figure their way out of a corn maze, and they're lost.

 

I agree with the first post about putting stuff on Cafepharma: Just be smart about it and you're safe. I've NEVER seen anybody get in trouble for it, and the only posts that get taken down are the ones that use both first and last names for people that aren't at least VP level, or posts that are really crude. I think more dialog on Cafepharma would be good for us all so that we can talk safely about what's going on in the office.

 

I agree with this post. As long as we don't do it stupidly, posting on Cafepharma is anonymous and fine. Good conversation is nothing to fear and as long as we're not hitting below the belt or compromising the company's intel. property, it's a healthy dialog in my opinion. I know it drives Wa'el nuts to see posts on here but he should just chill it a little. We can't talk freely in the office. Everybody knows the walls have ears there (and the phones, and the computers and probably the vending machines at this point). I think we used to feel like the people running things had boundaries and were decent. I used to trust my phone and computer because I trusted the people running them, but they're mostly gone now. Now I don't know who to trust. But, we can talk anonymously to each other here without being blacklisted, punished, fired, the usual. So I'm thankful it's here to use.