using open discussion sites like these 1

[msucog]

not sure exactly where this question might go but this seemed like a reasonable spot.

any thoughts on the consequences of using sites like these? for instance, at what point might it become a liability to openly correspond about projects, problems, test methods/procedures, calculations, observations, etc.? in other words, say 5 years down the road, i'm called in to court over a problem with a project...can someone use things i've said over the years on this website against me?

 

[MintJulep]

"Everything is discoverable" - remember that.

As you read posts here or elsewhere, you will see that many posters try to keep their questions sufficiently generic, and free of specific details. On the other hand, occasionally posters will sometimes place links to drawings with full title blocks.

If you use a pseudonym, don't post a link to your business in your signature and keep your questions general then you should be sufficiently insulated from having stuff on Eng-Tips being associated with you IRL.

 

[spider007]

This is a personal opinion, and not a legal one:

As long as you post anonymously on this site, and don't identify your self, I don't see it becoming a problem. Well, maybe if you committed a crime big enough to cause the cops to raid your office and take your computer, then yes, I’d say it can be a problem.

Any person who takes advice of this site, with out doing his own research deserves the trouble he gets him self into.

I think it would be a different story if you had a link in your signature to your personal/business website. Advices from someone like that, I’d consider as good as getting free advice through email or phone call - just because it's a form of communication with someone whose credentials you can see....

 

[msucog]

well what about this scenario? you visit the site to discuss general topics and don't post specific information. however, during discovery, someone sees your username somewhere on your computer and they track down that you visit/post this site outside of work hours (or even during work hours-not that i do). is there a good likelihood that the lawyers could then suck you in that way? (as i'm sure lawyers suck you in most anyway these days)

i mean really, it's not that difficult to see what people do or where they visit even if they use user names...especially if you look on a company's server or on someone's computer.

 

[diarmud]

I believe you have to be ready to defend against anything you post here.


This site obviously saves your posts. So do others.

I've always had the attitude to only post or e-mail only items that my worst detractor could get and hand over to the best lawyer in the country, with that in mind, I'm quite comfortable.

Also, for msucog: Not all lawyers suck, I'm not one but have worked with some really great, sensitive caring attorneys. The smart thing to do is check with a good one first and always have the smartest one on your side. Don't check with them after the documents are issued, check with them BEFORE and you'll be fine.

From my experience, it's the ones who do not advertise who are the best.

Good luck,
Dermott

 

[spider007]

Proponents of video surveillance like to say: "As Long As You're Not Doing Anything Wrong, You Have Nothing To Worry About" I don't Necessarily agree with them, but it might apply to this case.

So if your going to post on here, don't do it with malicious intent, and do it while drawing from your knowledge and experience….

It's like anything else. You have to have something to back up your words. If you answered a question (as you understood it) to the best of your knowledge (with your past experience backing it up), then there is nothing to worry about.

 

[drawoh]

msucog,

Before the internet became popular, I used to be on a lot of electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs). When you logged in for the first time, almost all of them warned you that the sysop read all messages, including the private ones. You were being explicitly told that you had no expectation of privacy.

At least in western countries, your mail and your telephone are private because the governments have arbitrarily declared them to be so. They (legally) need a warrant to intercept this stuff, and the mail and phone services cannot be held responsible for any communications you do through them.

People assume that BBSs and ISPs are similarly protected, and I am not aware that they are. All of this is irrelevant if the server is not in the same jurisdiction you are.

This is a public space. You can be identified. The owners of the servers can be held responsible for stuff you upload here.

JHG

 

[casseopeia]

I don’t post anything about my actual work because I work in construction defect litigation. I don’t even post anything about resolved or settled cases because it’s rarely generic enough to be completely anonymous.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[jmw]

You might find that you have no protection against your company reading emails, monitoring internet usage and generally getting uptight if you use company computers, access via their servers or use their emails.

We had this part of the discussion some time back somewhere...

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[TDAA]

Most posts here (at least the ones I tend to read) provide enough general information for someone to offer advise. This could be where to look for further information, insight as to how one goes about solving problem, and clarification of how to interpret concepts or formulas.

Answers given generally follow that same concept. “You should take these steps / remember to look at these aspects” / etc. How often do you see the answer is 3 with a FS of 1.5?

If you are providing general guidance (helping someone learn what they should do), then you are no more liable than any professor, previous mentor the person may have had, or any author of a text book or technical paper. Any lawyer trying to hold you accountable would be a fool.

And as said previously, no one should be going only off of what they read here. There are people from around the world with completely different backgrounds and standards that they design to. People asking questions should realize that they are held to the standard of care, which here is defined based on the practice of engineers in the local area. You must temper anything you read with your own judgment to determine if it is applicable to the problem you are working on.

 

[IRstuff]

It's a double-edged sword. If the majority of the postings agree with your written analysis, then it's great, because the other side will have their one, or two, expert witnesses, and you'll have a whole thread's worth.

On the other hand, if the majority of the postings disagree with your written analysis, then it's bad.

IF you don't want to get into this sort of situation, then you'll need to act accordingly.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[oldfieldguy]

I tend to post responses that point somebody in a direction they need to take. I'm NOT posting specific quantities. And I warn quite a few that their problem might be something where they want to bring in expert help.

There are lots of "newbies" out there and there are also lots of people who have to work outside their areas of expertise. I know I do that myself from time to time. I see our posts in many cases as a "reality check".

And lawsuits? Squeeze some blood out of THIS turnip...

old field guy

 

[msquared48]

So...from posting on this forum, where are the compensation and contract to incur liability? No engineering calculations should be done on this site for specific projects, only in general. Doin't we have disclaimers here for the site?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[msucog]

ah nice post there msquared48...no contract...simple but very true (almost too obvious). regardless of what you say here, after your point i now think it would very difficult since you have no contract here.

 

[jmw]

Er, they say free advice is worth what you pay for it.

But on the other hand, the advice here is often priceless.
You either go away knowing that
(a) you were badly wrong and there is some significant relief at having you ideas corrected before you made an ass of yourself at work or:
(b) you discover that you had it right all along but the confirmation is a real confidence booster.

Now when you get advice here it isn't like you asked just one unknown person of unknown quality and got that one person's view with no way to know if it is right or wrong, you usually get several people responding but more importantly you may have unknown numbers of people who read the posts, have nothing to add but who have nothing to contradict... did anyone ever see bad advice go uncorrected? Heck, they'll even check your spelling and grammar for you here (whether you asked them to or not).



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[IRstuff]

The OP might be an idiot for taking your advice, but just because you didn't have a contract or compensation from him wouldn't make you free of liability.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[plasgears]

One caution. You might consider doing your discussion from a home computer, not the one at work. The boss can read your communications and hold it against you. Mine did.

I find posting my experiences and opinions uplifting because it may help others. That's the point of all this. Other agencies may use the site for taking the pulse of engineering.

 

[MortenA]

If you dont use credentials then i dont see why you should be anomynous?

Its your opinion - but thats not the same as you being liable.

Another thing: This is an international site and whats law in one country is not the same in another. Any american may state something that OK in the states (or maybe just in some states?) but illegal e.g. in the EU - then what?

Best regards

Morten

 

[cedarbluffranch]

Well, since no contract is involved, I believe liability falls under tort law.

The first thing a person has to establish is a duty to care. Do any of us establish that we have a duty to care when we give advice here? Honestly, I can't tell if anyone on here are engineers or 5th graders or thugs sitting in cyber cafes in Nigeria trying to send me millions of dollars.

So I believe that, since I haven't established a inherent duty to care, I don't believe a jury would find me liable for the information I provide on here.

If I say that I'm a Professional Engineer licensed in a particular state, then I'm showing that I have a duty to care. But I don't know of a legal duty to care that I have established since I'm not a professional engineer.

 

[IRstuff]

This site is relatively strict concerning student postings, and when you sign up for an account, you claim, as a minimum, that you are an engineering professional.

So, your postings are either intended to be reasonable advice, or they're willful mischief.

TTFN

FAQ731-376