I find such social-media policies quite unfortunate. :) I understand that they may be necessary in a world where political opponents can mine for the worst possible quotes, but such policies also reduce the speed and depth of engagement in discussions and reduce the human-ness of an organization. I don’t blame ACE (or GiveWell, or others who have to face these issues). The problem seems more to come from (a) quoting out of context and (b) that even when things are quoted in context, one “off” statement from an individual can stick in people’s minds more strongly than tons of non-bad statements do. There’s not an easy answer, but it would be nice if we could cultivate an environment in which people aren’t afraid to speak their minds. I would not want to work for an organization that restricted what I can say (ignoring stuff about proprietary company information, etc.).
I agree that these are tradeoffs and that that’s very sad. I don’t have a very strong opinion on the overall net-balance of the policy. But (it sounds like we both agree?) that they are probably a necessary evil for organizations like this.
I’m not sure what to do. :) I think different people/organizations do it differently based on what they’re most comfortable with. There’s a certain credibility that comes from not asking your employees to toe a party line. Such organizations are usually less mainstream but also have a more authentic feel to them. I discussed this a bit more here.
I share the same concerns about internal social media policies, especially when it comes to stifling discussion staff members would have otherwise engaged in. The main reason I rarely engage in EA discussions is that I’m afraid what I write will be mistaken as representative of my employer—not just in substance, but also tone/sophistication.
I think it’s fairly standard now for organizations to request that employees include a disclaimer when engaging in work-related conversations—something like “these are my views and not necessarily those of my employer”. That seems reasonable to include in the first comment, but becomes cumbersome in subsequent responses. And in instances where comments are curated without context, the disclaimer might not be included at all.
Also, I wonder how much the disclaimer helps someone distinguish the employee from the organization? For highly-visible people in leadership roles, I suspect their views are often conflated with the views of the organization.
I agree with these concerns. :) My own stance on this issue is driven more by my personality and “virtue ethics” kinds of impulses than by a thorough evaluation of the costs and benefits. Given that I, e.g., talk openly about (minuscule amounts of) suffering by video-game characters, it’s clear that I’m on the “don’t worry about the PR repercussions of sharing your views” side of the spectrum.
I’ve noticed the proliferation of disclaimers about not speaking for one’s employer. I personally find them cumbersome (and don’t usually use them) because it seems to me rare that anyone does actually speak for one’s employer. (That usually only happens with big announcements like the one you posted above.) But presumably other people have been burned here in the past, which is why it’s done.
I find such social-media policies quite unfortunate. :) I understand that they may be necessary in a world where political opponents can mine for the worst possible quotes, but such policies also reduce the speed and depth of engagement in discussions and reduce the human-ness of an organization. I don’t blame ACE (or GiveWell, or others who have to face these issues). The problem seems more to come from (a) quoting out of context and (b) that even when things are quoted in context, one “off” statement from an individual can stick in people’s minds more strongly than tons of non-bad statements do. There’s not an easy answer, but it would be nice if we could cultivate an environment in which people aren’t afraid to speak their minds. I would not want to work for an organization that restricted what I can say (ignoring stuff about proprietary company information, etc.).
I agree that these are tradeoffs and that that’s very sad. I don’t have a very strong opinion on the overall net-balance of the policy. But (it sounds like we both agree?) that they are probably a necessary evil for organizations like this.
I’m not sure what to do. :) I think different people/organizations do it differently based on what they’re most comfortable with. There’s a certain credibility that comes from not asking your employees to toe a party line. Such organizations are usually less mainstream but also have a more authentic feel to them. I discussed this a bit more here.
I share the same concerns about internal social media policies, especially when it comes to stifling discussion staff members would have otherwise engaged in. The main reason I rarely engage in EA discussions is that I’m afraid what I write will be mistaken as representative of my employer—not just in substance, but also tone/sophistication.
I think it’s fairly standard now for organizations to request that employees include a disclaimer when engaging in work-related conversations—something like “these are my views and not necessarily those of my employer”. That seems reasonable to include in the first comment, but becomes cumbersome in subsequent responses. And in instances where comments are curated without context, the disclaimer might not be included at all.
Also, I wonder how much the disclaimer helps someone distinguish the employee from the organization? For highly-visible people in leadership roles, I suspect their views are often conflated with the views of the organization.
I agree with these concerns. :) My own stance on this issue is driven more by my personality and “virtue ethics” kinds of impulses than by a thorough evaluation of the costs and benefits. Given that I, e.g., talk openly about (minuscule amounts of) suffering by video-game characters, it’s clear that I’m on the “don’t worry about the PR repercussions of sharing your views” side of the spectrum.
I’ve noticed the proliferation of disclaimers about not speaking for one’s employer. I personally find them cumbersome (and don’t usually use them) because it seems to me rare that anyone does actually speak for one’s employer. (That usually only happens with big announcements like the one you posted above.) But presumably other people have been burned here in the past, which is why it’s done.