IBM To Kernel Maintainer: "You Are An IBM Employee 100% Of The Time"

[coder]

On the other hand, the tone of the email is not appropriate. The manager is terrible at actually addressing people. There are a billion ways to rephrase that email in a much kinder and less abrasive way while still getting the same message across.

While I agree that the manager is being needlessly harsh and controlling, I can work backwards to exactly what sort of events would lead to my previous manager sending an email like that.

And yes, he was a control freak who saw everything as zero-sum, didn't get the typical developer mindset, and didn't see the point in negotiating with his underlings when he could just give orders to get what he wanted.

[coder]

Micheal every once in while would share with the rest of us how, and how much various companies contribute to various Open Source projects, let it be the Kernel, or Mesa, or etc. Micheal does in best possible way - concrete numbers(but check how he does it).
That is fantastic a) for Michael does it in first place. b) if one takes a moment to properly digest that knowledge then one realizes how serious that is! I mean, it's obious right in your face - you can see how devoted and serious a given company is about what most of us and many around the world, care.

Do you think IBM adopted Linux and other open source projects out of altruism, or for fundamentally pragmatic reasons?

And if they are contributing for their own self-interest, then why should we be grateful? Indeed, a lot of subtle competition happens on the battlefield of open source, where Company A does something in a way that advantages them and/or disadvantages competing Company B.

Maybe the underlying issue here was that the manager wanted to do something underhanded, which the employee blocked by using their personal account? We don't know, but I assure you that some companies definitely do things in open source projects that disadvantage others, for the sake of their own competitive advantage.

Sorry, but your rosy view of capitalism just comes across as naive. We need strong and independent Kernel maintainers to protect us from the nefarious influences of self-interested parties.

[AmericanLocomotive]

While I agree that the manager is being needlessly harsh and controlling, I can work backwards to exactly what sort of events would lead to my previous manager sending an email like that.

I agree that there is likely a lot of context missing here. For example, I bet this interaction isn't too far removed from the whole story:

- Manager: "Hi X, while we appreciate that you are eager to work things outside of normal business hours, your employment contract stipulates you can only work Y hours per week. Working on work-related projects at home may result in overtime we would be obligated to pay"

- Employee quickly switches to his personal email account in an attempt to get around the ruling

- Manager immediately sees employee continuing to do "work" from his personal account and gets immensely irritated.

[coder]

So in context of the ongoing lawsuit between SCO and IBM......how does a lawyer from SCO know that code written by an IBM employee "on his own time, with his personal email account" then doesn't turn around and write the same code for an IBM internal project using his own IBM email account. How does one make the distinction between code written for commercial purposes and one written for FOSS purposes? All based on ones email account?

This is a strawman. Who contributed what and why was never the issue. The issue was infringing IP in the kernel.

If one wants to contribute something to their favorite charity, whether it be the poor, the homeless

That's a faulty analogy.

Again, IBM's interests are clear and employment in the US is at-will. If an employer sees you doing something they judge to be contrary to their interests, they are within their rights to terminate you. Full stop.

[coder]

It reminds me of this picture:

I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it, but a former co-worker of mine got into a big tiff with HR over his custom-printed name tag. It was so subtly different that most people didn't even notice!

That said, I think it was only an issue because the office manager or General Manager decided to make it one. A lot of times, stuff like that would indeed fly under the radar.

[coder]

I agree that there is likely a lot of context missing here. For example, I bet this interaction isn't too far removed from the whole story:

- Manager: "Hi X, while we appreciate that you are eager to work things outside of normal business hours, your employment contract stipulates you can only work Y hours per week. Working on work-related projects at home may result in overtime we would be obligated to pay"

- Employee quickly switches to his personal email account in an attempt to get around the ruling

- Manager immediately sees employee continuing to do "work" from his personal account and gets immensely irritated.

As a salaried employee, it wouldn't have been about overtime.

I think it was most likely about split loyalties between what's best for IBM vs. what the maintainer thought was best for users or the kernel.

[mos87]

Thankfully Red Hat has lost its free-spirit culture even before the gulp by the Big Blue Bruvva.
Makes it sort of hurt less.

[AmericanLocomotive]

As a salaried employee, it wouldn't have been about overtime.

I think it was most likely about split loyalties between what's best for IBM vs. what the maintainer thought was best for users or the kernel.

I'm not sure where this particular employee resides, but there are some fairly recent changes to OT laws in the U.S, where certain salaried employees can be eligible for overtime.

[danmcgrew]

Interestingly... the place I work pays me for all travel time, AND I get to keep my miles. If I get stuck in the airport for 2 days... that's overtime, obviously I can work to some degree remotely but yeah. (overtime is just extra hours not an increase in pay but still).

This is a REALLY interesting comment. Would you mind, under separate cover, sending me information on applying for a job at your company?

Oh...wait: (1) do you work for a firm outside the US?; or (2) if you work for a US firm, are you an hourly employee?

I have been in the business / corporate world for a loooong time (in the US), at one time managing sales for half the US. I have never, and I do mean NEVER, heard of someone in sales and or management being paid for travel time. This observation applies strictly (again: in the US only) to 'non-exempt' employees, as defined by US law--usually "hourly" employees.

[Quackdoc]

"Your actions have made everyone angry."
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