from Hacker News

Devs: blow the whistle

by Max_Horstmann on 9/21/15, 8:49 PM with 5 comments

• by JoeAltmaier on 9/21/15, 9:29 PM

  Sadly, there are also those lined up to take your job, after you 'blow the whistle'. And not even that far away - your old coworker, your intern, pretty much anybody that wants the job and rationalizes the evil into "the company is responsible, not me".

  I refused, as a contractor, to create radio software that broadcast on a restricted band (ambulance). It was desirable in some markets where that band was repurposed as industrial use. Broadcasting allowed faster connections than monitoring the channel(s) until the base station was discovered.

  I argued it was contrary to regulation. But "everybody else does it". I argued it was wrong to create interference on critical service channels. It fell on deaf ears.

  Then I argued as a Contractor I'd be personally liable. They tried to cajole me into doing it anyway. I flatly refused. Begrudgingly they accepted my legal/financial argument. I was reassigned.

  Another Engineer (employee) stepped up instantly and volunteered to make the change. In the same meeting. Without a moment's hesitation.

  So, I'm not confident an appeal to our better natures will be effective here.

• by dllthomas on 9/22/15, 5:31 AM

  Hiring people who've proven they have the guts and conviction to blow the whistle elsewhere should be one of the stronger signals that you're not doing (what they might view as) wrong. I wonder if there's a good way we could surface that information.

• by bsder on 9/22/15, 5:26 AM

  What terrible advice.

  Exactly what upside is there to an individual to do so? I'm sure management was quite clear about their intent, so it's not like anybody in the company is going to back you up. And, if they're doing this, what else are they doing?

  Much better to just start looking for a better job and leave ASAP.