From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 1/30/2026 12:22 PM, legg wrote:   
   > On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:56:54 -0700, Don Y   
   >  wrote:   
   >   
   >    
   >>> Networking is just keeping track of co-workers and professional   
   >>> acquaintances - but there's no real controls on spam.   
   >>   
   >> And, you need a third-party "site" to do that?  Don't you   
   >> *personally* interact with your colleagues -- even if only   
   >> sporadically?   
   >>   
   > It used to be a discussion of work-related issues and news   
   > between people you knew, or were introduced to on-site.   
   > Jobs or contracts seldom came up, as I recall. Participants   
   > were just too disparate in specialized fields.   
      
   My understanding was that it wanted to map your connections   
   to others (that they likely expected to also "participate")   
      
   I don't see the value of that -- except to know that someone *I*   
   know happens to know someone that knows *you*.  "You" likely   
   would never come up in a conversation unless I was asking   
   that "someone" if he could RECOMMEND (more than just KNOW)   
   someone with a particular skillset.   
      
   > There was some potential conflict with confidentiality at   
   > times.   
   >   
   > Supplying references to articles and publications was the   
   > primary benefit, as well as keeping in touch.   
      
   Again, why can't this be done without them as a third-party?   
   I regularly exchange information with colleagues on a variety   
   of subjects (many non-technical).   
      
   What you ask -- and what you say/tell -- leaks information   
   that you might not want (or can't allow to be) shared.   
   I have always been extremely careful to phrase "public"   
   questions and anecdotes in ways that hides information   
   while revealing only what is necessary.  Because, of course,   
   I never know if a client (or LAWYER for a client) is   
   reading my comments...   
      
   [And, I don't discuss REAL projects other than 9-to-5 work I   
   had done before NDAs were a staple]   
      
   > Mind you, a considerable number of old connections are   
   > more than just retired - living on as 'contacts' from   
   > beyond the grave. . . . . LinkIn don't care . . .   
   > . . . and just try to close your account . . . .   
      
   What cost failing to do so?  Stop logging in.  Discard   
   any email addresses associated with it.  Anything you've   
   posted is stuck in the aether but so is USENET, etc.   
      
   >> If I'm contacted about a potential job, I think about the   
   >> people that I know who might be appropriate (because anyone   
   >> that I *refer* for a position is a reflection on me!).   
   >> Who (if anyone) I contact is based on my knowledge of where   
   >> their interests lie and what they might be doing, presently.   
   >>   
   >> I know those things because of communications with them   
   >> *directly* -- not by "reading about them" on a site.  They   
   >> are more than "business relationships" but, rather, *personal*   
   >> relationships (e.g., knowing when someone is in ill health,   
   >> having a baby, planning a vacation, etc.)   
   >>   
   >> It also lets you share things in the strictest of confidence;   
   >> things that you (or a business relationship of yours) may   
   >> not want discussed or disclosed "publicly"   
   >   
   > A great many issues that are in the public domain may be   
   > considered as confidential, by employers or clients.   
      
   A technology may be "well known".  But, knowing that a product   
   uses it can be important.  Reverse engineering other folks'   
   products gives insights into how THEY approached the problem   
   and may shed light on why it (mis)behaves as it does.  These   
   things having value if you are undertaking a similar adventure.   
      
   Atari (?) had a video (arcade) game in the 80's that was admirable   
   for drawing great curves (vector graphic display monitor).  To   
   the point that it used them EVERYWHERE (imagine a '1' in a score   
   NOT appearing as a straight line segment).  Looking under the hood   
   you realized that it could ONLY draw curves -- hence the reason   
   all of the digits and letters had funky shapes!   
      
   > It's the sort of thing only a few are willing even to discuss.   
   > So: there were obvious restrictions to even opening an account -   
   > employability and limitations on likely clients for those who   
   > did participate.   
   >   
   > This is true of most 'public' participation, in some fields and   
   > and some 'private' participation in all of them. Just the way   
   > things are.   
      
   So, beyond the folks you *know*, the value of such disclosure is   
   sharing with other "unknowns".   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)