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47 <h1>The IBM Issue</h1>
49 <p>I run a personal web site, <a href="defaria.com">defaria.com</a>
50 that is located in my apartment and have been running that site since
51 around 1998. I do it to keep my Unix/Linux system administration
52 skills sharp, to learn web technologoies, develop applictions, provide
53 myself with my own "cloud storage" and to serve as my home on the
56 <p>On my site I run several blogs of a personal nature. One blog, my
57 status blog, started out as a way for me to simply make bullet items
58 to copy and paste into what most managers settle for as status
59 reporting - just a bulleted list of what I had been doing lately. Then
60 I started using the extended section to put in the technical details
61 of the problems I had been facing and how I solve them. This turned
62 out to be a valuable resource for me as I could now easily search the
63 status blog to see if I encountered a problem like this before and how
66 <p>But as time went by more of my clients stopped requiring weekly or
67 monthly status reports and I have written articles in the status blog
68 that were of simply opinionated commentary. For example, Outlook Top
69 Posting was an opinion piece about how Outlook messes up quoting.</p>
71 <p>On February 4, 2013 I posted an opinioon piece on my blog entitled
72 "File this one under Paid Support vs Open Source". The piece's theme
73 is about how I'm seeing a trend towards Open Source Software (OSS) and
74 people claiming that OSS is often supported better than closed
75 source's paid support. I used a recent conversation with IBM support,
76 which is paid support and which is expensive. I even said that often
77 IBM support is excellent. Also note I never mentioned my client's
81 <h2>February 04, 2013</h2>
83 <h3>File this one under Paid Support vs Open Source</h3>
85 <p>I use both proprietary software as well as open source
86 software. One would think that when you pay for your software and
87 pay a lot for support, then obviously you must be in a better
88 situation should something not work correctly. But my experience has
89 been the opposite. Not always but often. I can only attribute this
90 to the fact that when dealing with OSS you often are talking
91 directly with the developer who has pride in his work and wants it
92 to work correctly. He is bothered when people report problems in his
93 software and motivated to try and fix it.</p>
95 <p>On the other hand we've all had our "experiences" with so called
96 front line support people who sometimes barely know how the software
97 they support operates or even how to spell its name correctly, who
98 ask their customers to reboot their Linux server that's been up for
99 the last 3 years to see if that will "help".</p>
101 <p>IBM/Rational Support is far from that bad - often they are
102 excellent. But it does seem that sometimes when the problem is a
103 little thorny they will punt and say this is "outside of scope" -
104 whatever that means.</p>
106 <p>I must admit my process is slightly complicated - a CQPerl script
107 which serves as a multiprocess server which forks off a copy of
108 itself to handle request to process Clearquest data. For anybody who
109 has written such server processes they can be tricky at first to
110 program and get right, but soon turn into just another programming
111 task like any other.</p>
113 <p>The problem arises in an odd way in which a request comes in to
114 add a record. BuildEntity is called and the record is successfully
115 added. But when a second process later attempts to do a similar
116 thing - add a record - the BuildEntity fails stating:</p>
119 <p>Status: 1 unknown exception from CQSession_BuildEntity in
120 CQPerlExt at cqserver.pl line 31.</p>
123 <p>The support engineer eventually responded with:</p>
126 <p>On 1/25/2013 10:40 AM, Naomi Guerrero wrote:</p>
130 <p>I'm following up on escalated PMR#16866,227,000. After escalating
131 this PMR to L3 support, and Development having discussions about
132 this issue, this request goes outside the scope of support. This
133 is not something we can assist you with in support. Instead, I
134 would recommend you reach out to your Sales agent at IBM (or I
135 can) so that someone from the Rational Services team can further
139 <p>To which I responded:</p>
142 <p>On 1/25/2013 11:00 AM, Andrew DeFaria wrote:</p>
144 <p>How can you possibly say that this goes outside the scope of
145 support?!? We have a situation here where your software returns
146 the words "unknown exception", fails to do what it's advertised to
147 do (Build and entity) and even stops my script from continuing!
148 This is clearly an error in IBM's software. I have a reproducible
149 test case (you'll need our schema, which I supplied). There's is
150 nothing in my code that is outside of a supported situation - I'm
151 using regular CQPerl stuff and every call is supported. It's on
152 supported hardware, with supported versions of OS, Clearquest,
153 CQPerl, etc. Why BuildEntity returning "unknown exception"? Surely
154 this is in the code for BuildEntity. Somebody should examine it
155 and report back! This is clearly an error and I fail to see how it
156 goes outside of the scope of support at all. If the problem is
157 difficult to solve that does not put it into the realm of "outside
160 <p>My client pays IBM big $$$ for support every year if I remember
161 how IBM support contracts go. We want our money's worth. While I
162 fail to see how a "Sales" agent will be able to assist (I
163 personally think a knowledgable software developer like the guy
164 who's responsible for the BuildEntity code - you do have somebody
165 like that no? - should look into the code and see exactly what
166 circumstances causes BuildEntity to emit such an error) if that's
167 the next step then by all means take it and reach out to whoever
168 is next in line to assist. But from where I sit this is indeed a
169 bug and is not outside the scope of support. If you believe it is
170 then please explain yourself. Why is this "outside the scope of
174 <p>Now granted it appears that this happens only with out schema
175 (Works fine with the SAMPL database) but that seems to point to
176 either a problem somewhere with action hook code being executed
177 (which would also be deemed a bug as action hook code should never
178 cause unknown exceptions to happen or it could be caused by some
179 corruption in my client's database - something that should be
180 pursued - not dropped to "Sales"!</p>
182 <p>Problem report 16866,227 000: unknown exception from
183 CQSession_BuildEntity</p>
186 <p>Later I got an email from Naomi:</p>
189 <p>On 02/14/2013 06:06 AM Naomi Guerrero wrote:</p>
191 <p>Please remove my name from your blog site immediately. I
192 respect your opinion about support, you are obviously
193 entitled. However, I should not be publicly chastised for
194 re-stating IBM guidelines and rules that are set forth by my
195 management. Your case was escalated and I merely stated to you the
196 response from my escalation/development team.</p>
198 <p>Again, please remove my name.</p>
200 <p>http://defaria.com/blogs/Status/archives/cat_broadcom.html</p>
203 <p>I responded with:</p>
206 <p>On 02/14/2013 08:01 AM Andrew DeFaria wrote:</p>
208 <p>Rummaging around on my site eh?</p>
210 <p>I don't think I chastised you personally at all - I was talking
211 about support organizations in general and IBM in this specific
212 case. I don't believe that anybody would read my posting and think
213 anything other than you were not speaking personally but rather
214 you were speaking for IBM. I'm a firm believer in the first
215 amendment and for giving credit and blame when it's due. My web
216 site is a place where I state my personal opinions. You should
217 believe what you say and stand behind your words - I do.</p>
219 <p>If you want to add your own statement to that posting then let
220 me know and I'll add it.</p>
223 <p>As you can see I was firm in saying that this was my personal web
224 site. I also offerred to the chance include her own statement,
225 something I don't have to do.</p>
227 <p>So Naomi got her boss to essentially harass me:</p>
230 <p>On 02/15/2013 07:15 AM Ralph Bosco wrote:</p>
234 <p>While I certainly respect your first amendment rights, I
235 believe you can maintain the accuracy and intent of your post
236 without including Naomi's name. Besides the fact that she's
237 obviously uncomfortable having her name on a public forum, there
238 are other issues to consider from the business side.</p>
240 <p>As you've already stated, she was not speaking personally but
241 on behalf of IBM policy, and that is where the credit should
244 <p>Please remove her name from your blog immediately. You can
245 easily replace it with the more generic "IBM/Rational Technical
246 Support Engineer" without compromising your message and actually
247 make it more accurate, as IBM is standing behind her words.</p>
249 <p>I trust I can consider this matter closed.</p>
253 Support Delivery Manager - ClearQuest, Rational Client Support<br>
254 IBM Software, Rational</p>
257 <p>So I responded:</p>
259 <blockquote type="cite">
260 <p>On 02/15/2013 07:23 AM Andrew DeFaria wrote:</p>
262 <blockquote type="cite">
263 <p>Besides the fact that she's obviously uncomfortable having
264 her name on a public forum, there are other issues to consider
265 from the business side.</p>
268 <p>Such as? I'm Curious...</p>
270 <p>This is my personal web site and is unrelated to my business,
271 ClearSCM, Inc. (http://clearscm.com).</p>
274 <p>Again I mention this is my personal web site and demonstrate that
275 my business site is at http://clearscm.com which is not in my
276 apartment but at an ISP. So now Mr. Bosco has to justify his
280 <p>On 02/15/2013 07:31 AM Ralph Bosco wrote:</p>
282 <p>Well, for one I can think of right off the bat, it gives anyone
283 who is searching for solutions to CQ issues access directly to
284 Naomi, which could negatively impact her ability to support
285 entitled customers such as yourself.</p>
287 <p>The point is moot. She obviously is uncomfortable having her
288 name in a public blog, and with a very simple change, that can be
295 <p>On 02/15/2013 07:39 AM Andrew DeFaria wrote:</p>
297 <p>How exactly does one get direct access to somebody from just
298 having a name? Seriously, they'd have to call up and you guys are
299 pretty strict about having "rights" to call IBM support. You don't
300 take support calls from just anybody. And how does that negatively
301 impact her ability to provide support? Sorry, I don't buy
304 <p>I've heard that she's uncomfortable - you've said it twice
305 now. I'm sorry she is. I don't believe she should be. Her comfort
309 <p>Additionally on 02/15/2013 @ 09:36 AM I created an .htaccess file
310 that secures this section of my personal web site to only users who
311 have a username and password and the only user is mine.</p>
315 <b><font color="blue">Defaria:</font></b><u>ll /web/blogs/Status/.htaccess</u><br>
316 -r-xr--r-- 1 andrew users 99 Feb 15 09:36 .htaccess<br>
320 <p>So while I did not tell IBM that I complied, I did comply, within a
323 <h3>Broadcom and HR involvement</h3>
325 <p>On 03/13/2013 I received a meeting invitation from Sue Johnson, an
326 HR rep from Broadcom and Mohammed Ansari about a "Possible Social
331 <th colspan="2">Sue (Susan) Johnson has invited you to Possible Social Media Issue</th>
336 <td>Possible Social Media Issue</td>
341 <td>Sue's Office D3040</td>
346 <td>Wed 13 Mar 2013 02:30 PM – 03:00 PM</td>
351 <td>Sue (Susan) Johnson <sue.johnson@broadcom.com></td>
355 <th>Description:</th>
356 <td>Hi Andrew: It has been brought to my attention that you may be
357 violating BRCM’s social media policy. I am scheduling this meeting
358 to gather additional information.</td>
363 <td>Mohammed Ansari <mohammed.ansari@broadcom.com><br>
364 Andrew Defaria <adefaria@broadcom.com></td>
368 <p>During this meeting Sue told me that IBM had complained to upper
369 management about the issue described above and that I should remove
370 the name at once. I told her I already secured the site with a
371 password and again re-itterated that this is my personal site and is
372 not affliated with either Broadcom nor ClearSCM. I also said that I
373 don't agree with either Broadcom nor IBM with respect to the privacy
374 aspect of this issue and you'll note that the word "Broadcom" never
375 appeared in my status blog in the first place. I did say, however,
376 that I will do what Broadcom wishes and in fact I have already done
379 <p>Sue sent the following follow-up:</p>
382 <p>On 03/13/2013 04:12 PM Sue (Susan) Johnson wrote:</p>
384 <p>Per our discussion today, this is a summary of our expectations
385 regarding closure on the feedback received from the IBM Rational
386 Support Delivery group:</p>
389 <li>You have confirmed that the name of the IBM employee
390 referenced in the blog posting is no longer visible to the public
391 and will ensure that it does not become available to the public at
392 any time in the future.</li>
394 <li>In any communications posted to any public site, you must
395 include a disclaimer that makes it clear that you are speaking for
396 yourself and not on behalf of Broadcom, unless you have express
397 consent from your manager, the Corporate Compliance Officer or
398 Broadcom’s Corporate Marketing & Communications Department to
399 communicate on behalf of Broadcom.</li>
401 <li>You will no longer have direct communications regarding any
402 BRCM related issues with IBM as long as you are employed by
403 Broadcom. Instead, you will communicate your
404 questions/comments/concerns to a co-worker to be designated by
405 Mohammed. That co-worker will be the intermediary between you and
406 IBM throughout the duration of your employment with Broadcom.</li>
409 <p>Please let me know if you have questions or if you do not feel
410 this accurately represents the expectations which were communicated
411 and which you agreed to comply with.</p>
414 <p>I thought bullet #2 was overly broad so I wrote Sue back:</p>
417 <p>On 3/13/2013 4:41 PM Andrew DeFaria wrote:</p>
419 <p>I agree with all of the above however I think the second bullet
420 item is too broad. One could easily take it to mean I cannot even
421 post "Good morning" to Facebook without including a disclaimer for
422 Broadcom. I don't think you mean that. I take the second bullet item
423 to mean "in any communications on any site, if a reasonable man
424 might question whether you are speaking for Broadcom then you should
425 include a disclaimer or get permission". So then I would have no
426 fears of posting things totally unrelated to Broadcom to Google+ or
427 Facebook for example, but if I were to post to say IBM's forums I
428 should not mention Broadcom at all (I usually just say "my client")
429 or if I do, or if it could be reasonably be misconstrued that I'm
430 speaking for Broadcom then I must either include a disclaimer or get
431 permission. I think that covers it better. But as written this
432 second bullet item seems to say I must include a disclaimer for
433 anything and everything I post on the net.</p>
436 <p>Sue agreed and reworded it to say:</p>
440 <li>In any communications posted to any public site that are in
441 any way related to your work with or at Broadcom, you must include
442 a disclaimer that makes it clear that you are speaking for
443 yourself and not on behalf of Broadcom, unless you have express
444 consent from your manager, the Corporate Compliance Officer or
445 Broadcom’s Corporate Marketing & Communications Department to
446 communicate on behalf of Broadcom.</li>
450 <p>to which I promptly agreed.</p>
452 <h3>Seeing who's visiting my site</h3>
454 <p>I decided that I would move my whole status blog aside and put
455 together a little trap so that I could find out who's probing my
456 site. I configured my personal, home based web server to redirect any
457 requests for http://defaria.com/blogs/Status to display a page with
458 the following wording:</p>
461 <h1>You should leave - your presence is unwelcomed here</h1>
463 <p>This is my personal web site. While you can look at what's inside
464 you assume full responsibilty for what you see. You should leave.
465 Should you decide to go forward it's your fault.</p>
467 <p>You can hit the back button, close this tab or close your
470 <p>You have been warned.</p>
472 <p>This web page will redirect in a few seconds. Last chance to
476 <p>The page delayed for 20 seconds before moving onward - plenty of
477 time for anybody to heed the warning. After the 20 seconds elapsed
478 another page was displayed basically telling the visitor to fuck off
479 with lots of colorful language and an explict image depicting what I
480 thought of this user (avaliable upon request). Additionally the page
481 logged the access and the IP address of the visitor so that I could
482 see if IBM was probing my site again.</p>
484 <p>There have been 8 accesses to my status blog since then. The first
485 visitor was Google's bot. Not wanting to have these recorded I used
486 robots.txt to tell Google's search bots not to index this section of
489 <p>I got accesses from a couple of places in England, some mobile user
490 and 3 conspicuous accesses from Broadcom's proxy in Irvine.</p>
492 <p>Even though this tactic is bold, I still believe it falls within my
493 free speech rights guaranteed by the US Constitution. Additionally, I
494 still believe I was in compliance with Broadcom such that "the name of
495 the IBM employee referenced in the blog posting is not longer visible"
498 <p>Even though Broadcom claims my contract was terminated due to some
499 of my email signature tag lines and told me that it was <b>not</b>
500 terminated due to this issue, Broadcom never brought me into a meeting
501 to discuss this problem and waited 5 weeks to terminate the
502 contract. They did bring me into a meeting for the IBM issue right
503 around the time they terminated my contract. I don't think this is a
504 coincidence, rather I think that IBM pressued Broadcom to "do
505 something" about this "unruly contractor" and brought it up to high
506 levels. They told me that in the meeting - that IBM complained to
507 Broadcom and wanted something done (which was already done
508 anyway). Remember my corporation - ClearSCM Inc, of which I am an
509 employee, was in contract with Broadcom. IBM made no efforts to
510 contact ClearSCM but went straight to Braodcom.</p>
514 <p>I have the following questions:</p>
517 <li>Do I have anything that is actionable against IBM for lose of contract?</li>
519 <li>Can I personally sue either Sue or Mr. Bosco? What right do they have to tell me what I can and connot post on my personal website? And how can they essentially use the big bully tactic to get me fired?</li>
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