Chapter 11
You, Your Company & Cyberspace

Netiquette and company policy

Traditionally, many companies have required their employees to insert a "standard disclaimer" in all email messages they send from their company address. The disclaimer goes something like "these opinions are my own and do not necessarily represent those of XYZCorp." and is often humorously modified to things like "These opinions belong to me, not to my company -- they don't want them and they can't have them." (Endnote #21)

But despite the disclaimer, management at many organizations has the uncomfortable feeling that its employees are representing The Company out there in cyberspace. That is, if management has any awareness at all that cyberspace exists. Interestingly, nobody else in cyberspace believes that. If you work at IBM and you send a note to the USENET newsgroup rec.pets.cats saying "Fleabusters is the best!", no one reading the newsgroup is going to think that Fleabusters has IBM's official