

Ask HN: Are NDAs Just Security Theater? - webhat

For the past couple of years I&#x27;ve felt NDAs are a form of security theater. They create the illusion of safety, and don&#x27;t actually make you any safer.<p>An NDA won&#x27;t stop anybody from disclosing information, and only regulate the aftermath.<p>Personally I don&#x27;t sign NDAs, and was wondering if you generally do sign an NDA?
And why, if you ask for somebody to sign an NDA, you do?
======
jseeff
1) NDA may stop someone from disclosing information.... it may not, but it
may. That has a degree of value and the document is generally pretty short and
simple to understand so not too problematic.

2) for the same reason many people will not sign an NDA (trust, hassle) you
may want them to- trust, commitment.

3) even if an NDA only serves to regulate "the aftermath", that too can have
value, especially in the rare but possible cases of mis-use of information
e.g. by a competitor...

~~~
webhat
Thanks for the answer!

------
markbarrington
Many companies where I have worked typically ask potential suppliers to sign
NDAs because they don't want details of future product plans either being made
public or, more likely, discussed in the industry.

~~~
webhat
Thanks for the answer!

------
tmuir
Isn't it the policy of most tech companies to force all new employees to sign
an NDA as a condition of employment?

------
ColinWright
Some previous discussions you might find useful and/or relevant. There are
many, many more, some of which you can find through this search:

[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=sign%20nda&sort=byPopularity&p...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=sign%20nda&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7158091](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7158091)

    
    
        Why I Won't Sign Your NDA (svbtle) (ryanckulp.com)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7160262](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7160262)

    
    
        Show HN: Why sign a NDA when you can just
                 pinky swear instead?
                 (pinky-swear.herokuapp.com)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7234094](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7234094)

    
    
        Why I Won't Sign Your NDA (medium.com)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7587687](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7587687)

    
    
        When startups should sign non disclosure
        agreements (startacus.net)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7604500](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7604500)

    
    
        Don't ask me to sign your NDA (medium.com)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7731724](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7731724)

    
    
        Should freelancers in gamedev industry
        sign NDAs? (t-machine.org)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7933163](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7933163)

    
    
        Why I Won't Sign Your NDA (landonschropp.com)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8169957](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8169957)

    
    
        Ask HN: Would you sign an NDA?
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8284681](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8284681)

    
    
        Why You Shouldn't Ask Us to Sign Your NDA
        (atomicobject.com)
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9172583](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9172583)

    
    
        Ask HN: A potential investor in my startup
                asked me to sign an NDA. Should I?
    

========

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9195949](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9195949)

    
    
        Ask HN: What does it mean to sign NDA?

~~~
webhat
Thanks for the list.

I asked on purpose again for a couple of reasons: most of the answers were
over 1 year old, most focus on why people shouldn't ask and not why they do
ask or why they do sign.

~~~
ColinWright
Personal opinion, and it's very likely you know all this. I'm sorry in advance
if it seems patronising, but here are my thoughts as they occurred. Even
though some are invalid or unjustified, I thought there would be value in
seeing them "up front" like this.

There would have been value in saying so in your question. I can imagine that
most people would go - been there, done that - and just moved on.

From what you say you have done your homework and looked at the previous
answers, but there would have been real value in collating the answers,
presenting them, and then explaining why you feel the question is worth asking
again. What do you feel has changed? Why are those answers no longer relevant,
or complete?

Just asking the question with no reference to previous answers makes it feel
like you haven't done any checking or research.

The document has its short-coming, and it's for a different context, but let
me quote from "How to Ask Questions the Smart Way"[0]:

    
    
        Before asking a technical question by e-mail,
        or in a newsgroup, or on a website chat board,
        do the following:
    
            Try to find an answer by searching the
            archives of the forum or mailing list
            you plan to post to.
    
            Try to find an answer by searching the Web.
    
            Try to find an answer by reading the manual.
    
            Try to find an answer by reading a FAQ.
    
            Try to find an answer by inspection or
            experimentation.
    
            Try to find an answer by asking a skilled
            friend.
    
            If you're a programmer, try to find an
            answer by reading the source code.
    
        When you ask your question, display the fact that
        you have done these things first; this will help
        establish that you're not being a lazy sponge and
        wasting people's time.  Better yet, display what
        you have learned from doing these things. We like
        answering questions for people who have demonstrated
        they can learn from the answers.
    

A lot of that is not relevant in this case, but enough of it is that it's
worth knowing.

[0] [http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-
questions.html](http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html)

~~~
webhat
To paraphrase ESR: thank you for this grandmotherly kindness. :)

~~~
ColinWright
Yeah, sorry about that 8-/

Thing is, it really is helpful when asking questions to provide a summary of
what you've done, what you've found, and what remains to be answered or
updated.

But, you know. Sorry.

~~~
webhat
I'm sorry, I was trying to be funny. I really found your points valid, and the
helpful reminder was very appreciated as it will get me better answers next
time.

