Thanks.
(Whether or not the confidentiality agreement was
signed "at the time
of Carolyn's departure" is, I suppose, something I read into it.)
At first glance, that's how I would read it too. It's possible it was
signed when she got the job and Ant's email is just oddly worded
(remember, she's not a native English speaker), but that doesn't
explain why such an agreement was made.
No, there isn't, and I'm pretty sure I said at
the time (September)
that it was improper for the Foundation to make such an agreement in
the first place.
Without knowing the details, it's difficult to even guess why they
signed it. I struggle to think of a good reason, though.
"We
promised not to tell you" is not a good reason for not telling us,
they should never have made such promises in the first place. If the
agreement was made when Carolyn *left*, then I can't see any good
reason for signing it - you sign confidentiality agreements when you
form a relationship with someone (because if you didn't, they would
refuse to work with you), not when you end it.
Looking at the email, I guess the time that the agreement was signed
was not made clear. What's even stranger is that the agreement
apparently bars the Foundation from saying anything, but not Carolyn
herself. "Carolyn has the full right of talking to you, but we, as an
organization, can not give details."
That's not so odd. When you agree to respect someone else's privacy it
doesn't usually preclude them revealing the information themselves.
What's odd is that they agreed to it at all.