On 10/04/2008, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijssen@gmail.com wrote:
Hoi, When you are part of the board, you can and you should be able to say the harshest things. This is expected of a board member. A non disparagement agreement is meant to keep the noise down when the words are spoken outside of the environment. It does help both a persons personal standing and the standing of the board when people can find it in themselves to be polite and political in how they express themselves.
I doubt how much (legal) value can or should be given to such a document, it is certainly a great way to point out that a person who is in violation of such an agreement is indeed the arse hole that this behaviour demonstrates.
*Terms of disparagement* are pejorative words and phrases which are either intended to be or are often regarded as insulting, impolite or unkind.
Given the definition it is bad behaviour in the first place.. Now what is the problem in stating that you will not behave in an objectionable way in the first place ??
I guess it all depends on exactly what is meant by "disparaging". I expect the actual agreement was rather more precise than the title. I'm not sure I quite agree with your definition of disparaging (in some contexts). The appropriate definition for Wiktionary says:
"To dishonor by a comparison with what is inferior; to lower in rank or estimation by actions or words; to speak slightingly of; to depreciate; to undervalue."
If someone is doing something seriously wrong, it would seem acceptable to me to depreciate them. Whether or not something is pejorative is extremely subjective. For example, on a Wikipedia talk page some people told me off for describing someone (primarily a hypothetical someone, although there were people in the discussion that I could have meant) as "ignorant". I meant that simply to say that they lacked the knowledge relevant to the point at hand. As far as I'm concerned, that's what the word means and I didn't mean it offensively. Other people, quite understandably, interpreted it differently. I think it's fair to say I was disparaging them, but whether or not I was being objectionable depends on who you ask.