Parse Services, Parse Hosting, and ShowKit at Parse HQ at Facebook (building 18)

Pizza & beer

thanks Terry

I made the same mistake!

There are still people out there that use Apple maps?

Glad to be helpful—feel free to reach out in future if you have quickie legalese questions!

Thanks for the info, it's good to know. But that NDA still makes it prohibitive for me to go. I don't think FB should even offer to host a public event if they're going to require this. And using "standard practice" as a justification just makes them look dumb.

Typically 7pm (see meetup notes) but we might start as late as 7:15 if people have trouble signing in.

Hey Warren, sorry to hear you won't make it. I'm with ShowKit and will be there tonight--send me an email and we can share the presentation with you. emily@showkit.com And you can get access to the SDK now as part of our private beta: www.showkit.com Hopefully we'll get to see you at the next event!

Looks like FB (Bear Douglas, below) has disclaimed the possibility that "confidential" info would be discussed at the talk. I've also posted a very brief summary (above) of how NDAs actually work, and why this NDA isn't such a big deal. Hope you can make it out tonight!

@Emily, thanks; will contact offline. @Nick, VCs require a copy of all signed agreements - this one makes the signer look naive. Anything that offers lawyers more leverage over you without offering any value in return is a big deal.

Also the meetup is not iOS realted..it's more about Parse hostin, JavaScript realated. #meetupfail

@warren, interesting point. I assume they only require corporate contracts, not personal ones like your apartment rental agreement, student loan notes, etc. If you attend the event as an individual, would this help? It's hard to draw the line between personal and business.

@warren, interesting point. I assume they only require corporate contracts, not personal ones like your apartment rental agreement, student loan notes, etc. If you attend the event as an individual, would this help? It's hard to draw the line between personal and business.

@nick, it is very easy to draw a line: a NDA which covers technology that may or may not be incorporated into a commercial product and has a signatory with company name is not - and I repeat in all caps for emphasis - IS NOT LIKE A PERSONAL RENTAL AGREEMENT. To suggest otherwise is misleading.

Moreover, a presenter claiming, in this thread, that nothing confidential will be disclosed, does not a guarantee that some other party from suing in the future. Said party may not have read this thread, but has seen a name in a list of signatories to a NDA. Said NDA may be attached to a presentation that may be associated to some future IP that they are litigating. Discovery costs money. Interrogatives waste time. The result is that lawyers from both sides bill more time, leaving less cash for engineers. So no, I find it very easy to draw a line. The easiest solution is, as John Brewer suggests: no NDAs.

@warren, I suggested that one might attend in his individual capacity, not as an employee or owner of a company. So there would be no company signatory in that case. But there's no point scuffling over hypothetical situations now, as the event has passed.

As I mentioned in my original post, it is perfectly rational for you to boycott the meetup in order to express displeasure with FB's NDA policy, and I hope you had a productive evening. (I sure did!) FWIW, FB actually presented us with a different—and much more detailed—NDA when we arrived, but after I talked with them they agreed to use the simpler NDA that had been posted.

Talks won't start until 7 or later - but yes, please arrive by 6:30 to get settled.

Building 18 - thanks for asking this.

I've talked with them about this. I'll post more details about an NDA as I know them.

Hi John, we do have to ask that everyone coming on site sign the site visitor NDA. It's fairly straightforward, and exists mostly to protect against the case where someone sees or overhears something confidential while on campus. The things we'll be covering at the meetup are not confidential. I'm happy to answer any questions about it. You can see the text here: http://files.meetup.com/1285270/Facebook%20Site%20Visitor%20NDA.pdf

We really don't need nor want an NDA to listen to a presentation. Unfortunately because you are requiring one, I also wont be attending.

I guess many people are concerned about wait time to sign NDA. Will it be possible to sign it in advance and bring it to the meetup to reduce the wait time and queue?

I'm flat out never signing an NDA to attend a public meeting. It's completely unprofessional, and symptomatic of Facebook's overall disdain for its users.

@Gregory, I'll ask about printing and signing in advance. @John, I'm really sorry you won't be joining us. As much as we'd love to waive it, the NDA is required for any visit to campus.

Looks like FB (Bear Douglas, in a different sub-thread) has disclaimed the possibility that "confidential" info would be discussed at the talk. I've also posted a very brief summary of how NDAs actually work, and why this NDA isn't such a big deal. Hope you can make it out tonight!