Comment by Spooky23
5 years ago
Yes. Don’t use it, and require that contractors not use it either.
I’ve found attorneys using it - automatic dq for me.
5 years ago
Yes. Don’t use it, and require that contractors not use it either.
I’ve found attorneys using it - automatic dq for me.
The article explicitly calls out that kind of behavior under the subtitle "Don't Just Ban Grammarly and Expect Folks To Listen". I know, the whole article is sort of promotional, but the point still stands.
People say stuff like this all of the time. It’s just noise unless your relationship with the provider addresses whatever risks you have.
You don’t just ban it, you attach sanctions to it. Third party disclosure of legal work product is not so good for your legal career.
Would you be happy if the people administrating your health benefits, medical records or taxes were using some random free SaaS that accessed and processed your data without accountability?
How about your attorney? If you were facing criminal prosecution, would you want the information and metadata (how documents were revised) about your case to be subpoenaed and available ton the prosecutors?
The whole article doesn't gloss over those points; it is rather critical of Grammerly except for the last part. But also it, in my opinion, correctly points out that the security measure can't be separated from the social measure in that last part.
Does dq mean dequeue? Ironically, Grammarly would automatically expand your in-house abbreviations to make your writing more clear.
Sweet.
I’m sure the subject of a confidential investigation that could result in losing custody of their children would appreciate that Grammarly simplified that jargon in some attorney’s report. No problem at all that it’s stored in the cloud somewhere, monetized, or reviewed by some contractor somewhere.
DQ = Disqualification, a no go.
>Does dq mean dequeue? Ironically, Grammarly would automatically expand your in-house abbreviations to make your writing more clear.
I thought it meant "Dairy Queen[0]." Yummy[1], yummy Dairy Queen!
Using shortened/abbreviated forms without explanation is a recipe for misunderstanding.
Generally, writing out whatever will be abbreviated/shortened and noting the abbreviation/shortening is preferred, as it removes the ambiguity of just using an abbreviation.
For example, If I say that I'm going to "The Met," that could mean I'm going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art[2], the Metropolitan Opera[3] or The Metropolitan Police[4]. Which institution is implied may be clear from the context, but could be confusing.
Many years ago, I shared a taxi with a couple on my way to work at American Express. When I said I was going to "Amex," they assumed I was going to the American Stock Exchange and since their offices were quite close to that organization's offices, we decided to travel together.
Fortunately, the offices of American Express and the American Stock Exchange were both in the World Financial Center[5] (albeit at opposite ends), there wasn't an issue.
That said, clearly identifying shortened forms is extremely important, especially in writing, as you can't correct a reader's assumptions as to what you're going on about.
This applies to "dq" above, as well as many other acronyms and abbreviations. This article[6] discusses the issue at some length:
And since I (or anyone else) can't know what's in your mind unless you tell me, I may take an abbreviation[6] to mean something (like Dairy Queen) that the writer didn't intend.
[0] https://www.dairyqueen.com
[1] https://www.dairyqueen.com/en-us/menu/treats/classic-treats/
[2] https://www.metmuseum.org/
[3] https://www.metopera.org/
[4] https://www.met.police.uk/
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookfield_Place_(New_York_Cit...
[6] I'm using "abbreviations" here to mean abbreviations (e.g., Amex for American Express), acronyms (e.g. NAFTA for North Amerian Free Trade Agreement) and initialisms (e.g., TCP for Transmission Control Protocol, FBI for Federal Bureau of Investigation).
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