[babarock]

I recently turned down a freelancing contract where the client asked me to "kindly keep this confidential". Nothing legal more than this (does it have any legal validity?). The reason why I turned down the job offer is exactly because of this irrational "fear of disclosure".

I am not saying that there aren't cases where NDA can come into play. But what I'm trying to mention is that, just like the author of the blog, I'm very put off by people trying to protect their ideas. My reasons are very similar to the ones mention in the article, I'll add this:

By asking me not to disclose your idea, the client gives me the impression of someone undervaluing the execution part. She's establishing a framework where the "idea" is the core value and "execution" can be applied by some random code monkey she heard about through a friend of a friend; code monkeys are a dime a dozen, the "idea" is unique.

Who in their right mind would want to work under these conditions? I backed out, clearly. My point is, if you have an idea, and are looking for someone to help you code something, secrecy and NDA won't make you come off good.

[jacquesm]

> "kindly keep this confidential"

Turning down freelancing contracts for such silly reasons is not going to go very far unless you are swimming in work.

Really, as such requests go that's about as nicely put as I've seen it, and even if it wasn't said I would think that you would do that anyway, so where is the loss?

Of course you don't go around disclosing the details of the work you do, that would make you absolutely unemployable as a freelancer.

Confidentiality is assumed by default between an employer and an employee, unless you're flipping burgers. Any serious freelancer should take that to heart and if and when you do decide to talk about what's going on at some employer or business relationship please remember that it is a small world and you only get one reputation to mess up.

[paulhauggis]

"By asking me not to disclose your idea, the client gives me the impression of someone undervaluing the execution part."

This isn't my impression at all. Execution is the most important part. If you discuss the idea with someone who happens to have more resources than you do, they can execute the idea faster than you and possibly hurt your chances at gaining traction.

The funny thing is, I've done just this. People have discussed their ideas on forums and I beat them to the punch and made money. This is why I know it's important to keep your idea a secret until you are very close to launching (so your competitors have at least a couple of months before they could come out with your idea).

You don't really care because you are just the coder. You will get paid whether the app is a success or a failure. So it's you that isn't really taking the business aspect into consideration.