What? I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I said most posters don't PM throwaway accounts with no post history for advice. You're not a throwaway account with no post history, so I'm unclear on why you inserted your experience with PMs into this.
And for the record, I currently have 11 messages in my PM (accumulated over the past 8-9 days), if we're going to compare for irrelevant purposes. Just saying.
Again, you misunderstood my point, so please don't insult me due to your misunderstanding.
No one said these threads can't be useful. The difference of opinion is in what makes them useful.
It shouldn't be a surprise to any adult who is competent at adulting that your relationship with your boss matters and that it can make a difference when it comes to requests being done when you want it done versus when it's convenient for them to get it done. It sucks, but it's the way the world works and does not distinguish malignant programs from non-malignant programs.
NDAs are made as part of settlements so I'm confused as to why a resident would be fired or forced to resign and also forced to sign an NDA upon termination unless some settlement was offered (LOR, etc). That would mean they can't talk to anyone to say they were fired and get advice? That's ridiculous. Now legally, it may make sense for the resident not to speak out until they go through the legal process and/or appeals, but signing an NDA upon forced termination from residency just doesn't sound realistic to me.
@aProgDirector have you heard of residents being given NDAs as a "routine part of a forced resignation"?
Yes, of course, and no one is disputing that. That actually makes sense and during the process, I agree that residents should keep their mouth shut.
I just couldn't read anymore, but my bottom line for those still reading is that I firmly believe there are some malignant programs out there that target residents and don't believe in due process if they don't like you. These programs are, by far, the minority and most residents who are terminated actually had deficiencies in either academics or professionalism, whether or not they know/acknowledge it.
My point about PM'ing wasn't random PMs. It was the fact that vague hints in threads about programs, can lead to PMs where more detail about specific programs is shared. I've seen it go both ways, from throwaway accts to more established ones, or the other way. I wouldn't be surprised if newbie/throwaways messaged one another as well as those like myself.
The rest of my post was addressing
why in some ways it will never be safe for a resident/former resident to out and out name a specific program or other identifying elements. We take this as some sort of sign it's made up or without merit, or say whatever else about it. A program can get back at you in a number of ways that I enumerated, from the mild (de-prioritzing paperwork essential to your career) to more serious (lawsuit, especially if an NDA is in place, even if it's on the internet). I mentioned real world examples I've been privy to, as well as the latter point being explained to me by two different attorneys.
I'm not saying that a boss being spiteful about your paperwork is proof of malignancy. I'm saying that, no matter how far one thinks they've gone from a malignant program, there is still some harm they can do to you, essentially meaning that one is never totally safe from their negative influence. This is one reason some residents, even without an NDA or pending legal case, might not ever come forward with a program name. I find this far from ridiculous on their part.
Lastly, I suggest that some of the cases that might represent the most egregious and accurate information about a program, likely steps were taken to seal them in some way.
Also, keep in mind that an NDA doesn't mean you can never list an employer as an employer or other ridiculous things like that. They give guidelines on what can or cannot be said about the term of employment, and they usually say you cannot reference the NDA directly.
I don't see why we need to argue this last point. Residents can be asked to sign an NDA when they are forced to resign. What do you mean by settlement? Do you think the settlement is in court, or out of court? Do you think it must include money? Do you think it must include concessions to the resident? Because the answer to all those things depends and there is no one answer. Some settlements are made in an attempt to keep a case from ever going to court, or after they go to court to get them to end sooner, this is even more likely if it looks to drag on, or there is a risk of losing, and losing would be worse than settling in some fashion. It does not have to include money or concessions to the resident, although it often does. Sometimes the only concession the resident will have in a forced resignation is merely that it is not a termination, and this might make them willing to sign an NDA.
I don't assert that every program every resignation includes an NDA. I'm saying that a contentious separation of resident from a program can include an NDA, and this could be a factor in what information about the situation is ever revealed to the likes of anyone like the rest of us.
It's fine if people think these threads are useless without more identifying details. I'm explaining how they might have utility for some anyway, and I'm explaining why a lack of detail might not represent a case without merit.
My personal theory is that the cases with the most merit, are the ones most likely to have been settled by the program in exchange for an NDA. In fact, what makes me the most hesitant about a resident story on SDN isn't the lack of details, but the presence of them. If the resident has a good case AND they are a rational individual, they likely have an attorney and are actually following their advice. Which means no SDN details, before an NDA is enacted, and if the case is good enough, there will be an NDA and then it will be sealed forever. It takes either a brave or foolhardy individual (depending on the details of the case) to take a program all the way to court.