NVIDIA NDA & HardOCP - POLL

HardOCP Signs the NVIDIA NDA for 2080 Launch Access?

  • Yes

  • No


Results are only viewable after voting.
Kyle,
I'm a long time viewer that doesn't comment very often, just when I have strong opinions regarding a discussion. Only you can answer this question in the end. You have to provide for your family and run a business. I voted no but but will support your decision whatever it may be.
 
The value of an "unencumbered" mainstream tech site is entirely underrated, and sorely needed. This position is uniquely suited to sound the alarm when things aren't quite right, just like you did with GPP. Because of the imbalance in the graphics space with 1 company owning the lions share of the market I think not being bound to the industry titan is a huge boon to the market.

All that said, until we have AMD strengthen their position in the graphics market and / or another competitive player enter (Intel?); not playing ball with Nvidia will make you into a pariah. It is an expensive and lonely road; there are only a couple of sites that have the credibility to even attempt it. I will respect any decision you make just don't go out of business because we need [H].
 
I’m sorry if this was already mentioned, but since the communication channels have reopened, would it be possible to ask for the “standard” NDA to be slightly modified to remove the problematic parts and thus make it acceptable for Kyle et. al. to sign it?
 
I vote Hell No! Kyle from the moment I had the privilege of meeting you I knew you were a man of integrity online and off. While being on the outside is going to be a financial hardship and may delay some content I and the community that has been created because of you expect the [H]ard level of quality in your content and do not want anything to impune it.
 
agreement to not reveal information that is not made public or use that information against NV

Nope. If you find out information that is damaging against nvidia, that hurts consumers, then you don't need no fucking nda to hinder you.
 
I voted no, but I want to be clear about a major caveat to my vote: if not signing severely damages the financial integrity of [H], then sign it for the greater good.

I suspect that the samples can be sold after testing for probably 90+% of cost to a member here. Take a page out of PurePwnage and sign it (or give option of) or throw in some cheap swag.

That's my thought, but I'm still new here.
 
I'd say yes to sign it. I think it's important to have a good relationship, leave the past in the past.
 
If it was me I would probably sign it (After lawyer approval).
This would be contingent on:
1. Firewalling the Confidential Information to just some of the staff of [H] (as you already do), to allow the rest of the staff to work unimpeded by any eventual overreach.
2. Legally terminating the agreement, as the possibility is legally viable (afaik), if I felt the NDA was being abused beyond it's reasonable intent. (still respecting the confidentiality on the information obtained under the NDA)

Is launch day access worth signing an NDA that we have issue with?
However, the question you posted is if you should sign something you have issue with. And if you have an issue with it, then no, in that case don't sign it.
 
I would say think hard on what your lawyers advice was.

I understand if you do sign it as that makes financial sense. I also understand if you don't sign it on general principle.

It could go either way. I don't pay your bills and that means I don't have a say (really though, thanks for asking). I come here for the honesty in your reviews and the fact that you don't cater to dumb asses who want to tell you how to do your business.

I say no real answer from me other than do what is right for you. You know how we are. We are fickle bitches.
 
Fuck Nvidia, fuck their NDA, and fuck their shady bullshit.

This 1070 is the last Nvidia product I will be purchasing. I don't care if Nvidia's latest and greatest scores 300% more Bungholio-marks over AMD for the next three gens. As long as they have a 'fuck the consumer' attitude about their product, they can kiss my fat Asian ass.
 
With no huge drawbacks I think this is an easy question. The correct answer is a solid YES. Kyle has a business with employees and a family to take care of.

You shouldn't need my permission but you have it anyways, brother. Go for it.
 
I would pay a lawyer a couple of hundred bucks to really see what all it says down to the T.

I personally cant say anything either way though, this is a tough one. :-/
 
Fine with it either way. If you don't, create a go fund me or something. I'd chip in a few bucks (or more like five because USD conversion gonna take me to task lol).
 
With no huge drawbacks I think this is an easy question. The correct answer is a solid YES. Kyle has a business with employees and a family to take care of.

You shouldn't need my permission but you have it anyways, brother. Go for it.

Well, I backed up my NO vote with a visit to Patreon... If everyone voting in this poll did the same, the correct answer would be for Kyle to print out the NDA, defecate on it, and then send it in to Jensen Huang.
 
I vote no, and further I signed up for patreon to back up my vote. I'm not contributing much (I'm poor, don't sue me D: ), but I hope it can offset one or two purchases over the course of a year.
 
Kyle, have you considered creating a subsidiary that you can contract for review work that can sign the NDA without exposing your company to the same rules?


This might let you get the review hardware while still being able to report on shitty business practices.

Just a thought.
 
I've always enjoyed knowing that when I come here I'm getting the straight goods about whatever you guys are writing about. It looks to me like this NDA might stop that from being possible regarding Nvidia products in the future and I say HELL NO!

Sometimes you gotta do things the [H]ard way
 
I wanna do a plug while I'm drinking:

Please consider donating to the Patreon. Even just $1/month will be more valuable to [H] than viewing a ton of ads. The more that [H] gets in Patreon, the less that they have to seriously consider signing NDAs. [H] is a site that I think a lot of people in my generation don't really understand its value...until it's gone. And then we have what? Linux Tech Tips? Fuck that. Just the thought is causing me to up my Patreon by another 5 bucks. Which I just did.

I challenge the rest of you to do the same.
 
No nda. Tired of the leather jacket RTX propaganda and need the [H] truth.
 
I'm not sure how an NDA can be related to anything beyond hardware specifics.

If that NDA has ANYTHING beyond not revealing hardware specifics before launch day, hell no you shouldn't sign it. You're setting yourself up to be destroyed in court later.

Honestly, what difference does it make if EVERYONE knows that every review site that has hardware on launch day had to stick their nose up Nvidia's ass and sign hush papers for critical reviews spanning 5 years? All that means is... I'm not going to believe a word of the review until sites like [H] do a review or individuals with cards they bought with their own money do reviews.

Seriously. Sell the cards you aren't keeping as soon as the reviews are done.

When I read launch day reviews from the mainstream sites I don't read a single word of the article. I go to the benchmarks. Then I decide if I believe the benchmarks.

If I want technical review of the hardware that's fair? I come HERE for the review then I go to a site like Overclock.net and dig into the forums with the real tech heads about the hardware and software.

So no, don't sign it. SOMEONE (YOU) needs to be the guy running a big website that does more honest reviews. Might as well be [H].
 
Heck with it. I don't hate Nvidia for making that NDA but this site certainly shouldn't have to sign it.

I'll put my money where my mouth is tomorrow and sign up with Patreon for [H]. Just for this video card launch so they can do it square and with the kid gloves off. It's been years since Nvidia released cards and the Hard review is worth it to me.
 
Totally agree with this method if viable.

You can get best of both, and extra saved cash saved can be used for more reviews, but what would a potential subsidiary be called?

[H]ardNDA?

Kyle, have you considered creating a subsidiary that you can contract for review work that can sign the NDA without exposing your company to the same rules?


This might let you get the review hardware while still being able to report on shitty business practices.

Just a thought.
 
This thread is like asking 6 year olds if they want ice cream or vegetables. Very little metagame, big picture, critical thinking happening.

If you believe the NDA is something nefarious, something scheming and plotting and more than Nvidia's attempt at mitigating the 20 yr old YouTube shitheads trying to be first to leak "BEnchez!!" a week early, why continue to engage with them on any level, why pursue and review Nvidia products at all?

The net effect with turning down the NDA and early sampling is just needlessly delaying for one or more weeks the exact review you would've been otherwise free to publish on day one. The kicker is during that blackout period, all the people voting No here will be over at the day-one sites, drinking in the reviews, and rewarding those external sites by posting the links here and driving to more traffic to them.

Finally, if you sign the NDA and there's something nefarius later on, something you find objectionable, I have no doubt the word could find it's way out through another avenue. I have no doubt Kyle is capable of saying it without saying it.
 
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I wouldn't want to write a review with that document hanging over my head. Doesn't seem like the [H] way.
 
During that week all the people screaming No here will be at all the other day one sites drinking in all the benches, posting link

Is visiting a site now mutually exclusive for ad revenue? Or is it now morally unethical to commit what sure sounds like adultry against this web site by visiting another site once in a while?

Other sites putting out reviews doesn’t make a H review any less meaningful or valuable - only Kyle and his staff can make it more or less valuable based on the quality what they publish and how they accomplish that.

The timing of the actual hardware review has really very little to do with any of that.
The fact that the NDA could possibly affect other content, such as the announcement of critical flaws, shady business
practices, or wood screws... and when that content could be released very much does.
 
You could always skip this time, and see what happens the next time they launch something new.. Would signing this NDA prevent you from publishing certain news etc. about nvidia? How different is it compared to AMD's standard NDA? Follow your gut on this one..
 
Time to choose if you want to be a hardware news/review site or play at politics. Pick which ever one pays your bills.
 
Fuck Nvidia
Is visiting a site now mutually exclusive for ad revenue? Or is it now morally unethical to commit what sure sounds like adultry against this web site by visiting another site once in a while?

Other sites putting out reviews doesn’t make a H review any less meaningful or valuable - only Kyle and his staff can make it more or less valuable based on the quality what they publish and how they accomplish that.

The timing of the actual hardware review has really very little to do with any of that.
The fact that the NDA could possibly affect other content, such as the announcement of critical flaws, shady business
practices, or wood screws... and when that content could be released very much does.
And well said, not sure what the fuck they were thinking.
 
Is visiting a site now mutually exclusive for ad revenue? Or is it now morally unethical to commit what sure sounds like adultry against this web site by visiting another site once in a while?

Other sites putting out reviews doesn’t make a H review any less meaningful or valuable - only Kyle and his staff can make it more or less valuable based on the quality what they publish and how they accomplish that.

I think you missed the point. New video cards = review Superbowl. Day one reviews of highly anticipated product launches, and the days that immediately follow, is peak time and generates a lot of traffic and visibility for a review site.

I'm pointing out that most of the people voting No here have no real conviction, meaning they won't stand in solidarity and ignore all the day one reviews until the [H] review is posted a week or two later. Impossible to ignore anyway, since people will be posting links here to the external reviews.

There's an opportunity cost for Kyle to consider in turning away launch window traffic/visibility.

Personally I want both: the [H] review, ON day one. Boom. If example RTX sucks and it's a gimmick, nothing in the NDA stops Kyle reporting that.
 
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Frankly, I would sign it.
Its not like you can't just opt-out later on if it turns out to be a bad decision.

On the other hand, I liked the idea of raffling off the cards once benched, but that also means no further benches with those cards later on....so no follow on benches like 6 months later.
Unless the raffle covers purchasing enough cards for Benches, and some for the Raffle "Giveaway"....
 
Heck no, don't sign. You guys differentiate yourselves more among a sea of sycophants by not signing and posting a review later, after launch. In any case, I have a feeling most people are sitting on the sidelines with these prices so no sense in rushing a review.
 
I say no, you can sell the cards later and get the money back, i will wait for [H] review anyway before making any decision on purchase, so a few more days delay post launch is not so bad.
 
Frankly, I would sign it.
Its not like you can't just opt-out later on if it turns out to be a bad decision.

On the other hand, I liked the idea of raffling off the cards once benched, but that also means no further benches with those cards later on....so no follow on benches like 6 months later.
Unless the raffle covers purchasing enough cards for Benches, and some for the Raffle "Giveaway"....

ummm not sure if you have ever been involved in a legal contract of any sort... but Opt out isn't normally an option. Unless its spelled out... from what I have seen Nvidias NDA does not allow you to simply opt out. Once you have signed it you have signed it your in for 5 years. You can say what Nvidia allows you to say for the most part. Of course you can give a negative review if its true... if Kyle was just a reviewer I would say go for it sign it and get the quicker scoop. However we all know Kyle has done his share of investigation and actual reporting... which this NDA would make basically impossible.

It would also preclude him from reporting on any Nvidia product or program that has been detailed to him. In other words had he signed this NDA 4 months back... he would not have been able to report on GPP. He would be forced to clear pretty much everything Nvidia related through NVidia first. No sending a request for comment before he publishes... it would be MAY I PLEASE publish.

If he signs and in the future one of his sources says hey Kyle xxxxxx. He can't report on anything he has been given even basic information on. The only way he would be able to report on it would be if it was public knowledge. This is why few backed him up in Public on his GPP reporting. One person reporting unnamed sources IS NOT public knowledge. No major reviewer/tech journalist that was under Nvidia NDA was in a position to say anything without potentially ending up in court. The major NDA signing reviewers all shut their mouths. Wisely to be frank... their legal council no doubt would have told them to say anything would force Nvidia to test their NDA.
 
I think signing it would damage one of the qualities that makes [H]ard unique.

There's always gunna be that website with the review out first. Who cares? With the rising cost of hardware in this game, never before has well informed and unbiased reviews been important. So please don't sign. I don't actually see what you'll really gain?

Quality takes time and that's what [H]ard has always been about, imho. :cool:
 
Man, this site is a joke now. All the analysis from the other sites are saying that the NDA is a fairly standard NDA. HardOCP has to make a big deal out of it to generate controversy. Just don't sign it. Go buy the card when it comes out.

The thing is, it's not a standard NDA, and of course those who have signed aren't going to say "hey, the NDA is shit, but we signed anyways". I've dealt out and worked with Sourcing on NDAs to start ups for going on 20 years in my career; my brother is a high-level IP lawyer who's written and negotiated more NDAs than he can remember. We've both looked at this NDA and it's simply outlandish on a couple points. It's the sort of first-pass version I'd send out with the expectation of the subjects coming back to me with provisions.

And I don't think [H] is trying to generate controversy here by asking what will bring confidence to their readers -- just the opposite.
 
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