A recently laid off BoA analyst received the following message from her former employer. I don't know if this sort of thing is common practice, and it's unclear whether or not the note was serious or just an attempt to crack a joke in the midst of a tough situation (self-deprecating humor about how crappy your bonus are is always good), but let us just say, well-played, Ken Lewis. Made us laugh.
Dear Employee of Bank of America:
Based on your annual earnings, you may be eligible to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from the federal government. The EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit for low income working individuals and families. The EITC has no effect on certain welfare benefits. In most cases, the EITC payments will not be used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, supplemental security income, food stamps, low income housing or most temporary assistance for needy families payments....
Bank of America Personnel Center
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:05AM
Ridiculous!
You expect us to read that post with it wrapping like that around that image!!?
Posted by just me , Feb 15, 2008 10:13AM
What a sad commentary about how big corps treat people.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:13AM
chill, dude. seriously.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:15AM
If i go blind squinting to read all this light grey text can i sue dealbroker?
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:20AM
new site layout is silly. need lots of bess commentary to make up for it
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:23AM
yeah, this new layout is bent. Perhaps I am wrecking some in-house celebrational launch of the new www, but as i said, its bent.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:34AM
The new format makes the posts seem less funny
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:40AM
Feel feek to sue "dealbroker" that other site sucks anyway.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:41AM
Feel free to sue "dealbroker" that site sucks
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:46AM
you take that back about dealbroker...
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:49AM
Sorry, but the new layout blows.
a.) I like reading stuff on the right side of the screen
b.) The Times New Roman font is tough to read, italicized Times is impossible. Please go back Arial.
Outside of those two comments, I would be kosher with the new layout.
-Gin&Tonic
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:50AM
agreed. also we are serious folks. we should have a serious font. and it should be BLACK! not pale gray
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:51AM
Above the law still has friendly type. Pity it is as dull as fuck.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:52AM
The comments are a big part of DB. It’s a tough question, do you want to tag and isolate comments to better keep track of visitors to the site? For the purpose of selling adds it certainly makes sense. Trying to sell clicks is difficult unless you can prove the number of unique visitors, and more important visitors who interact with the content. Of course, a real issue is that the commentary provided by readers of the site is often just as humorous and entertaining to read as the posts themselves. Will this hurt the overall content of the site?
-Stranded.
Posted by Investorcluzo , Feb 15, 2008 10:55AM
there is a reason my excel screen is grey, this white background is going to ruin my eyes - is db on the optometry lobbyists' payroll? if so, I'm expecting a check for new glasses I'm going to need.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 10:55AM
I personally read DB for the comments. Like come on, its not like any of the paid contributors add any value.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:00AM
i agree this new format blows majorly, its almost ruining my 3 day weekend.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:03AM
I prefer the previous layout. What is with the gray bars on the sides? I feel squeezed. Did the same idiot who overhauled Banker's Ball call you all up too? Can anybody recommend the 'next' DB site? This site has gone AOL on us all. That's not a good thing.
Posted by Anal_yst , Feb 15, 2008 11:04AM
Get rida the grey, and the italics, that'd be a good start.
Then get rid of all the whiney little bitches, that'd really be the best bet
guest is the new anon
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:10AM
Keep up this layout on your RB contributors may receive an EITC... Seriously, I'm considering setting up a site if this is the competition. Geez.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:14AM
I propose someone (hopefully DB itself) registers guestisthenewanon.com and mirrors all the content here on a site wiht the old format
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:14AM
Jeez.... these comments... I though we're all supposed to be flexible, adaptable so that we can thrive in the new world business order.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:17AM
Seriously... only two problems I see is:
1. Font color needs to be darker
2. Italics need to be killed
Other than that, nice change
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:27AM
gayest website ever after this redesign.
Also, i was robbed in DC. Fucking shittiest city ever.
Posted by RamblinWreck , Feb 15, 2008 11:29AM
About the EITC thing, I think that's just standard operating procedure for the BofA HR dept.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:34AM
And this site redesign increase revenue how? Just a thought - more time spent on entertaining contributions, less time site design. I agree with 11:27 that the site now appears gay. But just think, you can always just alter the content for gayfinance.com! The format is ready.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:38AM
Whose the bastard that snagged the 'anonymous' username.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 11:49AM
New design is nice. Seems more professional somehow. I hope that doesn't mean that the content will lose it socially casual attitude and loose moral standards. Only complaint, bring back the supermanish logo. And Muffie.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 12:00PM
This is a very standard compliance letter that many companies send out. Everyone in the office of my PE fund got the same email - though I doubt even our admin had incomes low enough to qualify.
Posted by Debter , Feb 15, 2008 12:02PM
Ugh, more posts please.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 12:05PM
Boooooooo-urns, on the new layout.
-Ghost of Keith Hahn
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 12:17PM
Count me among those who don't like the new design. I agree with the comments about the gray. It's way too hard to read. Ditto the italics. Moreover, now Dealbreaker looks so much like other blogs out there. It's a very cookie cutter design. Personally I liked the old format way better. It was distinctive and fun.
I'm not sure why you're focusing on the design at this point. It's the content that's gotten really erratic.
As for the comments, forcing people to register so that they have an identity is going to make reading this blog less fun. There are way too many "guests". I think that most will be reluctant to register just to post. That's just normal for most sites. Since the comments seem to be the life flood of this blog, I suspect that this change will really hurt. Just my two cents.
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 12:20PM
love the site
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 12:21PM
love the site
Posted by diablo , Feb 15, 2008 12:30PM
the gray is gay. get rid of it.
everywhere!
'nuff said...
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 2:36PM
Need to have the site content oriented to the right and not the left...
Posted by guest , Feb 15, 2008 3:15PM
damn so hard to read!!