At some point, Autodesk started using non-Autodesk employees to respond to customer support tickets. I personally never saw any formal announcement of this. As a customer, if you submit a ticket directly with Autodesk via manage.autodesk.com you will receive the following email:
I am not sure who Directly is exactly, but the links in the email go to their website. The contract...
language appears to be more applicable to the person providing the support than to the customer. For example, it sounds like I automatically agree to their terms and conditions if I view their reply to a support ticket. Or, does this just apply to the person providing the support?
"You accept this Agreement by creating, viewing or completing Requests, registering as a User, or by accessing and/or using the Platform."My friend Dave Plumb, from BWBR Architects, raised a related question on RFO a while back; read that here. When I first head about this I was more interested in privacy-related issues, but Dave make a valid point too. On my point, here is another quote from the terms:
"you acknowledge and agree that each Request may contain private, proprietary or confidential information"May contain? Everything we send to Autodesk should be considered confidential unless stated otherwise, and in writing. Firms have projects they are working on or chasing, as well as client relationships and such, I am wondering if they would rather not have someone who likely works for a competing firm, having access too.
"You will keep all Confidential Information in strictest confidence"So, if some content "may" not be confidential, they can share and use "some" stuff?
"Upon the termination, cancellation or expiration of your Directly Account for any reason, you will destroy all Confidential Information, together with any copies that may be authorized herein."This implies they can keep material beyond the completed support ticket.
Opt Out
The two images below show what you see if you choose to opt out. But, if your re-seller submits a support ticket on your behalf, you do not get an Opt Out option,
Conclusion
Obviously everyone needs to make their own call on this... I am just sharing this post so you have a little more information in which to make it with.One last comment; based on the list of things the third-party person has access too, I am unclear if they immediately have access to any files you have attached to the support ticket. Maybe someone can comment below. If they do not get direct access to files, that would certainly give customers more control over sharing outside of Autodesk.
Related links (from the email above):