[sognetic]

Accepting the possibility of committing the old "solving social problems with technological solutions" fallacy: I wonder if an offtopic channel without history (or only a very limited one) could help here. Something that prevents management from scrolling up to identify the people who post too much. In my company I wouldn't even expect that (surveillance) to happen or have consequences but I always have the possibility in the back of my mind.

[pavel_lishin]

The kind of management that would trawl through history to check if I'm being too negative is the kind of management that would never allow this history to vanish.

[jarofgreen]

That doesn't help with the "Who's listening?" problem. In an office kitchen you know exactly who is listening and can tailor your comments appropriately. In an online chat, it's not clear who is lurking or who will log on in 5 minutes and read back. (Welcome to the site btw!)