Slate's publisher, Cyrus Krohn, pleads with Microsoft's legal team to stop the New York Times from poaching its staff.

Granted the New York Times has been experiencing talent problems of their own lately, but that's no excuse to "brain drain" us. In my seven years with Slate, I've seen the Times make off with no fewer than five Slatesters. And just last week, they tried to hire away our esteemed editor-in-chief, Jacob Weisberg

There's no doubt that the New York Times is in need of building up its talent pool again; there's a lot of ground to make up. But what kind of noncompete clause could Slate employees be signing? (Via Romenesko)

UPDATE: Krohn says it's a joke, which makes much more sense.