Badmouthing between POIs

[Physwimic]

Hopefully you guys can give me some good advice. I was at an interview weekend, and a professor there told me about one of his former post-docs who is one of my POIs at another school. He informed me that the post-doc had agreed to move on to other topics, and then returned to here old project after that failed and scooped a grad student still working on the project. Even worse, he wasn't even informed that the post-doc had returned to the question. This is obviously, if true, really bad form and a real black mark on the POI. But there is a degree of bad mouthing that happens between schools at these interview weekends. I kind of want to give the post-doc now POI a chance to defend himself as there might be another side to the story, but I also feel it might be a bit rude to bring it up. Does anyone have advice on how to deal with the situation?

[see_bella]

I don't think you should bring up anything. It may start an unwanted brawl and you don't want to get stuck in the middle and ruin your chances of admission OR get screwed over by either POI should you get in to either of the schools. I say leave it alone.

[CarlieE]

I don't think you should bring up anything. It may start an unwanted brawl and you don't want to get stuck in the middle and ruin your chances of admission OR get screwed over by either POI should you get in to either of the schools. I say leave it alone.

I agree. When there's been this kind of politics at my uni I've learnt that it's best to just keep one's mouth shut. Just listen and take everything with a football sized grain of salt, and then try to avoid contact with all parties at all costs. Obviously this last bit of my advice isn't feasible for you, if you end up having one of these profs as your POI, but I would only just listen so I could decide for myself if the stories have any sort of basis... Perhaps there is a "neutral" third party who might give you insight into whether or not either one of the POIs is bad news or not. It seems bad form that the one POI would even bad mouth a professor elsewhere at an interview...

[SomedaySLP]

If what the professor said is true then that's bad form on your POI's part, but in either case it's bad form of the professor to have told you in the first place. I would keep yourself out of it (certainly not bring it up to the POI) and follow your gut as far as whether or not you should still pursue working with that POI.