This week, a draft “Research Code of Conduct” appeared in our inboxes with only a couple of hours to respond. I flagged it in a university WhatsApp group because the timeline felt suspicious. Within a few minutes of my post, the deadline was extended by 48 hours. The timing itself tells a story. Policies are pushed through so fast that no one can really absorb them, let alone debate them. By the time you look up, silence has already been counted as agreement.