NODE 75f5db2ePersonal webpages can get you fired [CNN]
Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>Fri, 16 Jan 1998 09:04:05 +0800
Forwarded message:
> Barrett January 15, 1998
> Web posted at: 5:47 p.m. EST (2247 GMT)
>
> TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) -- Hired to teach computer technology
> at a marketing company, Cameron Barrett suggested his trainees check
> out his Web page, where he published his own fiction.
>
> Some women staff members did, and were shocked by the violent and
> sexually explicit passages.
>
> They complained to their boss, and Barrett was fired.
[text deleted]
> "Just as people need to watch what they say in real life, what you
> put on your Web page is going to be visible to everyone, including
> future employers," said Esther Dyson, a director of the Electronic
> Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.
>
> Personal Web pages aren't considered private
>
> Although the First Amendment prevents the government from stifling
> speech, private employers are under no such constraints.
>
> Companies can fire people for comments deemed inappropriate, and
> experts warn that personal Web sites, even if done at home, are
> public venues that employers can use to determine who is suitable
> for the company.
[text deleted]
____________________________________________________________________
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| but the desire to edit somebody elses words. |
| |
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|____________________________________________________________________|
NODE 78931488Re: Personal webpages can get you fired [CNN]
Mark Rogaski <wendigo@ne-wendigo.jabberwock.org>Fri, 16 Jan 1998 10:03:40 +0800
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An entity claiming to be Jim Choate wrote:
:
: Forwarded message:
:
: > TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) -- Hired to teach computer technology
: > at a marketing company, Cameron Barrett suggested his trainees check
: > out his Web page, where he published his own fiction.
: >
: > Some women staff members did, and were shocked by the violent and
: > sexually explicit passages.
: >
: > They complained to their boss, and Barrett was fired.
Not all that surprising. If Barrett suggested his pages as an example,
that makes them part of his curriculum. Curriculums that don't fit in
with the Diversity model are usually pretty short-lived. That's a big
"Duh" on his part.
Mark
- --
[] Mark Rogaski "That which does not kill me
[] wendigo@pobox.com only makes me stranger."
[]
[] finger wendigo@deathstar.jabberwock.org for PGP key
[] anti spambot: postmaster@localhost abuse@localhost uce@ftc.gov
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NODE 9c1b3f37Re: Personal webpages can get you fired [CNN]
Tim May <tcmay@got.net>Fri, 16 Jan 1998 10:52:42 +0800
At 5:46 PM -0800 1/15/98, Mark Rogaski wrote:
>Not all that surprising. If Barrett suggested his pages as an example,
>that makes them part of his curriculum. Curriculums that don't fit in
>with the Diversity model are usually pretty short-lived. That's a big
>"Duh" on his part.
And as with the AOL case of Timothy McVeigh (no, not _that_ one) being
kicked out of the Navy for labelling himself as "gay" and as a "boy hunter"
on one of his AOL profiles, there are already calls for new privacy laws.
Which misses the point. By illegalizing the keeping or disclosing of
lawfully obtained information, greater harm is done.
I heard Nadine Strossen of the ACLU arguing today that more laws are needed
to "prevent" these "abuses." In fact, more _technology_ is what's needed.
The technology of Web proxies, remailers, nyms, and such.
(As to what I personally think about these cases...the Barrett case strikes
me as just another PC firestorm, with someone being fired by a scared
college for fear of lawsuits by offended womyn and sistas. But Barrett was
dumb to tell his students about his non-PC page. As for the McVeigh case,
if the Navy allows gay soldiers and sailors....well, I can guess most
straights will refuse to volunteer for the Navy. Again, in a corporation or
such it should be their right to refuse to accept gays, or straights, or
blacks, or whatever they choose. That it is a taxpayer-funded enterprise
makes the case much more confusing and, probably, irreconcilable.)
--Tim May
The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."
NODE 4a013f1fRe: Personal webpages can get you fired [CNN]
Mark Rogaski <wendigo@ne-wendigo.jabberwock.org>Fri, 16 Jan 1998 13:50:05 +0800
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
An entity claiming to be Tim May wrote:
:
: And as with the AOL case of Timothy McVeigh (no, not _that_ one) being
: kicked out of the Navy for labelling himself as "gay" and as a "boy hunter"
: on one of his AOL profiles, there are already calls for new privacy laws.
:
: Which misses the point. By illegalizing the keeping or disclosing of
: lawfully obtained information, greater harm is done.
:
: I heard Nadine Strossen of the ACLU arguing today that more laws are needed
: to "prevent" these "abuses." In fact, more _technology_ is what's needed.
: The technology of Web proxies, remailers, nyms, and such.
:
This issue was covered in _The Right to Privacy_ by Ellen Alderman and
Carolyn Kennedy. The book was misplaced during my recent move, and I didn't
get very far through it. I do remember that the current legal standard for
invasion of privacy depended upon whether the information was gathered from
a public medium. A psychiatric evaluation or Telco records would not be
considered a public forum, so could not be used by an employer (unless the
evaluation was given by the employer, I guess). A web page, on the other hand
is about as public as you can get.
I would agree that with the right technologies (proxies, remailers, etc) there
would be a de facto protection of privacy, and (insert the not-even-close-to-
a-lawyer disclaimer here) that there should be some legal basis that since
the effort was made to hide the True Name, the content could not be used, if
there were a compromise. Looks like a win-win.
It still doesn't deal with morons who *provide* their employers with the
ammo to terminate employment. You can make a system foolproof, but you can't
make it damnfoolproof.
Mark
- --
[] Mark Rogaski "That which does not kill me
[] wendigo@pobox.com only makes me stranger."
[]
[] finger wendigo@deathstar.jabberwock.org for PGP key
[] anti spambot: postmaster@localhost abuse@localhost uce@ftc.gov
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