NationStates Jolt Archive

I have been wondering, does anyone else have to self-censor? IRL, online, on these forums, on your blog?

I just got an IM from Hubby, that he got a "slap on the wrist" from his boss because someone emailed excerpts from his blog to people high up in the company and they weren't happy with what they read.

I read hubby's blog, and I can't for the life of me figure out what he wrote that was so bad.......but, he has been counseled about what he can and can not write in his blog.

I think it's a bunch of crap, but hey, if you want a job, I guess you have to do what they say right?

I was then thinking about my own blog......what's in there? who is reading it? will I get in trouble?

well, probably not since I don't answer to anyone, but still.

Knowing now that there are people out there who lurk, looking for things to get you in trouble for, it scares me.

what do you think? should your company get to dictate what you write about on your blog? is it any of their business?

if you are in school, should you be able to get suspended or something for what you write in your blog?

to answer a few questions that I know will be asked

he didn't write about anything illegal
he didn't say anything bad about the company

It depends if you blog anonymously or not. If you give your full name, you can be identified as an employee of a company (or an employee of a company as a particular blogger), and then you have difficulties. It doesn't have to be anything to do with the company, any sort of politics is a no-no. The bigger the company for which you work, the more strict the unspoken rule that your political opinions should never be expressed.

what do you think? should your company get to dictate what you write about on your blog? is it any of their business?

If you're not writing anything about your job, then no. If you're making it clear you work for a certain entity and are writing about details about your profession, then yes, they should be able to reprimand you for it.

if you are in school, should you be able to get suspended or something for what you write in your blog?

It is illegal for the government to censor what we write, so, unless what we're writing about is illegal, no, one should not.

but why?

I don't understand why you can't have your own opinions just because you have a job?

but why?

I don't understand why you can't have your own opinions just because you have a job?

You can have them without advertising whom you work for.

You can have them without advertising whom you work for.
but, what if he didn't and just another employee who doesn't like him emailed it to the "big guys".

but, what if he didn't and just another employee who doesn't like him emailed it to the "big guys".

That's why blogging without being anonymous is such a stupid thing to do. Just like your company may find out you attend KKK rallies and decide that they do not want to associate with you, they can be made aware of your blog and decide they do not want to be associated with your particular politics. The only difference is non-anonymous blogging is so much easier and more permanent a way of making them aware of it.

Your company or school should have *no* say in what you write in your blog!

but, what if he didn't and just another employee who doesn't like him emailed it to the "big guys".
I don't understand. Can his real name be in any way connected to his words (eg through Google)? Or did his employers take it on trust that Blogger999 is a particular individual?

Did he write it about those specific people? Did he mention them by name? Did he identify himself as an employee of said company? Did he write any of it while at work?

Did he write it about those specific people? Did he mention them by name? Did he identify himself as an employee of said company? Did he write any of it while at work?
he doesn't mention anyone by name, and only has 2 posts that are work related at all, one of them being about having a stressful day, and another about being moved to a different department and how he likes his new position. He doesn't really talk about work on it........

I don't know about whether or not he blogs at work, but my guess would be no.

I don't understand. Can his real name be in any way connected to his words (eg through Google)? Or did his employers take it on trust that Blogger999 is a particular individual?
I think his boss knows it's his blog because he reads it, but he (the boss) probably got told by people above him to talk to hubby about it, the entry in question is about 3 months old, so if his immediate boss had a problem with it, I am sure he would have said something before now.

I have been wondering, does anyone else have to self-censor? IRL, online, on these forums, on your blog?

I just got an IM from Hubby, that he got a "slap on the wrist" from his boss because someone emailed excerpts from his blog to people high up in the company and they weren't happy with what they read.

I read hubby's blog, and I can't for the life of me figure out what he wrote that was so bad.......but, he has been counseled about what he can and can not write in his blog.

I think it's a bunch of crap, but hey, if you want a job, I guess you have to do what they say right?

I was then thinking about my own blog......what's in there? who is reading it? will I get in trouble?

well, probably not since I don't answer to anyone, but still.

Knowing now that there are people out there who lurk, looking for things to get you in trouble for, it scares me.

what do you think? should your company get to dictate what you write about on your blog? is it any of their business?

if you are in school, should you be able to get suspended or something for what you write in your blog?

to answer a few questions that I know will be asked

he didn't write about anything illegal
he didn't say anything bad about the company


Could you provide us with an excerpt?

Your company or school should have *no* say in what you write in your blog!


Exactly.

my company should only be interested in either I reach the objectives they set for me or not.
as long as I don't disclose reserved informations (I have signed a confidentiality agreement) what I write in a blog is my business, not theirs.

I think his boss knows it's his blog because he reads it, but he (the boss) probably got told by people above him to talk to hubby about it, the entry in question is about 3 months old, so if his immediate boss had a problem with it, I am sure he would have said something before now.
Well there's his mistake. He allowed them to know in the first place. Depending on the type of company, you can be completely open, or you should ensure it cannot know anything about you.

Well there's his mistake. He allowed them to know in the first place. Depending on the type of company, you can be completely open, or you should ensure it cannot know anything about you.
it was a pretty casual, everyone knows everyone, and reads eachother's blogs type of company.......until today.

I would like to get my hands on "the email" to see what was said and who said it.....

it was a pretty casual, everyone knows everyone, and reads eachother's blogs type of company.......until today.

I would like to get my hands on "the email" to see what was said and who said it.....
I'd like to know what was written in the blog. These days if you're making an observation and putting your name to it, it had better be about sports or the weather.

No offense, but the whole freedom of speech thing is naive idealism unless you have ensured your anonymity.

I'd like to know what was written in the blog. These days if you're making an observation and putting your name to it, it had better be about sports or the weather.

No offense, but the whole freedom of speech thing is naive idealism unless you have ensured your anonymity.


yeah.

The blog entry in question I believe is about illegal immigration. I guess we aren't allowed to talk about that. :(

if we can't even express opinions on things, I might as well move to another country, that's one of the things I thought I liked about being American.

The blog entry in question I believe is about illegal immigration. I guess we aren't allowed to talk about that. :(
:eek: Hell no!

Put it this way, my NS persona is staying very separate from my life.

I'd like to know what was written in the blog. These days if you're making an observation and putting your name to it, it had better be about sports or the weather.

No offense, but the whole freedom of speech thing is naive idealism unless you have ensured your anonymity.
no offense intented, but aren't you guys supposed to live in the land of the free?

no offense intented, but aren't you guys supposed to live in the land of the free?
you know, up until today I really believed that was true.:(

I guess I was naive.

no offense intented, but aren't you guys supposed to live in the land of the free?

Yup... and I guess he's free to go and look for another job if he doesn't do what his company wants him to do.
That's why I think it's a good idea to have legislation regarding what your employer can have you do and what he simply can't have you do.

People who bear a certain responsibility for carrying out public policy have an ethical obligation to 'do' self-censorship.

It would not be very wise of me to openly criticise a Policy that I may have to turn into actions. In fact, it is my duty to publicly support that Policy.

A lot of people have jobs like that, anything from the Military to people working in Quango's. And even the firebrigades.

If I actually criticised the Iraq war in a way in which my real name could be traced, I supposed I'd be sacked- or worse. And I must agree that the decision to sack me would be correct: it would be highly unprofessional to be 'distractive' towards a Policy that it is ours to carry out - even when I believe that policy is severely flawed.

Think about it on a very basic level: how would you feel if your local neighborhood cop criticised a drugpolicy that is his duty to carry out? Would you feel safer knowing that your local copper thinks it would be wisest not to enforce bans on prohibited substances? Would you perhaps worry if that copper would not carry out his obligation to protect your children from crackdealers?

In many a profession, self censorship is part of the deal. If a chap walshes on that part, what reason would you have to assume he isn't walshing on other parts?

*grin*

So please forgive the utterly misleading name and info, and think of it as an extension of April 1st, for it is utter bollocks.

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Geoffrey 'Nuke the Argies' Carruthers-Argyle, KOBO ( with 3 bars )

This is a tough one

On one hand I dont think that anything but employee performance should REALLY be heavily weighted for your employment

That being said if you do things in a public place that the company feels may be potentialy harmfull to you , your performance, or the company's performance then it is in their intrest ... and I think rightfully so... to decide if they want to continue associating thsemselfs with you

no offense intented, but aren't you guys supposed to live in the land of the free?

Tactical Grace is from the UK.

Tactical Grace is from the UK.
Yeah, the Land of the Rent-to-Own.

We're free, in the sense that we can call our President an idiot and not get thrown in jail. But there are always consequences to speech. I have no problem starting a blog entry stating that Romanar's boss is a jerk. But I could understand there being problems if my boss found a blog that said @@BOSSNAME@@ is a jerk - signed @@ROMANAR_REAL_NAME@@.

no offense intented, but aren't you guys supposed to live in the land of the free?
I don't, I live in the UK. :p

'Land of the Free' my ass anyway. It's just words. If you close your mind to how things work in practice, you place yourself at risk. A minor one, but shit happens. Remember, once it has been written, it will be stored and indexed, open to datamining. Not just now, but forever. I don't let it stop me from posting controversial stuff here, but I do bear in mind it can bite me on the arse a decade hence. The Soviet Union could only dream of such oversight.

Something simliar happened last semester at my university. We a dental student blogging about his professor being a bore and something along the lines of his class being useless since he had learned most of this stuff before. Essentially, all the things the rest of the students were thinking, just not written down.


Well, the professor found out and the powers that be decided this was against the student "code of conduct, even though he used his own home computer and a non-university run blog to do his ranting.

The initial punishment was 1. public apology to the professor and his class, 2. he would have to give back his scholarship (roughly 13 or 14 thousand US dollars he would owe the university) from that semester and repeat his classes for that year 3. be on acedemic probation until his "career" at the university was over.


Little harsh, eh? well he appealed to the board and all that jazz, and thay said that the dental school was way-overreacting,so the just made him write an apology to the professor and put him on acedemic probation till the end of that semester.

Yes, this is a big university in a big city in America. I don't think there is any of us who blog here any more, or at least a of people keep their mouth shut about it.

Yup... and I guess he's free to go and look for another job if he doesn't do what his company wants him to do.
That's why I think it's a good idea to have legislation regarding what your employer can have you do and what he simply can't have you do.
that is usually stated in you contract under the terms and conditions part. i had interesting conversation with my boss...

what buggers me i that people is sort of considering this kind of behaviour normal. well it isn't. i've got a job and I've got a life, the two things are separated. the fact that my company buys my skills does not imply that I have to adhere to its point of view regarding life the universe and all the rest

I don't, I live in the UK. :p

'Land of the Free' my ass anyway. It's just words. If you close your mind to how things work in practice, you place yourself at risk. A minor one, but shit happens. Remember, once it has been written, it will be stored and indexed, open to datamining. Not just now, but forever. I don't let it stop me from posting controversial stuff here, but I do bear in mind it can bite me on the arse a decade hence. The Soviet Union could only dream of such oversight.
or orwell...

that is usually stated in you contract under the terms and conditions part. i had interesting conversation with my boss...

what buggers me i that people is sort of considering this kind of behaviour normal. well it isn't. i've got a job and I've got a life, the two things are separated. the fact that my company buys my skills does not imply that I have to adhere to its point of view regarding life the universe and all the rest
Yeah but lets take this to the extreme ... you are hiring someone who openly professes membership to the KKK in his blog

Now for the most part a job and a life are fairly seperate but only someone who is compleatly nieve would think that the two could ever be COMPLEATLY seperate

If I knew my employee was an open advocate to the KKK personaly that would bring in serious doubt to if they would be fit to deal in a diverse culture envyroment that may be part of their job

Yeah but lets take this to the extreme ... you are hiring someone who openly professes membership to the KKK in his blog

Now for the most part a job and a life are fairly seperate but only someone who is compleatly nieve would think that the two could ever be COMPLEATLY seperate

If I knew my employee was an open advocate to the KKK personaly that would bring in serious doubt to if they would be fit to deal in a diverse culture envyroment that may be part of their job
is the KKK legal? fine. I might think is an utter piece of shit (as I actually think of my collegues) but as long as he get through the job I can live with that. I wouldn't go out for a beer after work with him, but then you cannot get along with everybody can you?
if his convintions impair his ability to do the job, well then... tough shit on him, he gets fired and goes apllying for a proper redneck job.

is the KKK legal? fine. I might think is an utter piece of shit (as I actually think of my collegues) but as long as he get through the job I can live with that. I wouldn't go out for a beer after work with him, but then you cannot get along with everybody can you?
if his convintions impair his ability to do the job, well then... tough shit on him, he gets fired and goes apllying for a proper redneck job.
But if you are looking at 20 applicants for the same job with roughly comparable job skills you would not use this information to help further cull the choices?

I voted 'maybe'.

If the blog is hosted by and/or access to the web provided by the employer, then they should have some control over what it is used for. If not, then the employer can only object to anything libelous or liable to bring the organization unfairly into disrepute. Otherwise they have no right to control what you do in your own time.

is the KKK legal? fine. I might think is an utter piece of shit (as I actually think of my collegues) but as long as he get through the job I can live with that. I wouldn't go out for a beer after work with him, but then you cannot get along with everybody can you?
if his convintions impair his ability to do the job, well then... tough shit on him, he gets fired and goes apllying for a proper redneck job.

I'd want any employee I hired to be able to work with any other employee. If he was a KKK member, that would be very doubtful. I'd rather axe him BEFORE he caused a problem, rather than after.

Yeah but lets take this to the extreme ... you are hiring someone who openly professes membership to the KKK in his blog

Now for the most part a job and a life are fairly seperate but only someone who is compleatly nieve would think that the two could ever be COMPLEATLY seperate

If I knew my employee was an open advocate to the KKK personaly that would bring in serious doubt to if they would be fit to deal in a diverse culture envyroment that may be part of their job

Well, let's take the German labour laws as an example (simply because I know them a bit better than the ones in Ireland). Membership of any legal association can not be a reason for an employer to even reprimand and employee, let alone take any action on it.
As an employee, you can publish more or less anything you want, as long as you are not attacking your company in your publications. It would be entirely possible to advocate the product of a competing company, you could not be fired for that. You might get some pressure from your boss, though, for obvious reasons.

I think it is a waste of time to argue over the ideological territory. We can debate forever how things should be, but at the end of the day you must adapt to how they are, or accept all consequences.

I have been wondering, does anyone else have to self-censor? IRL, online, on these forums, on your blog?

I just got an IM from Hubby, that he got a "slap on the wrist" from his boss because someone emailed excerpts from his blog to people high up in the company and they weren't happy with what they read.

I read hubby's blog, and I can't for the life of me figure out what he wrote that was so bad.......but, he has been counseled about what he can and can not write in his blog.

I think it's a bunch of crap, but hey, if you want a job, I guess you have to do what they say right?

I was then thinking about my own blog......what's in there? who is reading it? will I get in trouble?

well, probably not since I don't answer to anyone, but still.

Knowing now that there are people out there who lurk, looking for things to get you in trouble for, it scares me.

what do you think? should your company get to dictate what you write about on your blog? is it any of their business?

if you are in school, should you be able to get suspended or something for what you write in your blog?

to answer a few questions that I know will be asked

he didn't write about anything illegal
he didn't say anything bad about the company

I guess it depends on how he portrays himself in the website, and whether he official says that he works for a respective company; if he says, "I work for FooBah Ltd.", it could be conscrewed in some quarters as an 'insiders opinion on the company' rather than simply a person ranting about their life.

Hence the reason I never mention where I work on my blog, I'll say, "I'm a butcher, a baker, a candle stick maker!" but never that I work for a particular company, as it brings out not only privacy issues for me, when I mention something, could it be seen as an 'insiders view'.

If for example I worked for Microsoft, and pointed out I worked for Microsoft; if I wrote an opinion piece on, for example, Linux or some competitors product, this be conscrewed as me speaking informally on behalf of Microsoft - then all you need is some moron journalist to start writing crap like 'Microsoft insider exposes Microsofts new stance on Linux' then all hell breaks loose because some moron in the IT press can't get their facts and sources correct!

You end up with issues of disclosure and the like, and even with a disclaimer, you'll still have idiots taking this out of context - hence, my advice to hubby, remove any reference on his blog to his place of employment.

A company likes to be seen as a singular being. Once they see there's actual PEOPLE with thoughts and feelings and emotions and so forth, they think that's a problem - a giant "Oh noes!" goes off in their head and they have to control the situation, smothering it with cement until it's flattened and covered, unseen and unknown.

This is why I hate corporations. Any organization that doesn't recognize that its workers are people, really.

Okay, that's a lie.... it's only -part- of why I hate corporations. But that's another story.

Regardless, fact remains that he cooperated in a business which sees itself as a giant monolith and nothing more. Whether he knew it or not before, he knows it now. If he continues working there, he knows what he's doing and what he's working with and who he's working for. If he quits, he is right in doing so.

Truly, if you live in America (or anywhere, really) and you work with the government (another monolith) or a large business (or even a business that isn't all that large, but puts public opinion and control over personal freedom and moral integrity) then you really don't live in America. You live in a world controlled by money, controlled by fake people, controlled by idiots who buy into the shit they're feeding them. You live in Corporalis, or Goverworld, or any number of other fake continents that act as a parasite to the real America. Those who live in such places are to blame just as much as those who create and control and feed into such places.

With the country I love and appreciate being created, also created was a plastic castle in the sky held up by invisible money, ever shifting, ever crumbling, ever destroying the America it stands on. At this point, it may be impossible to destroy the castle without killing America with it, as it's gone on for as long as it has.

No. We don't have freedom of speech. That's one of the first things the castle took from America. The castle will continue to grow and feed on our rights and morals while America itself will eventually die inside, becoming nothing but a plastic outer shell sitting underneath a plastic flying castle. I hate it. I hate it more than I hate anything else.



... And the professor was just a prick, playing on the monolith.

Truly, if you live in America (or anywhere, really) and you work with the government (another monolith) or a large business (or even a business that isn't all that large, but puts public opinion and control over personal freedom and moral integrity) then you really don't live in America.
I'll quote this sane bit for emphasis. It's true.

there was a disturbing report on the local news the other night.

the albuquerque public schools was thinking of instituting a policy to punish students for "bullying" others online


on their own blogs, from their own homes, on their own computers, on their own time

public schools cant be bothered to stop physical bullying IN school yet they think its their job to regulate kids behavior outside of school.

there are college students who have been punished at university for putting pictures of themselves drinking at parties while they are underage

parties that did not take place at university

i think its all going too far.

there are college students who have been punished at university for putting pictures of themselves drinking at parties while they are underage

parties that did not take place at university


If you are stupid enough to provide pictorial evidence of your breaking the law, then you deserve to be punished - for being so dumb.

Your company or school should have *no* say in what you write in your blog!School, maybe, but a company has the right to restrict what you pass on about them. I had to sign a "Verschwiegenheitsklausel" on Friday, to make sure I don't pass on any information on certain details of my internship.

If you are stupid enough to provide pictorial evidence of your breaking the law, then you deserve to be punished - for being so dumb.
They cant know where these pictures for the most part take place

There are plenty of places a collage student could be where it is PERFECTLY legal for them to be drinking

School, maybe, but a company has the right to restrict what you pass on about them. I had to sign a "Verschwiegenheitsklausel" on Friday, to make sure I don't pass on any information on certain details of my internship.
Yes. Here's the difference, you voluntarily signed this and you know what your restrictions are. The originating tale speaks of a guy who was ambushed by an unwritten, unspoken rule that seems almost arbitrary.

I don't know. On one hand one has the right to print or say whatever one feels like, as long as it's not libelous, defamatory, or otherwise against the law; and on the other hand, companies (and people) have the right to associate themselves with whoever they want, or to disassociate themselves from people they don't feel comfortable with.

I guess at some point one, as an individual or a company, has to choose what's preferable. What I don't like is when groups put economic pressure on other groups to try to silence still other groups.

I have been wondering, does anyone else have to self-censor? IRL, online, on these forums, on your blog?

I just got an IM from Hubby, that he got a "slap on the wrist" from his boss because someone emailed excerpts from his blog to people high up in the company and they weren't happy with what they read.

I read hubby's blog, and I can't for the life of me figure out what he wrote that was so bad.......but, he has been counseled about what he can and can not write in his blog.

I think it's a bunch of crap, but hey, if you want a job, I guess you have to do what they say right?

I was then thinking about my own blog......what's in there? who is reading it? will I get in trouble?

well, probably not since I don't answer to anyone, but still.

Knowing now that there are people out there who lurk, looking for things to get you in trouble for, it scares me.

what do you think? should your company get to dictate what you write about on your blog? is it any of their business?

if you are in school, should you be able to get suspended or something for what you write in your blog?

to answer a few questions that I know will be asked

he didn't write about anything illegal
he didn't say anything bad about the company
Your company shouldn't dictate what you can or can't write about on your blog--unless you're divulging trade secrets--but you as an employee should realize that they have the right to control that as a term of your employment. The First Amendment only keep the government from abridging your freedom of speech (and even that right isn't unlimited). That's the reason so many blogs are anonymous or pseudonymous--if the company doesn't know you're blogging, then they can't take steps to stop you.

The other thing to consider is where you're doing your blogging. If you're doing it on company time, on company equipment, they certainly have an interest in knowing what you're writing about.

Schools are a different matter however. Students should absolutely not be suspended for blogging, even if they're talking serious shit about the school administration. The relationship between student and administration is way different between the one between employee and employer.

A Ducth newspaper recently did a story on self censorship in relation to Muslim threats and it resulted in dozens of people being killed in the Islamic world and portests all over because of the cartoons...

I'm assuming that you two are American.(just for the sake(sp?) of my thread) That goes against his fredom of speech. If nothing was illegal or offensive to the company then they have no right to censor him. Though if it was offensive then I could see where the company was coming from. That looks bad on their company if an employee was being offensive to someone else.
Of course I wouldn't make it obvious who I was. Autonomy...gotta love it.

Yes. Here's the difference, you voluntarily signed this and you know what your restrictions are. The originating tale speaks of a guy who was ambushed by an unwritten, unspoken rule that seems almost arbitrary.Yes...
And the post I responded to made an absolute statement about companies and schools not being allowed to tell their employees or students what to say...