Workplace stupidity!

[Buddy Rabbit]

Please.
It's their private network. You have no expectation of privacy, and it is explicitly stated every time you log in . . . .

If you don't like it, there's about a thousand guys that would be just fine with it.
Guys that have been "downsized", yet still want to feed their family.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

lol no, they're not allowed monitor my net surfing that's not done at work.

Actually, they can. Many companies do.

Plenty of people have been fired because their boss wound up seeing a picture of them on myspace/facebook/flikr/blogs/youtube/etc. doing something stupid.

 

[RDak]

All gun sites were filtered out where I worked. Now that I'm retired, I can go to gun sites whenever I want!!

 

[Knotthead]

As much as I would resent having my personal interests targeted for objection, it is their house, their rules. Perhaps you should dedicate your at work surfing towards another goal, such as additional education or training for a better job.

 

[scythefwd]

lol no, they're not allowed monitor my net surfing that's not done at work.

They don't have to. They know you visit this site. You might have logged in from work?? That is all I need from my filter to know your online persona. All I have to do is go over to the website later and see if you are being a poor representative of the company, or committing slander / liable. People have been fired for calling their bosses names on facebook. Depending on the laws of that state, it is perfectly legal (like it is here in VA).

 

[bigfatdave]

kingpin008 and scythefwd have a valid point. If you've annoyed someone to the point of checking your 'net activity, that same person is probably looking for a reason to terminate your employment.
I still think that if they have a web filter and don't like a particular site, they should just block it without making a big deal about it ... unless the point was to make a big deal about something, and your THR activity was just an easy target (NPI).

You may want to figure out who is looking for mud to fling and either figure out how you annoyed them and make it right, or do some serious job-hunting before they find a reason to can you.
Of course, if you do get canned over something this silly, a wrongful termination suit could be lucrative.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

at work today, my HR department called me into their office. so in i go and there's an older guy there that introduces himself as a company security man.

at my work, you have internet access and can access any site that is not block by the company's firewall. i choose to frequent this forum, along with other gun forums. my company allows internet surfing when it's slow. (obviously it can't interfere with your work)

this security guy starts asking me questions like "do you like this job", and advised me that in monitoring my internet surfing (which i knew they did), they found it "disturbing" that i choose to frequent sites like this one.

they said it makes people nervous, and requested that i avoid all gun sites in the future while at work. i said, sure no prob, even though i find it offensive that they would insinuate that i might come in shoot up the place just because i choose recreational target shooting as my hobby, and like to frequent gun forums.

has anyone else encountered this type of stupidity at work?

Look at it from their perspective, lot's of crazy things can happen at work, they are probably just concerned. Now I know that you shouldn't be harassed and that The High Road is a legitimate place where you can talk about a hobby you love, but when you have people who are un-familiar with firearms they get skiddish about this kind of stuff.

I would talk to your Manager and head of security and explain to them about the role firearms play in your life. Explain that this is an online community of firearm enthusiasts who like to talk and further educate each other about firearms.

Maybe they'll understand, or just think you're crazy. But I honestly think it's worth a shot. It should help further the point that you are not going to come into work one day and shoot everyone up.

Either way, I wouldn't visit as often during work, maybe just to check on a thread you made or Private messages or something.

I actually worry about this same thing using my school's computers while on campus. You have to log in with your student user name and etc so they can, in theory, track your internet activity. I have never been approached, about it but I know I'm not doing anything wrong.

 

[chuckusaret]

The fact that they are choosing to enforce it sporadically is not the issue. The real issue is: He's on their time, on their property, using their equipment, to access their leased communication lines to the internet and they dislike (for whatever reason) the content he is accessing.

I would do as they have requested. I would bet the little get together has been well documented by the HR and continued viewing of the "Bad" gun forums during work hours could be grounds for dismissal.

 

[03Shadowbob]

It doesn't matter Chuck. He's going to quit and look for another job which he should easily get because he has his "Bachelor" degree. HAHAHAHA

 

[pbearperry]

I never had a job that allowed me to not work on company time and goof off.Damn,I guess I was born too early?lol

 

[middy]

My boss is the kind of guy that has stuffed game and exotic cartridges displayed in the conference rooms.

I don't foresee a problem.

 

[Old Fuff]

I see both sides. These days a lot of companies are trying to cut costs and get greater productivity out of they're employees. In some cases, with sales way down and not likely to get better soon, cost cutting (meaning fewer employees) may be the only way to survive. If they cut out private web surfing they may indeed need less hired help.

But the issue should be ALL private web surfing, not just certain sites. It would seem that 1911 Operator was singled out because he visited a firearms-related site. For purposes of argument only, would they have said anything if he (or others) were visiting a stamp or coin collector's site? The latter two might be more favored by management, but all would have an equal affect on productivity.

It appears that 1911 Operator is not particularly happy with either this job, or the workplace. Therefore he should actively look for something else. If he can find another job depends on his background and qualification, but there is no law against looking.

In the meantime if he wants to surf gun-related sites, it would best be done on his own computer, using his own (probably wireless) connection, on his own time.

I have no idea where 1911 Operator is located, but if it is in a state that issues concealed weapons licenses he might consider getting one, if he hasn't done so already. In the future if push came to shove, having it would show that he wasn't some kind of nut-job.

 

[bigalexe]

To the OP

If it hasn't been mentioned already there is a very popular case right now involving some student or faculty that was shot and killed at Yale. This incident has been classified as workplace violence and many news stations are now on a kick about preventing workplace incidents. I apologize but it appears you are a victim of the "flavor of the week" form of internet censoring at your workplace.

 

[amd6547]

In most cases, it is not a matter of "lost productivity". In the past, the pre internet times, one might have read a book, a magazine, or a newspaper.
In many jobs, there are periods of inactivity. Nowadays, that time can be spent surfing the net.
In my case, I am on site, sitting in a truck. Nothing is happening. I have cleaned my truck, done my paperwork, responded to emails requiring responses, and cleaned my truck. It is 2pm, I have been on site since 5am (started driving at 4:30am to reach site).
I am going to be here untill 4pm. Why shouldn't I surf the net? My work laptop is online in any case.
My alternative is reading, or watching DVD's on my personal laptop (No wireless capability on that, yet.).

 

[rocky branch]

Another real sad sign of our times.
No problem with surfing during slack time-only what you look at.

Guess you'll have to take up porn.
That's prolly acceptable.

 

[amd6547]

We had a bigwig from corporate visit my home base last year. He spent an hour showing us porn he had downloaded on his work-supplied laptop...

 

[MarineOne]

I'm an IT guy, so monitoring internet use and writting usage policies is only part of what I do ....

I see both sides, however if this type of activity isn't expressly forbidden in your company's internet use policy then you should take a copy of it to HR and your ombudsmen, and it should be treated as discrimination and inappropriate enforcement of the policy. If there is no computer/internet use policy or they haven't provided one (or you haven't acknowledged the policy by signing off on reading/being issued one) then this is discrimination.

I had to write a new policy for computer and internet use at my last job because the old one hadn't been updated since 1996 and was horribly out of date being 10 years old. The old policy was barely two pages; mine was 8 when I finished it.


Kris

 

[TimM]

I probably would have explained to them that out of all the gun sites out there this is THR and explain to them what The High Road is. It would more than likely be in vain but I would not let it go without a civil conversation.

BTW... that "Do you like this job?" preface to a question always gets me %$#$$% angry.

 

[natman]

this security guy starts asking me questions like "do you like this job", and advised me that in monitoring my internet surfing (which i knew they did), they found it "disturbing" that i choose to frequent sites like this one.

they said it makes people nervous, and requested that i avoid all gun sites in the future while at work. i said, sure no prob, even though i find it offensive that they would insinuate that i might come in shoot up the place just because i choose recreational target shooting as my hobby, and like to frequent gun forums.

As far as I can tell from this brief, one sided description the issue is NOT personal use of the company internet access per se, but specifically that the OP was looking at gun sites. Finding that "disturbing" is gun bigotry, pure and simple. Unlike other forms of bigotry it is not protected against by law.

You are completely justified in feeling that the underlying assumption that anyone who has an interest in guns is a potential killer offensive. It's based on prejudice rather than rational thought and is completely unfair.

However, if you are expecting to find fairness in a corporate environment, you are looking in the wrong place. Corporations do unfair and stupid things all the time.

Since you've agreed not to look at gun sites at work, don't do it any more. All you can do at this point is to act in a manner that shows just how unjustified their suspicions are.

 

[oneounceload]

The solution is very simple - surf the gun sites on YOUR time from YOUR computer, and use your employer's computers for work-related activities, nothing more. Do NOT give them any ammunition, (pun intended), to use against you. This is currently an employer's marketplace - can you afford to lose your job because of some forum sites?

 

[3pairs12]

Let's not forget this boils down to a liability issue for the employer AND they have every right to cover thier own butts, in just about any way they see fit.

I wasn't really talking about what the employer saw fit and unfit since it is their machine and their time. I was speaking more so of how comfortable some people get talking about employers off the clock thinking that when its time to punch in all will be forgotten or just swept under the rug like it didn't happen. As I said before I highly doubt they are keeping tabs on his internet activity off of the clock, but one should never be so sure.

 

[mljdeckard]

This could be a lot worse. The OP said he would stop, they are leaving him alone, he didn't say they were putting anything in writing.

I was in a lousy graveyard phone sales job a few years ago, on a tem-hire basis, and they failed to hire me. I'm fairly certain it was because I was spending a lot of time on THR at night. They never said so, and there was no policy forbidding it, or even saying a word about it. In not hiring me from temp status, they were not required to provide justification, they could say they thought I was ugly.

If they don't like it, why don't they just block it? Then you WOULD be bound by policy.

I just made a decision not to work in places and for industries that I don't care about and don't match my priorities.

 

[CCWB]

That's why I surf this site from my home puter or my mobile phone. It bites, but their computer and internet, their rules. I don't think anyone ratted on you, I just think the IT guY(s) saw it as a red flag and wanted to give you an isolated curtosey type of warning.

Besides, we all can't like searching the web for pocket dogs, wine, and free money.

I get paranoid if I go to a site at work and it doesn't load right. I ask myself, 'Self, could you get busted for looking at Mickey Thompsons, lift kits, and deer calls?'

 

[Blackbeard]

I've never visited THR from a company computer for just this reason. I have plenty of time to surf THR at home. If I really get the urge at work, though, I can always use my iPhone

 

[akodo]

they said it makes people nervous, and requested that i avoid all gun sites in the future while at work.

I'd say to them:

Fine, your computer, your company, your rules...however, for the record, I find the people who constantly look at celebrity gossip to be disturbing. Their disconnect from reality makes me nervous. I assume you will take the same action with those people as you did with me, correct?