But It Was Password Protected...

[Saint Jade IV]

So I got busted for something similar when I used to blog. Thankfully I was in the military so I couldn't get fired but I did get a very stern talking to. I vented about a staff NCO because he was almost responsible for me getting sent to jail. Anyway I can see why people want to say that if it is outside of work they shouldn't be held accountable. But you have to treat this like you would have to treat speech. If your comments may it back to a supervisor and they were not positive expect to get your butt on a platter.

I think people forgot the golden rule: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all

But how far should an employer own you? I mean, we often got emails when I was in the call centre reminding us to be positive about our company outside of work, but there wasn't much you could do about it. However, if we discussed any of our clients outside of work hours, we could be fired on the spot. Same with my job as a teacher. For obvious reasons. In one, I was privy to sensitive details about people's health. In the other, well student protection is important and necessary.

[Verdigroth]

I don't think it is so much owning you as requiring that you don't give the business a black eye when you work for it. Isn't there a proverb about this...oh yeah don't bite the hand that feeds you...even if the bite is unintentional.

[Daistallia 2104]

Obviously the employee was not protecting the password too well. What if one of the coworkers told the employer the password? I would like to say the employee is in the right but not very wise and will still likely be fired.

If you go back and read the WSJ article, it clearly states that the password was obtained under threat of termination. That in and of itself is at the very least an unfair practice by the company. If my boss were to threaten me with termination if I didn't give him the password to an invite only web site, I'd have the union on the phone so fast his head would spin off.

On the flip-side of the coin; don't write stuff you don't want some people to read where some of those people might read it.

They didn't. It was on a password protected invite only page.

So I got busted for something similar when I used to blog. Thankfully I was in the military so I couldn't get fired but I did get a very stern talking to. I vented about a staff NCO because he was almost responsible for me getting sent to jail. Anyway I can see why people want to say that if it is outside of work they shouldn't be held accountable. But you have to treat this like you would have to treat speech. If your comments may it back to a supervisor and they were not positive expect to get your butt on a platter.

I think people forgot the golden rule: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all

This case is a bit different though. Putting such comments on a blog is quite different from putting them on a password protected invite only site.

But how far should an employer own you? I mean, we often got emails when I was in the call centre reminding us to be positive about our company outside of work, but there wasn't much you could do about it. However, if we discussed any of our clients outside of work hours, we could be fired on the spot. Same with my job as a teacher. For obvious reasons. In one, I was privy to sensitive details about people's health. In the other, well student protection is important and necessary.

The first article vaguely alluded to some privalleged information being posted, but even that's questionable, seeing as the members invited were employees.