[Accepted]A Peeping Problem

[Drasnia]

Name: A Peeping Problem

Validity: Not valid for nations that have banned computers

Description: A tech mogul fired several employees yesterday after the company's IT technician found pornography on their computers. The former employees have fired back saying their privacy was violated and they should be restored to their positions.

The Debate

[option]"Give us our jobs back!" Protests @@RANDOMNAME@@, one of the workers fired for looking at pornography. "We were never told that what we did on our computers could be used against us. I was a great worker. I did everything I was asked to do. Just because I'm lonelier than most shouldn't be a reason to fire me! Instead, punish that IT guy that found us out. He's the one that was looking at things that don't belong to him!"
[effect]employee contracts are heavier than most babies
[stats]intentionally left blank

[option]Your IT technician peers over a computer monitor while performing routine maintenance on your computer: "While viewing pornography in private is perfectly acceptable, doing it on your employer's computer is totally different. By violating their employer's trust, these employees left themselves at the mercy of any and all punishment. Keep out of this matter and let private business fire whomever it wants to for whatever reason it wants to."
[effect]employees being fired for "checking social media while at work" is at an all time high
[stats]intentionally left blank

[option]"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" screeches @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@ a prominent member of Citizens Rallying Against Pornography, a controversial censorship organization known for harassing the adult entertainment industry. "Just think of what kind of message is this would be sending to our sweet, innocent children. We must protect them from the vile filth of these producers of smut! All pornography must be banned. In fact, we should even censor sex on television and books. Anyone who produces and watches such material ought to be arrested and jailed. THIS is for our children!"
[effect]romantic comedies have been banned
[stats]intentionally left blank

[option]"You’re all a just bunch of prudes!" scoffs adult film star @@RANDOMNAMEFEMALE@@, as everyone in your office stares at her chest. "Pornography is a perfectly healthy way for couples to share their intimacy, not to mention the industry brings in billions of @@CURRENCY@@s a year. Besides, being a porn actress is actually very empowering. I’ve made way more money as an actress than I ever did as a waitress. In fact, if the government gave us some funding, we could really produce some quality stuff."
[effect]porn stars now regularly appear in children's shows
[effect]intentionally left blank

Name: Public Pornography Problem

Validity: Not valid for nations that have banned computers

Description: Maurice Moss, head of the IT Department, discovered heaping amounts of pornography on the computers of government employees and politicians, including your Minister of Public Safety, and leaked the explicit files to the press. Moral crusaders and concerned citizens alike have banded together to try and convince to ban pornography in @@NAME@@.

The Debate

[option]"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" screeches @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@ a prominent member of Citizens Rallying Against Pornography, a controversial censorship organization known for harassing the adult entertainment industry. "Just think of what kind of message is this sending to our sweet, innocent children! We must protect them from the vile filth of these producers of smut! All pornography must be banned! In fact, we should even censor sex on television and books! Anyone who produces and watches such material ought to be arrested and jailed! This if for our children!"
[effect]romantic comedies have been banned
[stats]intentionally left blank

[option]"You’re all a just bunch of prudes!" scoffs adult film star @@RANDOMNAMEFEMALE@@, as everyone in your office stares at her chest. "Pornography is a perfectly healthy way for couples to share their intimacy, not to mention the industry brings in billions of @@CURRENCY@@s a year. Besides, being a porn actress is actually very empowering. I’ve made way more money as an actress than I ever did as a waitress. In fact, if the government gave us some funding, we could really produce some quality stuff."
[effect]porn stars now regularly appear in children's shows
[effect]intentionally left blank

[option]Maurice Moss peers over his computer monitor: "Public officials and employees need to be held to a higher standard. While viewing pornography in private is perfectly acceptable, doing it on public, government-owned computers is totally different. This recent find just shows how corrupt and willing to flaunt tradition our politicians are. Public employees must not be allowed to use public resources for private business - Hey! Don't look at what I'm doing on this computer! That's none of your business!"
[effect]government officials are fired regularly for checking their private emails while at work
[stats]intentionally left blank

Suggestions? Comments?

[Drasnia]

Second page bump.

[Capitalist Producers]

What are the effects of each one?

[Drasnia]

I intentionally do not post stat changes in the drafting process.

[Capitalist Producers]

I like it. It is an issue I would answer rather than dismiss. Submit it as is. Then telegram me the stats so I don't screw up my stats any more than necessary.

[Leppikania]

I like it. It is an issue I would answer rather than dismiss. Submit it as is. Then telegram me the stats so I don't screw up my stats any more than necessary.

That would be a bad idea. First—use "straight quotes" instead of “smart quotes”. Second—wait for others to chime in.

[Drasnia]

I like it. It is an issue I would answer rather than dismiss. Submit it as is. Then telegram me the stats so I don't screw up my stats any more than necessary.

That would be a bad idea. First—use "straight quotes" instead of “smart quotes”. Second—wait for others to chime in.

I wrote it on a different word processor so it put smart quotes . . . good catch!

[Australian rePublic]

Option 3 assumes all public employees are politicians. What about those who work for the railways, postal system, waterworks etc.

[Capitalist Producers]

Add the words "and employees" to option 3?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I like it. It is an issue I would answer rather than dismiss. Submit it as is. Then telegram me the stats so I don't screw up my stats any more than necessary.

That would be a bad idea. First—use "straight quotes" instead of “smart quotes”. Second—wait for others to chime in.

Listen to Lepp, this is sound advice.

Especially on the straight quotes. You have no idea how much of a drag this is picking out and replacing these, especially for someone like me whose old eyes are bad at picking out the difference without magnifying the page. I'm increasingly inclined to refuse to work any issue that uses smart quotes.

[Drasnia]

Aye aye, captain! I was planning on doing it anyway

[Australian rePublic]

That would be a bad idea. First—use "straight quotes" instead of “smart quotes”. Second—wait for others to chime in.

Listen to Lepp, this is sound advice.

Especially on the straight quotes. You have no idea how much of a drag this is picking out and replacing these, especially for someone like me whose old eyes are bad at picking out the difference without magnifying the page. I'm increasingly inclined to refuse to work any issue that uses smart quotes.

The difference between straight quotes and smart quotes?

[Australian rePublic]

Add the words "and employees" to option 3?

Exactly

[Drasnia]

Listen to Lepp, this is sound advice.

Especially on the straight quotes. You have no idea how much of a drag this is picking out and replacing these, especially for someone like me whose old eyes are bad at picking out the difference without magnifying the page. I'm increasingly inclined to refuse to work any issue that uses smart quotes.

The difference between straight quotes and smart quotes?

Look at the quotes on options 1 and 2 then look at the quotes on option 3. The former are smart quotes with all their fanciness, while the latter are straight. Some browsers, computers, etc. can't process smart quotes properly.

[Australian rePublic]

The difference between straight quotes and smart quotes?

Look at the quotes on options 1 and 2 then look at the quotes on option 3. The former are smart quotes with all their fanciness, while the latter are straight. Some browsers, computers, etc. can't process smart quotes properly.

I see (after Googleing it)

[Drasnia]

I added "and employees" on option 3 and fixed all (I think) of the smart quotes. Considering how minor these changes were, I didn't even bother marking it as a new draft.

[Almonaster Nuevo]

" heaping amounts" sounds wrong to me (native UK english speaker). Try large/excessive amounts, or copious quantities for the semi-alliteration.

[Drasnia]

" heaping amounts" sounds wrong to me (native UK english speaker). Try large/excessive amounts, or copious quantities for the semi-alliteration.

ooh, copious quantities! I like the sound of that.

[Nation of Quebec]

Is Maurice Moss a reference to anything or it that just a random name you came up with?

There's a typo in option one. It should be is in the last sentence, not if.

" heaping amounts" sounds wrong to me (native UK english speaker). Try large/excessive amounts, or copious quantities for the semi-alliteration.

Copious quantities sounds much funnier.

[Drasnia]

Maurice Moss is a character from the TV show the IT Crowd. Because of the way the issue was structured, I needed a name for the character as I referred to him multiple times, so I used Moss.

[Drasnia]

Second page bump.

[A Humanist Science]

Just reading the issue description -- why, as a member of the outraged public, would I assume that government employees actually are using their office computers to look at porn? Why don't I assume that "Maurice Moss" is just a disgruntled employee who's making it all up to cause trouble or get revenge on co-workers? After all, if all "Moss" is doing is posting pics he claimed to find somewhere, all I really have evidence of is that "Moss" has been looking at dirty pics.

It's also pretty unlikely that "Moss" would skip his employer's internal processes and go directly to the press, since doing so would be hugely embarrassing for his employer. His self-interest in not embarrassing his employer this way is fairly straightforward. Unless the government itself was actually involved in secretly producing pornography, or some similar situation where a whistleblower might expect normal internal disciplinary processes to be ineffective. But I don't get that impression from the current issue description.

Perhaps a better way to frame the issue is to assume that a government employee has already been fired for looking at dirty pics on a work computer, but has sued for wrongful termination and/or violation of privacy. It would make much more sense for external actors (employee's civil rights lawyer, local union steward, anti-porn crusader, etc) to get involved in a debate over labor rights/workers' privacy vs. moral decency.

At any rate, the "Porno: Yea or Nay?" issue is already pretty well covered (#052, #335), but, to my knowledge, workplace privacy is not.

[A Humanist Science]

Bumping to revive discussion and interest, as a courtesy to the author, before I take a whack at a similar issue emphasizing the workplace privacy angle.

[Drasnia]

Bumping to revive discussion and interest, as a courtesy to the author, before I take a whack at a similar issue emphasizing the workplace privacy angle.

Thanks for reminding me. I've been too preoccupied with other duties to edit this, but I really like your earlier suggestions. If you could, will you postpone posting that issue draft until after I've updated this as to prevent overlap?

[A Humanist Science]

If you could, will you postpone posting that issue draft until after I've updated this as to prevent overlap?

Of course. Take the workplace privacy angle if you want too.