School employee fired for comment post
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- “Have you gone out on a limb for a meal? What’d you try? Did you like it? Have you had friends or family who have tried stuff on a dare?”
Kurt Greenbaum (right) asked that on the St Louis Post-Dispatch web page under the headline ‘What`s the craziest thing you`ve ever eaten? And did you like it?’
No surprise, he got all kinds of interesting responses.
But, “The headline was practically asking for a juvenile response and, thanks to the anonymity of the internet, that’s exactly what happened.,” says ReadWriteWeb, going on:
“In the comments section of the article, one user posted a single word response referring to a part of a woman’s anatomy. Of course, the site’s moderators quickly deleted the comment but it soon reappeared – obviously this juvenile was intent on having their say.”
I know how that goes.
But this time, the site’s ‘director of social media,’ Greenbaum, “did a little sleuthing,” says the story, going on, “and that’s where this story starts to get interesting”.
Greenbaum tracked down the poster’s IP address and told the school, ReadWriteWeb says, continuing, “In his defense, he probably thought he was simply tattle-telling on a naughty student who would learn a valuable lesson about internet anonymity and would have to sit through a week’s detention or something of the like.”
But this wasn’t a kid. It was a school employee who, as a direct consequence of Greenbaum’s initiative, lost his job.
This kind of thing can’t happen on p2pnet, though. Even if we wanted to rat someone out, which we’d never do under any circumstance, we couldn’t.
We’ve always treasured freedom of speech and for that reason, we’ve never logged IP addresses.
In other words, anonymous comments on p2pnet really are anonymous.
Was Greenbaum doing the right thing? No way.
I see this kind of thing every now and then.
I just delete it.
End of story.
Jon Newton – p2pnet
St Louis Post-Dispatch – What`s the craziest thing you`ve ever eaten? And did you like it, November 13, 2009
ReadWriteWeb – Leaving a Vulgar Comment Online Might Cost You Your Job, November 18, 2009
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November 19th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
What does anonymity have to do with freedom of speech? Everyone should be allowed to speak their mind. But we all have to deal with the consequences of speaking that mind.
The reaction in this case was overblown, to be sure. But that doesn’t change the general idea that with rights come responsibilities. If you say something, be prepared to back it up and stand by it. There’s no right to “anonymous speech”.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that Greenbaum was a snitch or the fact that, that guy loosed his job for typing a word that refers to a part of human anatomy.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Some people has advanced the argument that in the US only the government has to obey the constitution.
This is of course a fallacy invented by evil corporations of parasites to escape the law.
The constitution apply to everyone and anyone leaving in the united State or in territories under the control of the united state.
This include Gatanamo, Irak, Afganistan as well as the secret prisons controlled by the CIAA abroad.
Those who infringe the supreme law of the land even if they are or have been president, VP, congressmen, secret service agents or police officers must be prosecuted to the full extend of the law. If this does not happen it send the toxic message to all citizens that the government is not to be trusted since it consider the law to be BS and this leave the door open to self justice and retaliation.
I wonder if the Obama administration will still insist on non prosecuting those responsible for torture and those in the corporation of entertainment parasites who continue to corrupt judges juries and member of the government or if they are ready to face the terrible consequences for the culprits.
November 19th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
penis
November 19th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
@RW above who said “penis”
âIn the comments section of the article, one user posted a single word response referring to a part of a womanâs anatomy. “
November 19th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
^^
Oh, NOOOOOOO !!
Somehow I missed that. Now I’m going to get fired, yes? (Starts looking in situations vacant …)
Cheers!
November 19th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Jon,
I have an opening.
November 19th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
OMG I just realized
I mean in our department!
*runs and hides*
November 19th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
@OG:
LMFAO!!!
I was “this” close to crappin’ my pants!
November 19th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
@ Ottawa Gal:
I may have to take you up on that.
Stay tuned.
Cheers!
November 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
*fights the urge to add his own juvenile comment even though he is much too old to do it*
………
*fails*
Does anyone have an opening for me?
November 20th, 2009 at 6:56 am
…. but seriously, I do believe that we have a right to privacy, including on the internet.
It’s up to us to know the rules and know how to achieve a reasonable degree of privacy. (TOR anyone?)
We do not however have a right to privacy in the workplace, unless you happen to own it. This person was employed by the school district and (I assume) broke the rules at work. At the very least he was acting inappropriately in the workplace.
He should have known better.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Right to privacy and freedom of speech. Schools are no exempted from following the law. Who is going to prosecute them?