[ale] OT: Well it is going to hit the list sooner or later.

[Dow Hurst]

Mike,
Jenn is right because a sysadmin has extreme access to others privacy 
without true authorization to actually invade that privacy.  It's like 
having video camera's on people bedrooms all the time but you know you 
ethically should never look in the viewfinder.  It's not your job, since 
you just run the server.  If a proper authority authorizes you to look 
then your okay, but only then.
Dow


Mike Panetta wrote:

>The only problem with that I can see is your boss will never sign a letter saying that
>you can spy on him.  So in effect this means its ok for higher ups to spy on and fire
>lower down people for slacking off (or doing whatever) and its not ok for lower down
>people to spy on and get higher up people fired for doing the same.  This is illogical
>and can create a bad climate (one that already exists, how many people do you know
>would be willing to rat out someone important in their company for doing something 
>harmful to said company?) where stagnation and immoral and unhealty acts can be
>done by higher ups (and are) and cannot be stopped or watched by anyone else.
>
>Who watches the watchers?
>
>Oh, and why is what he did unethical?  Why is trying to save taxpayers (or
>in the case of a private company, shareholders) money by checking that
>someone is doing the job they are payed (and payed very highly 
>in the case of CEO's and such) to do, and not wasting money by slacking 
>off.  Why is it unethical for someone lower down in the company to use
>the means he has at hands (his knowledge) to check up on someone,
>while its not unethical for someone higher up in the company to use the
>means he has (someone elses knowledge) to check up on someone?
>
>Basicly your saying its ok for the CEO's and other corperate bastards of
>the world to get rich by slacking off and telling us what to do, but its not
>ok for us to protect the company by turning them in when they waste the
>companys money by slacking off and doing no real work.  I think your
>sense of ethics is a bit off.
>
>Mike
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: "J.M. Taylor" <jtaylor at onlinea.com>
>Sent: Aug 1, 2004 10:24 AM
>To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
>Subject: Re: [ale] OT: Well  it is going to hit the list sooner or later.
>
>
>My interpretation of the SAGE code of ethics is the following: I do not
>read people's emails, even tho it is within my power.  I do not spy on
>people, even tho it is within my power and in many cases may prove their
>misdeeds.  I do not collect data on people's misdeeds even tho these
>people may be harming me on the job.  I do not make these decisions.  I
>just run the server.
>
>If it is required of me that I do these things, I ask for a signed letter
>from a higher-up, or the law enforcement agency or whatever, to prove that
>I was not acting on my own.  It is never right for a systems administrator
>to give in to his or her baser nature and use their technical knowlege to
>further a complaint against a coworker, unless s/he has been asked to do
>this by a superior for legally and ethically correct reasons.
>
>And yes, if my boss told me to gather data about someone that I knew was 
>goofing off all day but wouldn't give me the signed letter, I would refuse 
>to do it even if it meant my job.  That's how strongly I feel about the 
>importance of my integrity in what I do.  It's also just CYA -- when the 
>fit hits the shan and it's my word against my boss's about who ordered 
>collecting the data....no way am I going to get involved in that.  I'm 
>not completely stupid.
>
>IMNSHO this guy isn't a saint or a martyr.  He did something
>unethical, and unethical acts are unethical regardless of the motivating
>reasons.  If you steal from your company and give the money to starving
>people, it's still stealing.  If all he did was send emails about the
>boss, maybe he should've taken the time to actually go speak to someone
>face-to-face.  If he had gotten the go-ahead from a higher-up to do this,
>then it would've been fine.  It sucks that the boss didn't get fired, but
>ALDOT was entirely correct in firing the admin.
>
>Jenn
></end>
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