Comments on: Private Communications

By: New Kid on the Hallway

New Kid on the Hallway — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:54:20 +0000

I thought this article was pretty asinine, too, although I’ll confess that I stopped using my previous job’s e-mail for anything but school stuff because I did become convinced that the institution monitored what went back and forth on its network.

But mostly I agree about the not installing your own software on your campus computer. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

By: KF

KF — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:30:43 +0000

I had half a mind to respond to you by posing as the dean and leaving a message saying “I’m not.” But my own paranoia made me not do so. Pity.

By: Oona

Oona — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:38:33 +0000

Of course we’re all right and this Olson guy is a weirdo.

But you know what I sometimes wonder? I wonder whether maybe when I use my campus laptop and email account to message people saying any offensive thing that comes into my head — which I do every single day — is my Dean reading it?

By: Jason Mittell

Jason Mittell — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:28:11 +0000

This article makes me first off very glad to be teaching at a private institution (no annual online ethics tests required!).

I use my college-provided laptop & email address for virtually everything. Perhaps this is more justified as a media scholar, as commenting on a blog, watching YouTube clips, playing an MMO, or messing with Facebook all might become fodder for my teaching & research. But I think of the laptop/email account/software/server space/etc. along the lines of a company car (which I’m not saying we faculty do or should get!): your employer provides a tool that will be directly used in your work, but it’s also a perk of employment. You’re liable if you use it illegally, but you’re not beholden to compartmentalize your uses into work/non-work purposes.

By: meg

meg — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:51:25 +0000

Tres corporate, indeed.

One wonders if he feels the same way about student emails too — that they may only use it to email professors, and other students about group work.

I’m thinking that Gary A. Olson was a very late adopter…

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:59:33 +0000

To me, this smacks of a corporate consultant drafting a policy in pursuit of minimizing legal liability. Most major corporations have absurd policies like this in place (no personal “web surfing”!), but they are almost impossible to enforce. I googled Gary A Olson expecting him to be 98 years old and hopelessly out of touch, but instead he appears to be about 58 years old and hopelessly out of touch. What is his ethical stance on IMAP and secure shell proxies?