Porn?!?! Are you KIDDING?!?!

[jon_k]

Originally Posted by studiocygnet

yep. there are people out there that make a living out of suing companies and getting small settlements these days. They know it's cheaper for the company to settle than risk a jury trial, because juries tend to side with the individual against larger companies.

Perhaps it's the type of environment I work in. This is a web hosting company that I work at. We host porn sites. We might have to work on a porn site, gay or straight, in the line of "work." If the employees are sometimes required to work on a site like this.. then it's a given that just about anything else can be viewed without offending someone.

Management /does/ state when you start the job here that if you feel uncomfortable working on projects that involve pornographic websites, that you don't have to. But everyone here has no problem with it. If your job requires you to occasionally visit a porn site to make sure the website is "up and running correctly" then there's little else that can offend someone to make them sue. I hardly doubt browsing slashdot, or texas photo forum would bring up a "ewww... texas photo forum, how inappropriate... i sue!" lawsuit.

I can see in a workplace with lots of easily offended people having some web blocks. Me working in I.T., I'd probably still have unrestricted access since in such a company I'd probably hold the keys to the web blockers.

I have to say though, I'm a much more happier employee having the ability to check out TPF while at work. A happy employee churns out good results when work finally does come in. Happy cows make good milk, happy employees make good results and continue to work for a given company longer. UNHAPPY employees turn out sub-par results and turnover quite quickly. It's a companies choice.

I do understand the lawsuits thing. Thats why I much prefer smaller companies, and working in departments without all the bickering, narking and behind-your-back talking that larger departments/companies usually have. Smaller companies tend to have more freedoms and closer working relationships.

[wjmphoto]

I used to love when the place I work blocked just about everything. You would try to go to PGA.com on Masters week to check the scores and get the banned screen. Look at ESPN during your lunch - Banned. DPreview for reviews - banned. And the list went on.

It sucks bad enough selling your life to a company in exchange for $$$ without then micromanaging every second of your day. Much happier working for myself the last 10+ years with no plans to go back in this lifetime.

[NathanJK]

Originally Posted by CobyPhoto

While I understand this comment and idea, Andrews original comment even bears true in a your situation. Even without a "real" job working for the man, and working for yourself, if you just allow your employees to do as they please, you are the one that is liable in the end. Even the little guys fall prey to these types of lawsuits...

Ah, but I don't have employees. I never plan to have employees either. I've worked for several small companies where the owner was directly involved in the daily operations. One of these was a photography place with about 5 employees counting the owner and his wife in the office every day. It was positively the worst job environment ever, and a big part of that was the fact that it was micromanaged. Yep, even the internet! They didn't block anything as far as I know, but I distinctly remember having to have a "talk" with the owner because his wife saw me check my account balance online. She didn't care what I was doing, just that I USED the internet at all.

I think overtly limiting employees at a small company is a horrible idea. You are not a faceless entity like the IT department at Hewlett-Packard or something. Rather, you are Bob, the owner, the guy with the office next door. It's easy for your employees to make the connection between the distrust implicit in controlling their internet/computer access and yourself. They know that it is YOU that don't trust them on a personal level. Call me crazy, but I'd never work in an environment like that again, it's impossible to deal with people like that. You want to check up on your employees fine, but be subtle about it. It's not terribly difficult to figure out what sites a person was visiting and how much time they were spending on them, especially if they are on a network.

I plan to always keep my photography business small enough for my wife and I to handle it. If that means I don't make as much money so be it, I don't need a big house. What I DO need is sanity, and having employees would definitely not help me in that department!

[sbp]

I think I am lucky I can access TPF whole day.