Narking to employers

Just a warning to everyone commenting on this blog: I’ve recently been made aware that someone posting on one of the discussion threads using their real name has had a complaint made to their employer. The offending comments in question were (very mildly) critical of the Labour Party. The substance of the complaint is that they were made during work hours.

Classy, huh? So I prefer it if people use their real names when they comment on the blog – it makes for a more civilised and polite level of discussion. But in future if you want to criticise the developed world’s most worthless opposition party you might want to use a pseudonym, lest one of its supporters or staffers (who also read and comment extensively during work hours, going by the IP addresses) take umbrage and elect to put you in your place by threatening your employment.

This is not an isolated incident. A wee while ago someone complained to the State Services Commission about a centre-right blogger who works in a Govt ministry. Their boss had okayed them blogging (which pre-dated their job) so long as they avoided issues around that ministry, but they stopped blogging because no one really wants to risk the job. I have no doubt the intent of the complaint was to shut down the blogger.