My Employer Says No To Pipesmagazine

[mkvillaire]

I work in manufacturing where I spend the majority of my day either on the phone or the computer requesting quotes and purchasing machinery, parts, and chemicals required to operate the facility. Often times on my breaks and lunch period I like to check out the latest topics on the forum. A couple of days ago the IT department performed a much needed update on my computer. Yesterday, when I tried to access the Pipesmagazine site, I was greeted with a pop-up that read "this site blocked as it contains references to alcohol/tobacco." I was surprised to see this. As part of Company policy I am required to sign a document that basically states that I understand the rules pertaining to the viewing of objectionable material on the internet. What I would consider objectionable viewing at work is pornography and other offensive sites, but tobacco related sites? I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience. What do you guys think about this?

 

[fshu2]

that is very odd i can not say i agree with it.

 

[mkvillaire]

By the way they allow smoking at work in designated areas. They even had the carpenter build a special room for smokers, which I never frequent.

 

[mkvillaire]

I have been working there for 11 years. The paper I signed made mention of pornography and illegal activities. I have been looking at pipes online for a long time, never with any problems. I just find it strange that cigarette smoking at work is okay but looking at tobacco is not?

 

[sjpipesmoker]

My last job banned looking up the lottery numbers, they considered it gambling...
Sucks!!! I'm able to be in the forum my whole shift, I stream Netflix and download movies. I guess my job isn't so bad!

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I'm very much a stickler for rules. If it wasn't in my contract in ink that tobacco/alcohol related sites were banned I'd bring up a complaint. Merely having "objectionable material" written in is far too vague. Plus, who's to determine what's objectionable and what's not?

 

[mkvillaire]

Lord,
I actually don't even have a copy of the document that I signed. I really don't want to rock the boat by asking for a copy. It's probably best that I just keep quiet. I just cannot believe that it's an issue.

 

[dochudson]

I'm very much a stickler for rules. If it wasn't in my contract in ink that tobacco/alcohol related sites were banned I'd bring up a complaint. Merely having "objectionable material" written in is far too vague. Plus, who's to determine what's objectionable and what's not?
I'll bet there are a lot of sites he can't get too these days.. it probably isn't in INK that he can't do a lot of things and stay employed. I worked in IT networking at a large hosp group and if I wanted to be on the web I brought my laptop and used the guess network. trust me they know what sites and for how long you are on them. the IT guys can pickup anything you do, when you do it and for how long including actual text exchanges. (credit card numbers) I would also be very surprised if they aren't scanning all your email. if you want a visit from higher up at a hosp use the word 'union' in an email. there are some sites that will redirect you and maybe get you around the problem but is it worth the chance you get busted? yeh, it sucks. I'll bet they bought a firewall package that came with thousands of sites blocked.

 

[tbradsim1]

Use your IPhone, more than one way to skin a cat. The old cajun

 

[mb1mb]

I was going to say too Cajun (+1 for I-phone)

 

[admin]

It's funny - when I was opening my business bank account three years ago, the banker asked me what the business was and wanted to look at the site. He couldn't because it was blocked.
It is colossally stupid and really sucks that they block so many sites, but it is also unfortunately the employer's prerogative ... especially in today's employment market.

 

[mkvillaire]

My Android will have to do.

 

[pitchfork]

Kevin, that's really funny. What was the banker's reaction?

 

[mkvillaire]

I can certainly understand that the determination as to what is acceptable to the employer is up to the employer. That's why I will leave well enough alone at work. I will air my complaints here instead...lol.

 

[pipewife]

This forum is probably the safest place to grump about since ... your boss can't see it from work!

 

[sinister]

Not to rain on your parade, but look at it this way. You are using THEIR computer and THEIR internet access. If they want to control and block certain sites, they are very much indeed allowed to. This is quite easy to understand. Some companies do not want their equipment used in a manner that COULD bring about a problem within the workplace. Tobacco and alcohol is a topic of debate and always will be. What YOU think is non offensive, others might disagree. On top of that, what happens if you goto a site and introduce a virus into the network?
Your company is safegaurding themselves. Think about it for a moment if you were the owner of the company. You want to keep your employees in check and keep from unnecessary problems.
Does it suck when stuff like this happens? Sure. But they are NOT doing it out of spite because you smoke.
Like mentioned, bust out the smart phone. You are unlimited at that point and can look at and read what you want without being blocked or hassled.

 

[mkvillaire]

Sinister,
No rain felt here. Like I mentioned above, I understand this rule from my employers perspective. I think it's just a sign of the times. It sure is nice that we all have internet access in the palm of our hands.

 

[sinister]

Sinister,
No rain felt here. Like I mentioned above, I understand this rule from my employers perspective. I think it's just a sign of the times. It sure is nice that we all have internet access in the palm of our hands.

Many years ago, I used to work for a rather large employee in which my department was given internet access. We were allowed to use it if it coincided with our work. Ok, cool.... so I found a few forums and websites that dealt with exactly the work I did. A bit of time passed and then I got called in and reamed out for going online and going to forums. WTF? You tell us we can use it if it relates to our work, and now youre telling me that Im in trouble for doing just that (they had a list of sites I was going to). :crazy:
At that point is when I made the investment and upgraded from a flip phone to an iphone.

 

[hawk60ce]

What did we do before smartphones :rofl:

 

[sinister]

What did we do before smartphones

Worked harder instead of being distracted :rofl: