Don't Post Comments On StlToday.com Or They Might Tell Your Boss
from the how-nice-of-them dept
Via Romenesko comes this little gem of how the online editor of StlToday.com got upset about a "vulgar" comment that was left on a story. The editor, Kurt Greenbaum, noticed that the commenter in question's IP address was a local school, and contacted the school to alert them that someone from there had left a comment. And then:"About six hours later, I heard from the school's headmaster...The headmaster confronted the employee, who resigned on the spot."Lesson of the day? Don't post comments on StlToday.com or its editors may call your boss.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
That dude needs a quick lesson in minding his own damned business.
So. who else thought the river front times pictures on the article were awesome? I think we can add a few more. Though at least one doesn't have a picture as far as I know.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Resigned?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Resigned?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Karma
Taking someones livelihood because of a direct insult or a comment that peeved you somehow is duche-baggery.
Kurt you asshole. From the bottom of my heart of hearts I hope you get hit by a bus and it makes national news.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Did the guy confirm that someone quit that day?
Has he any proof that it was done?
It is incredible what people will believe this days :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
he seems quite defensive
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
LoL
"if the school has an acceptable use policy in place, and the faculty member violated it by posting the comment, he has no one to blame but himself for what happened"
But then again it's also his fault he posted with his real name. If he would of used his CEO/Manager/Directors name now that would be awesome!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TOR was made exactly for these purpose :)
There is some boss joke in there somewhere I know it LoL
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tor sucks
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
I think you missed the point.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: LoL
Most adults who work in the journalism field as an editor, would just delete the comment and get on with their busy day. Perhaps Kurt Greenbaum does not have enough to keep him busy and he entertains himself by irritating others.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Tor sucks
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Resigned?
Ehhh, depends...
I bet they didn't even want him to resign - he may have done it out of spite.
I'm saying that - because I did that. My wife and I were both working a lot - had a good savings built up and the job market was good. I was being 'threatened' to get wrote up for something I didn't do - and even other co-workers agreed it was clear it wasn't my fault.
So I cam in that night, when I had to go to the office I told the boss I guess he was working second shift tonight too and walked out the door.
Just depends on your situation :) Sometimes that can sting more that fighting anything, lol
[ link to this | view in thread ]
web censor's
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Tor sucks
He could have use it then a webproxy, like hidemyass, anonymouse or a thousand others or you can use plugins like the firefox foxyproxy or you can get a VPN or you can install your own VPN(openVPN) anywhere you can get a virtual machine in.
Is not that difficult there is even directions in youtube on how to do it in any way one would like or imagine.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I wonder how well he'd sleep at night
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Respectfully I disagree if you are going to be nasty you should have the good sense to expect retaliation. We are not all equals in the mind form, we think and react differently and pass that to others that is why anonymity was granted in the U.S. constitution because the forefathers new then what is true now.
People will try to get you if they don't like what you said.
Those people feed on the fears that others have and it works very well today as it did in pre-historic times.
That fact alone should be the foundation for people to be very careful when granting others monopolies or extra-rights and powers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Respectfully I disagree if you are going to be nasty you should have the good sense to expect retaliation. We are not all equals in the mind form, we think and react differently and pass that to others that is why anonymity was granted in the U.S. constitution because the forefathers new then what is true now.
People will try to get you if they don't like what you said.
Those people feed on the fears that others have and it works very well today as it did in pre-historic times.
That fact alone should be the foundation for people to be very careful when granting others monopolies or extra-rights and powers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Got more of the scoop
Because it was a school, the editor DID the right thing and contacted the school, as it could have been a student posting VULGAR remarks. This could have been a teaching opportunity for the school to teach a kid a little respect for the female anatomy. Instead it was the Principal of the school that needed some education on respect. In most companies, the remark could have been a firing offense for what was posted. He was lucky he resigned, as the school board would have probably fired him immediately.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Employee resigned on the spot...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Got more of the scoop
Right, because that's the job of an editor: to be the language police and potentially teach young people "respect for the female anatomy."
The editor was so far over the line, so obviously and clearly wrong and unethical, that I actually have a little respect for the size of the balls he must have not only to not apologize about it, but to actually write a post bragging about it. I stand in awe.
He has taught me one thing -- avoid STL online, as any publication that keeps such a person in a position of authority is one that isn't worth my time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
wow
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Got more of the scoop
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Privacy policy
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Got more of the scoop
At first I thought, "wow, what a petty, vindictive, free-speech-hating ass to have dropped dime over an absurd comment".
Then I read your comment and remembered that the first amendment had been suspended "for the children" in the 80's.
There's no moral panic like the moral panic created by the possibility of foul-mouthed children existing in our public school system.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
"We will not share individual user information with third parties unless the user has specifically approved the release of that information."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Got more of the scoop
I think you meant URL, because ip addr is just numbers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Got more of the scoop
Seriously, he should look at the newspaper's terms and conditions. If the newspaper violated them by contacting his employer, then he OWNS them and he OWNS Greenbaum.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Got more of the scoop
[ link to this | view in thread ]
- As a reporter for a newspaper, he basically "outed" an anonymous poster because he didn't like what that poster was posting. Would he someday do the same for an anonymous news source he doesn't like?
- The site's privacy policy clearly states: "We will not share individual user information with third parties unless the user has specifically approved the release of that information." Mr. Greenbaum's actions would seem to be a direct violation of their privacy policy.
- Not only did he take action resulting in someone losing their job (they very likely "resigned" to avoid being fired outright), but then he felt the need to post about it. He apparently has no remorse about causing someone to lose their job, and in fact seems quite proud of his actions.
- From the comments, it sounds like there are far worse comments (racial epithets, etc.) which are allowed to stand, whereas this particular comment was singled out for retribution. One commenter likened his "enforcement" actions to a cop who allows cars to race by at 50mph over the speed limit, before pulling over someone going only 5mph over. Comment moderation sounds like it's terribly inconsistent and enforced in a very spotty manner.
- Speaking of moderation, could they not have just deleted the comments and blocked the poster's IP? Did they have to track the person down and tattle to their employer?
- Did Mr. Greenbaum consult his boss, or his newspaper's legal department, before taking these actions? Or was he flying solo on this? Should legal action result from this, I'm sure this will be a pertinent question.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
All that could have just been avoided by clicking the delete function or by banning the IP address from their site.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Hoax
Just a month ago Greenbaum wrote an article and tweeted about hoaxes in the media. What motivates people to do them, etc.
Now, it sounds like all the details come straight from Greenbaum. A guy wrote a naughty word on there. Not verified by anyone else. Greenbaum and his unnamed colleague took down the comment. Not verified by anyone. Greenbaum emailed the unnamed school. Not verified by anyone. The unnamed headmaster called back and said the guy quit. Not verified by anyone.
The story is outlandish anyway. No school headmaster is going to do what Greenbaum claims.
I think he's just made up his own hoax to point out the dangers of social media.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Also, no one casually recognizes an IP address that has nothing to do with them. That fact that he claims to recognize IP addresses belonging to organizations unrelated to his own is suspicious in and of itself.
Reading that guys comments, insisting he sleeps well, he deserves everything bad that comes to him because of this.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
hello friends
Reading that guys comments, insisting he sleeps well, he deserves everything bad that comes to him because of this.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
They should have mentioned, "If the strangest food you've ate is a part of female anatomy, please don't tell us. We already know that it's strangest of them all."
Sue 'em all.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: this
The comments are quite well thought out most of them, and lots of them seem to say that hey, this is why old media fails, as apparently regular racist commentary goes unchecked on the site. Hardly seems like a reason to get a person fired.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Wow weird
seems kind of Ironic that an institution that thrives on free speech is one that has a problem with free speech
[ link to this | view in thread ]
okey oyna
[ link to this | view in thread ]
My, my, my...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
He was born and educated in Basel, Switzerland; Euler spent most of his career in St. Petersburg and Berlin. He joined the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1727. In 1741 he went to Berlin because Frederick the Great invited him, but he and Frederick never got on well and in 1766 he returned to St. Petersburg, where he remained until his death. St. Petersburg Academy continued publishing his work posthumously for more than 30 years. Euler married twice and had 13 children, though all but five of them died young. He was really really good at math he was like the best ever. Some people called him the song bird of his generation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
He was born and educated in Basel, Switzerland; Euler spent most of his career in St. Petersburg and Berlin. He joined the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1727. In 1741 he went to Berlin because Frederick the Great invited him, but he and Frederick never got on well and in 1766 he returned to St. Petersburg, where he remained until his death. St. Petersburg Academy continued publishing his work posthumously for more than 30 years. Euler married twice and had 13 children, though all but five of them died young. He was really really good at math he was like the best ever. Some people called him the song bird of his generation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
EEK!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
SWINE FLU SWINDLE
SWINES FLEW IN TOP HATS
Glaxo is just a marketing hand
so who sold that vacc to the whole world carrying seeds of the next pandemic?
What state, what monster?
When failed, getting away to try again?
Like Oklahoma
your comment must be approved by
OH YEAH?
guess where all the internet monitoring flows to and you guessed where that vaccine maker sits
According to a list compiled by Dr. Patricia Doyle at rense.com, a host of strange ingredients are used to make up Hoffman-La Roche's anti-flu drug Tamiflu, which has recently been connected with bizarre behavior,
Patients using Tamiflu -- which many nations are stocking up on as a way to combat a possible pandemic of the deadly H5N1 bird flu -- reported delirium, hallucinations, delusions, convulsions, disturbed consciousness and abnormal behavior. The FDA reports that side effects reported with Tamiflu include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bronchitis, stomach pain, dizziness and headache.
ANTI-MONOPOLISTS VERY QUIET ON JUST ONE FIRM ''SERVING'' THE WHOLE WORLD
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ambalaj
[ link to this | view in thread ]
SEO Services
[ link to this | view in thread ]
algevis
[ link to this | view in thread ]
mm
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thans
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thans
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thank you
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Band from online store for asking for tracking information.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]