Is someone watching me?

[forwardassist]

Whilst having a pint in the mess last night, the subject of this forum came up and discussion of who does and doesn't use it. It seems, at this air station anyway, that there are some grown ups who display more than a passing interest of the identity of posters and as a result there are a few who have never posted again or keep changing their screen names. It may be innocent enough, that they were so moved by a well-written and insightful post that they want to know the author (but judging by recent posts?) , but then again the reasons may be otherwise and, dare I say, sinister. Anyone else know of such action?
I realise the folly of this post, as those that don't post anymore won't post an answer :ugh:- I'm after a general opinion! Also, I can neither confirm nor deny that I once was another poster, 2 people at once or a fishing journo or airship. :}

[South Bound]

Definitely seen someone chased down and carpetted because of inappropriate things they said. It just pays to stick within the rules of the forum and not speak about classified things or slate people openly. We are allowed an opinion, but there are limits.

Hang on, knock on my door, hello Mr Plod, Ooops, I said what? Back in a mo....

[PompeySailor]

Of course it is watched and actively monitored. People will speak on here (anonymously or semi-anonymously) because they feel happier venting on here rather than marching into the Boss' office and doing it. Also because sometimes you can get an answer on here quicker, better, and more accurately than you can in the real world.

This board is checked, as is ARRSE, RumRation and some others - not because the elite want to chat (without coffee) with the scurrilous amongst you (us?) but because it can be very useful to gauge what is going on or being felt. Similar to the manner in which a Senior Officer gets a guided tour of the nice bits of a unit, this board works to highlight the darker bits of life in a uniform that people would normally just ignore as being "buggerance" factor, but actually affect more people than may be realised.

Anyone that feels the need to exert pressure on someone over comments made on here should be looking more closely at their management technique.

The JPA threads are being watched very closely on an island in Portsmouth......

[Confucius]

I have it on good, make that first hand, authority that the answer is YES.

[vecvechookattack]

Exactly. Why do you think Southside buggered off ? Maybe he was sussed and ordered to wind in

[Melchett01]

I know of several people that have been rumbled after posting and dragged in to Harry's office for a chat sans cafe.

Which is why you should a. be careful what you say on here - up to a point, otherwise there's no point in the site. b. be careful when you register, it's amazing how much can be traced back to a single machine, even when you think you have been cunning.

[Jimlad1]

I have it on very good authority that previous 4* officers have had daily briefs on what is discussed on this site. Also I'm an active contributor on another site and was warned off by someone on my chain of command about comments made anonymously.

Bottom line is be careful - people are watching you and it can bite you! On the plus side in my previous username incarnation (Jimlad which died for some reason) I was able to sort out some useful stuff on courses through PPRUNE - so it does work both ways.

[Reach]

I know of several people that have been rumbled after posting and dragged in to Harry's office for a chat sans cafe.

Which is why you should a. be careful what you say on here - up to a point, otherwise there's no point in the site. b. be careful when you register, it's amazing how much can be traced back to a single machine, even when you think you have been cunning.

So I'm guessing a few people from Kinloss will be talking to their boss soon?

[SARREMF]

Forward assist

Mind that mug of coffee near your elbow...

[rugmuncher]

It would be interesting to see what would happen if you were to make an anonomous post on here and only here,,,,

make it up completely and make it rather controversial,,,

stir them up-stairs, up a bit,,,,

again,,,, only post it here,,, don't ever say the words,,,

keep it anon,,,

then, if you do get invited in for a one way Tx, -ve, coffee,

well,,,, ask the good old question,,, am I being interviewed as a witness or a suspect?

See them choose their options very carefully as they think about the legal implications they could be making, maybe after that you'll get asked if you want sugar in your tea!!!!

[Rigga]

Speaking as an "Ex", the monitoring of these sites is positively encouraged by civvy company management in order to find out who said what, and what is said by the mainstream about any particular company/area.

Of course, this doesn't mean any actions will be taken - unless they know what your handle is!

Still - It's only rumours - eh?

[SASless]

Does it matter if the Boss Wallah gets and ear full in person, by phone, e-mail, or pprune.....he is not going to be pleased with yer views no matter the source. If he can identify the bearer of such news the messenger will catch some spears.

Those that have found a way to "command" will feel that way. "Leaders" on the other hand have no need for briefs or intel reports on what goes on at pprune, arrse or any other web site. They would have their finger on the pulse the old fashioned way....leading!

In the civvie word...the greasy pole of management works best as one steps on folks going up...better traction that way than merely grabbing the pole and getting after it. One may not hear of it....but very large Black Marks can be afixed to your name on the manning roster and CV pile.

Thus....unless it is banter even to the humourless...don't say something here you would not say to the Boss Wallah in person. You might just have to someday at his insistence.

[PompeySailor]

Does it matter if the Boss Wallah gets and ear full in person, by phone, e-mail, or pprune.....he is not going to be pleased with yer views no matter the source. If he can identify the bearer of such news the messenger will catch some spears.

Those that have found a way to "command" will feel that way. "Leaders" on the other hand have no need for briefs or intel reports on what goes on at pprune, arrse or any other web site. They would have their finger on the pulse the old fashioned way....leading!

In the civvie word...the greasy pole of management works best as one steps on folks going up...better traction that way than merely grabbing the pole and getting after it. One may not hear of it....but very large Black Marks can be afixed to your name on the manning roster and CV pile.

Thus....unless it is banter even to the humourless...don't say something here you would not say to the Boss Wallah in person. You might just have to someday at his insistence.

One of the main problems we face is dilution of strength of feeling. There used to be a nice little joke along the lines of "crock of ****e" becoming "wonderful manure" - pretty inane, but quite true. Many senior officers (RN at least) take ORs or junior officers with them on visits purely because the senior officer gets the "this route smells of paint" visit, whilst the non-senior officers get to go and visit mates and other places that are not necessarily cleared for inspection. It's only then that you can see under the veneer of a unit.

Whilst there are people who will moan for the sake of it, this sort of message board provides a method of aggregation of feeling - both good and bad. You can see that bad feeling is growing on a certain subject, and in fact in the good old days of Chots (Chots User Forum anyone?), I know that RN policy was changed twice based on what 2SL saw in that group - and in there you were not anonymous! I had two face-on-face conversations with pay grades that were well in excess of mine, but as SASless says, you have to be prepared to back up what you are saying.

It takes time for the fear factor to go away - many people are worried about jeopardising posting or promotion prospects for speaking out, but if you are justified in what you say, you have evidence to back it up, then it should not matter if you are at the bottom of the food chain - your views are just as valid, and deserve as much recognition. It's only when it gets into the staffing chain that people start to modify the original statement until it bears little resemblance to what the person wanted to say. On here, the original person gets to stand up and say what they feel!