Posting on The Internet

[mach2male]

Be careful what you say on the internet.Also be very careful about leaving clues as to who you might be.Many Airlines use their HR and IT departments to mine aviation sites for data that may be critical of management.
CC members of Australian airlines have fallen foul of their own posts.Some have been disciplined and some dismissed.Industrial law in Australia has no presumption of innocence regarding Corporate rules relating to these matters.
Be careful out there.

[Rush2112]

I'm continually amazed at what some people post on Facebook - one of my staff recently posted how bored she was at work and had done nothing all that day... She regretted having me as a "friend"(!)

[Ka.Boom]

Censorship

In the past you could be critical of your employer.Unfortunately once a forum becomes public and management criticism becomes available for public consumption you can be censored and censured.You can think that your managers are swine but once you say so you are in trouble.Another Australian sport has been diminished
Those that run Cabin Services in any airline are generally seen as out of touch and incompetent(except for Southwest Airlines)
Airline cultures have become punitive but proclaim that people are our greatest asset.
What hypocrisy.
The truth is they want you to stay for around five years and then bugger off.Churn and burn.Work you hard,pay you little and burn you out.
Today fatigue protocols are CC only friend.
What airlines get away with is scandalous.They have scant regard for their employees or their well being.
Big Brother/Sister are watching

[air bender]

Company Based Forum Causes Sanction and Resignation

A small Airline based forum has bought two CC undone.The administrator of the forum did not place tight enough security on the site and management infiltrated it.Managment are generally held in contempt and a number of people vented.One member of the forum reported a post to her manager who up to that point was not aware of the forum.A manager joined took some some screen shots and the hunt was on.One OBM was forced into an embarrasing apology.Another was incorrctly identified and forced to resign.
Being critical of management in a public forum can contravene company rules and will lead to punishment which may include possible dismissal.
If you want to vent make sure you can't be identified.
Do not post from home.Most sites have a record of your ISP address.You can be traced

[Chuchinchow]

Hmmm.

That should stifle a lot of the potentially libellous postings on several civil aviation-related websites.

It will also scare off a lot of well-meaning - but cautious - posters as well.

[Ace Wasabe]

Management Hypocrisy

At one Australian Airline you can :-
*cause an aborted takeoff and thats OK
*expose yourself in a hotel spa and thats OK
*slag off management online and thats not OK
In fact you will be sacked,demoted or otherwise reprimanded

[TightSlot]

Originally Posted by air bender

A small Airline based forum has bought two CC undone.The administrator of the forum did not place tight enough security on the site and management infiltrated it.Managment are generally held in contempt and a number of people vented.One member of the forum reported a post to her manager who up to that point was not aware of the forum.A manager joined took some some screen shots and the hunt was on.One OBM was forced into an embarrasing apology.Another was incorrctly identified and forced to resign.
Being critical of management in a public forum can contravene company rules and will lead to punishment which may include possible dismissal.
If you want to vent make sure you can't be identified.
Do not post from home.Most sites have a record of your ISP address.You can be traced

An accurate, if somewhat alarmist view: This kind of thing comes up occasionally on PPRuNe - It falls into the category of a grain of truth being cooked into a bowl of rice.

It is quite correct that you can (eventually) be identified through your IP address and ISP - doing so involves determined work by lawyers, and time.

However, identifying you has to be worth their while.

The overwhelming majority of comments on PPRuNe are, like the post above, low level, non-specific, unprovable gripes and moans - the sort of agitprop tirades that Managers and airlines shuck off like water from a duck's back. They are rarely as important as the author believes. It is when you post something libellous and damaging that problems can arise - the short answer therefore is... don't. If you write something that you would not contribute with your name attached to it, then consider carefully whether it is worth posting at all - it is probably libellous, irrelevant or boring for everybody else (see the post immediately above this one for an example of almost all of the above points).

Airline managers do browse PPRuNe, but not nearly as frequently as some believe. They certainly don't need to use PPRuNe to identify the troublemakers or the disaffected at work - Those people tend to identify themselves daily on the job.

Just post here with your common-sense switch in the 'ON' position and you'll be fine.

[Ace Wasabe]

Libel Defined

"A false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person"
My previous post is by definition not libel
Everything in that post is provable.
Call me old fashion but why is corporate protocol above the practises of common law?.There is no presumption of innocence here.Why can you be sacked for stating the obvious online?.Your manager is incompetent,a sociopath and a narcissist and this is generally accepted amongst your peers.
This Australian airline has indeed censured one current employee and enforced the departure of another.Both criticized the manager online.
Boring?Perhaps
Irrelevant?To Whom?
Libellous? Not by definition

[RHRP]

Legal definitions of libel are not relevant here. Most corporate disciplinary policies have clauses about bringing the company into disrepute. Whether what you say is "true" or not, making statements which could damage your employer's reputation could be deemed gross misconduct and therefore bring the possibility of dismissal.

Complaining to your mates in private about your manager is one thing. Publishing it on the Internet where it can be read by millions is quite another.

As someone who spends part of my working life in HR in aviation, I can confirm that Tight Slot is quite correct - most HR departments don't have the resources to monitor the Internet. But if posts are brought to their attention, it is usually by other staff who do not like to see their company slagged off in public.

When you send an email or post on the Internet, your are taking legal responsibility for publishing a document. You must therefore exercise care and common sense. In my experience it is not management that will "prosecute" you, it is your fellow workers.

RHRP

[qlhccforum]

The forum in question is only available to verified crew of the airline concerned and not a public forum.
As moderator, I try to delete comments that are personal or defaming, but in the end it is the responsibility of the poster to make their comments benign enough to not motivate anyone to take the action necessary to find out their real identity.

No such comments have been made to date and the only poster that was identified had his identity plain to see from information in his profile and username.
The person that was forced to resign did so with no proof that they had posted on qlhccforum.

[Amelia_Flashtart]

Anything you post on the Internet is there for eternity - even if you delete it, it is there and can be traced.

As a rule I tell all my staff NEVER post on the internet (or for that matter include in an email) anything that you would not post on a public billboard on the side of the highway.

Also it pays NOT to use your work computer for any personal internet access or email as corporate IT departments monitor usage, can capture and examine email you send, and are legally entitled to (at least in Australia). Generally you will have been made aware of the corporate policy on acceptable usage of email and internet when you were first employed. You may even have had to sign a document acknowledging that you have read and understood it.

Believe me, using the internet does NOT make you anonymous or immune to disciplinary action, or worst case scenario, dismissal and/or prosecution.

[watch your6]

Company vs. Management

Bringing the company into disrepute because of a post I can understand.
But being disciplined because you call your manager an incompetent fool.
C'mon thats taking it a bit too far.

[Chuchinchow]

Bringing the company into disrepute because of a post I can understand.
But being disciplined because you call your manager an incompetent fool.
C'mon thats taking it a bit too far.

I assume that you live in a country that may be considered a democracy. That being the case, you can call your manager whatever you like.

Just have the guts to do it to his or her face, and do not hide behind the so-called "protective screen" of the internet. Or, put a different way, be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions.

[Firecat]

A Circular Argument

Managers need to be a bit thicker skinned.They get paid the bucks and make decisions which affect the lives of many others.They are open to criticsm just like those below them are.Just because someone has a go a go at their competence and ethics is no biggy.Punsihing those individuals who speak out is not going to silence the criticism.In many cases the criticism will become stronger.Most managers will ignore crticism.Water off a ducks back.Those who arent competent usually react subjectively.A good manager will always be objective and either ignore the jibes or take them onboard and change their managment style.
Either way life is divided into three groups~those that criticize and those that are criticized.Most of us fall into the third category.We are both critical and criticized.Its a human thing.No one accepts everything as being gospel.
In the aviation industry its how we innovate and move forward .Companies that stifle criticism languish because the bright people fear retribution and move elsewhere.An Australian Aviation Icon is languishing and losing talent rapidly.The punitive toxic culture has become a pandemic.
The internet is the only place left to vent.Everyone.Yes everyone needs to vent at some stage in their working lives.
I would like to be fly on the wall listening to the PPrune miderators vent when they readsome of the stuff posted here.
Oh and BTW mods I dont mind criticsm.Its how I improve.Making mistakes is the other way I improve

[Crossing Guard]

Australia a Democracy

Australia as a society is best descibed as a fading democracy.Corporate Australia is more like rising fascism.Why do you think you have so many Ozzies sounding off on internet sites like this?
The aviation sector has been taken over by the trough feeders.The action being taken BA Cabin Crew wouldnt even get off the ground in Australia(no pun intended).
Ever been denied your right of refusal?Frustrating isnt it?Working in Oz Aviation is just like that.So many mates work for Emirates and are loving it(Thank you Maxwell smart)

[TightSlot]

This thread is not about Australia - It is about the wisdom, or otherwise, of posting without intelligence on the internet. If you post without intelligence, it would be reasonable to expect there to be some consequence.

There's really very little else to say on the subject.

[gchangflyer]

Tightslot makes some very good sense.Good common sense advice!