This was a fascinating story to write — Judge Rules Internet Surfing at Work Is OK — as I had an opportunity to interview New York City’s Law Department chief of labor and employment law.
She made it clear this was not a court case. Rather it was a case that went to the City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. The office oversees disciplinary cases from city agencies.
The judge wasn’t as concerned about the Internet surfing as he was about the employee’s insubordination. The judge recommended a reprimand and the decision as to what to do was up to the Chancellor. On May 5, the Chancellor fired him.
That wasn’t the only story I was surprised to get right. When Google advertised Firefox with Google’s Toolbar, many sites reported that it was the first time Google ever advertised a third-party product. Not true.
The point here is not to show off my reporting skills — I’ve made plenty of mistakes, believe me — but to indicate that many Internet resources don’t always report accurate facts and we have to be careful.
I worked on a Microsoft story in which I wrote that the tool checks for copies when customers use Automatic Updates (along with the others listed in the article).
Automatic Updates was wrong. I could’ve sworn I got that from Microsoft’s news release, but I didn’t. It was from somewhere else on the Web (don’t remember where). So that was a quick and painless lesson in relying on certain sources. Painless because Windows Updates can be automatic.
Reporting something like the program is required not optional would be a a serious error.
