Watchdog Objects to Government Workers’ Personal Internet Postings

Ron Finley knows the pounding agony of the morning after. “I get hung over at the drop of a hat,” he writes. “I am very sensitive to alcohol and the impurities that are thrown into it.”

Finley’s hangovers are not private. You can look it up; Finley posted his comments, misspellings and all, on the Internet.

He’s not alone in that--multitudes around the world exchange comments on Usenet, a global bulletin board made up of more than 15,000 separate discussion groups, called newsgroups, on every topic imaginable.

But Finley, head of security for the Washington state House of Representatives, used Internet access at work to chat about his hangovers--at least until his boss found out and put a stop to it.

He’s not alone in that, either. State employees across the country are using their work computers to sell their cars, look for new jobs and schmooze about soap operas, rock ‘n’ roll, slacking off and more.

“I always subscribe to the theory that the worst vacation is better than the best day at work,” writes Leslie Anderson, a computer analyst-programmer at the Washington Department of Transportation, in a recent posting.

Some would say that these postings--even if composed and transmitted during breaks or off-hours--are inappropriate.

Dave Wickham, a one-man Internet watchdog, is among the grumblers.

Wickham was incensed when he realized an Internet advertisement for fishing flies came from a Department of Social and Health Services account.

“I figure if it’s a private employer, that’s their business and who cares. But where it’s state government, it seems like it’s our problem,” said Wickham, a 44-year-old electrician in Cle Elum, Wash.

“Plus, you know, you feel like a state employee should somehow be representative of you, and where they’re out trolling on the Net for dates, it kind of reflects on the state and the way it’s run.”

Wickham made it his business to track the abuses. He has created a Web page with examples from every state in the union at:

https://www.adsnet.net/ states.htm.

“Some of what I’ve got on that Web page, I feel real bad about putting on there,” he said.

“There’s one guy in Tennessee who goes into a long story about being sexually abused by his minister. You hate to put that out there but, man, they shouldn’t be doing that. What drives someone to do that I can’t imagine.”

Research by the Associated Press showed some posts were clearly legitimate: Seeking help with computer programs, discussing scientific research in the worker’s field or publicizing government decisions.

But many of the postings clearly had nothing to do with work, despite policies limiting use of state resources to state business.

A California Department of Water Resources employee averaged a posting a day over 13 months, all to newsgroups devoted to soap operas. A purchasing clerk in the North Carolina office of the state auditor made dozens of posts to a newsgroup devoted to the local music scene.

Lori Bowdish, a temporary Washington state worker, posted 37 messages from March to June.

“I’m having lots of fun with this list! It’s an excellent way to slack off at work. I like trying to guess where everyone is from. So, where are you all from?” she wrote in one posting.

And in another: “A good friend of mine was telling me that she and her SO [significant other] were drinking and talking when eventually the topic turned to politics, of all things. She was telling me about their discussion and said, ‘Man, Lori, I was so drunk that I actually started to CARE!’ . . . Oh crud. I came back to my desk and the boss was reading this. My slacker days could be numbered, friends.”

Bowdish’s most recent job for the state does not offer Internet access. Though she says she made the postings on her own time, she now adds, “I guess I shouldn’t have been doing what I did.”

But Texas Department of Human Services worker Kelli Ramey was unapologetic. She spends about 30 minutes a day reading Usenet newsgroups and posting everything from the details of her wedding plans to advertisements offering her wedding and engagement rings from a past marriage. Her agency doesn’t care, she said.

“It’s like use of the telephone--as long as it’s not costing money and on your own time, they don’t mind,” said Ramey, who hasn’t received any takers for the jewelry.

Others are more contrite. Bill Harris, an environmental engineer at the Washington state Department of Ecology, posted to the Internet 100 times between June 1, 1995, and Aug. 1--a total that includes 61 postings to a newsgroup called rec.music.gdead that focuses on the Grateful Dead.

Harris said he recently decided to limit postings to official business.

“After thinking about it, I decided that was the right thing to do. . . ,” Harris said. “Really, your calling me was a real wake-up for me.”

Bosses are awakening as well. When they are informed of their employees’ extra-computational activities, they pledge to stop them.

“Internet access should be used to conduct state business and in a manner that advances the public’s interest,” said Jordan Dey, spokesman for Washington Gov. Mike Lowry.

“And it should not be used for personal gain or private advantage. It certainly should not be used” for goofing off.

Wickham, the Internet watchdog, wants state governments to take a more active role in preventing abuse of Internet access by state workers.

“Now that the states have all these employees on the Internet, they should take responsibility and train them how to use it and set parameters on what they want it to be used for,” Wickham said.

“To me, they just haven’t set the parameters, and that’s why the people are taking advantage.”