It’s not surprising that people look at porn. I’ve got no problem with people looking at porn. Just not at the office.

looking at porn only 20% of the time at work…that’s nothing. Still working 80% of the time! Give the guy a break.

Some people waste 20 percent of their time at work yapping on the phone, gossiping with co-workers, or staring into space. And some people look at porn…what’s the big deal? As long as it’s discreet it is no worse than all the other ways in which people waste time at work.

Also, just to clue you in… this is a lot more common than you think! So, get over it.

And do you realize how boring of job it must be to read grants all day? I’m surprised he didn’t spend 80 percent of his time looking at porn.

He clearly has a problem discerning NSF form NSFW

News flash: EVERYBODY (except you) has watched some form of porn at work at some time. Welcome to the 21st century! I just think it’s funny that you seem to be completely clueless of this fact! LOL!

See what happens if you suggest a search of all computers in your faculty department. LOL!

I probably spend 15-20% on google reader.
Still, this gives a whole new meaning to Peep and the big wide world

FRD must be a porn dog, not really caring that 20% is no big deal. I wonder what his boss would say if he found him viewing porn at work….or maybe only 5% of his payed time. hum…….

I’m surprised their IT guys don’t have better filters. I have a hard time even browsing the web outside weather/news here at work. Thankfully I can still get to here and to Wired.

This is just another example of how this feminized society expects men to contantly apologize for being men. If he did his work, I couldn’t care less if he watched porn.

I would say that about 99.99% of the guys watch porn. And the rest don’t have internet. (But of course, most men won’t accept this and some even like to act outraged or claim that they merely find porn funny. This last group cracks me up.) Yes, your co-bloggers, family members, all watch porn. Why have a benchmark of moral conduct that is unattainable to practically any man? Chicks in relationships think that porn is a reflection of why they cannot satisfy the guy or something. Thats rubbish. Even in the best relationships I have been in, I have looked at porn daily or every other day. There is a wandering aspect in my brain, which a relationship simply cannot fulfill. Its not your job to worry about that side of me. Simple as that. There is something in my head that wants me to go for new girl every now and then. My suspicion is that men were supposed to have one main relationship and some mini-affairs on the side back in the day. Since I don’t want to ruin a good relationship, I let porn take care of the mini-affair side.

Don’t get me wrong, my current girlfriend is cool and is okay with it, but I have had to deal with unbelievable amounts of shit about this sort of thing in the past. Of course, the more they try to control what I do, the more obstinately I resist and the relationship goes south from there.

And save me the BS about it is only because it is at work. If he was reading blogs for 20% of the time, nobody would give a rat’s ass as long as he also did his work.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Of course the senator is making a fuss.

Really. You’re supposed to spend your time at work talking dirty to the interns. Don’t therse people know anything?!

“Ick” and “Ugh” tells me a lot more about Julianne than I wanted to know.

I agree with “damn!”. The reason guys like porn and women don’t is because (back in pre-civilization times) guys would… “engage” multiple women, while women were attempting to find a stable father and caregiver for their children. It makes perfect evolutionary sense, because it maximizes the chances that prime individuals of either gender would manage to pass on their genes.

And, as damn! said, these instincts still exist. Guys look at porn as a way to alleviate our instinctual desires, since, frankly, none of us (who are sane) actually want relationships with multiple women. That’s just too much work;). One is enough, thank you very much. But our instincts are too stupid to realize that. Thus, porn. It is the perfect solution.

Hey, so long as the perps. were hooked up to anatomically-appropriate plesythmographs, then we’re doing some valuable sex research here.

@Luke: I totally agree. It an outrageous reason for investigation, but a nice publicity stunt for the senator. These things should be dealt with internally.

Julianne, is there any evidence that coworkers were even aware that this guy was watching porn or “handling his junk” right before a meeting? Is there any evidence that he put off anything, rushed anything, or in any way had his work affected other than by losing 20% of his time? Do we know that other employees weren’t losing at least as much to Facebook or Minesweeper, or that he wasn’t making up the lost time by working longer hours either in the office or at home? Or was this just something that was found from IT logs?

Yes, there may be fallout from watching porn at work. May (or more correcly might). To the extent that there is, it’s the fallout that should be cause for a reaction. If his work was affected, if it was a distraction to coworkers, if it could in any way have contributed to sexual harassment, if it was illegal child porn, by all means it should be dealt with, but *we don’t know* if any of that happened. The only good reason I’ve heard so far for being more restrictive about surfing porn than surfing this blog is the one Phil points out – the strong and provable association between porn and malware. That’s an issue that justifies a pre-emptive block. Everything else seems to be just speculation and personal taste.

> Likewise, some fraction of your coworkers are likely to be squicked out by you watching porn and/or handling your junk right before a meeting, so you don’t do that at work either.

Julianne, thank you for making me aware about what my coworkers may or may not like. Still unclear on the following, however: is it ok to poo right before a meeting? People poo, you know. At work. Is it ok?

I’m sure that Julianne’s male grad students/postdocs are feeling their balls shrinking in fear of being dismissed over watching porn instead of writing obscure IDL scripts and/or gossiping about the results of their observing proposals.

I’m a bit astonished at the at-work porn viewership here. Leaving the ick factor well aside, there is that small matter of getting fired. Or at the least, publicly humiliated. I myself would most definitely get fired (I shouldn’t even be doing this, but it’s not fireable). So, since I like my job and want to keep it, that reason alone is enough to steer me 100% clear of teh pr0n while at work. I A) sort of can’t believe so many people don’t share this fear, and B) am equally incredulous about the notion so many employers wouldn’t toss your butts to the curb at the slightest hint you’re surfing for smut in the office. And to do it whilst working for the Feds. That’s beyond insane. Who in their right fricking mind wants to risk public awareness that they can’t bear to wait through the evening commute before indulging in some self-grati…erm, online erotica? And all on the taxpayers’ dime? Certifiably nuts.

Let’s get serious folks. The government (as do most employers) has rules about what constitutes misuse of government computer facilities. Employees agree to abide by these rules as a condition of employment. Yes it can also contribute to a hostile work environment, yes it wastes time, yes other things waste time that are not expressly prohibited.

One of the reasons that porn is called out explicitly besides its potential for a hostile environment is the embarrassment factor. Cases just like this one. And yes if an employers “winks” at porn a prima facie defense against hotile work environment complaints is gone, putting employers and supervisors at risk.

As one of the commenters noted the issue for NSF is why it took 2 years to catch this fellow. Internet usage is routinely monitored by most large employers to catch a number of abuses. When NSF takes two years to catch an expressly defined abuse, it is likely they have other gaping holes in their cyber security.

It is strictly illegal to view porn on computers purchased with Federal funds. Folks here at SLAC have been fired for doing just that. Folks in private industry may have more leeway, but those of us receiving Federal funds are requried to adhere to higher standards. Something about the taxpayer’s dollars footing the bill and all… The real shame here is that NSF didn’t have tighter computer security and now science funding has been called into question.

As an example, here is the message one receives when logging in to the SLAC computer system, and yes, the security folks here do follow up on infringements:

NOTICE TO USERS

This is a Federal computer system and is the property of the United States Government. It is for authorized use only. Users (authorized or unauthorized) have no explicit or implicit expectation of privacy.

Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized site, Department of Energy, and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign. By using this system, the user consents to such interception, monitoring, recording, copying, auditing, inspection, and disclosure at the discretion of authorized site or Department of Energy personnel.

Unauthorized or improper use of this system may result in administrative disciplinary action and civil and criminal penalties. By continuing to use this system you indicate your awareness of and consent to these terms and conditions of use. LOG OFF IMMEDIATELY if you do not agree to the conditions stated in this warning.

My first response:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH.

This *REAAALLLLLLLLLLLLY* annoys me. *That* much.

My second response is to be kind of stunned at some of the responses above — they are not what i would’ve guessed (but perhaps i don’t know the CV readership so well).

I’m glad Julianne spoke up, and i agree with her several hundred percent (also TimG, LMM Interacting and others above).

Look folks — for those scientists who work on govt computers, including state govt (as i do now, at a State Univ, and as i have before, at federal labs) — whether or *not* you are getting explicit instructions on what you can or can’t do on these machines, you *do* have a (hopefully fairly sharp) head on your shoulders, and you ought to know what is reasonable and not. and if you work on DOE machines, there are *very* explicit instructions on what you can’t do on your machines — including viewing pornography.

This issue has come up before, years ago, for some guy (or guys) at LLNL (Livermore) storing scads of porn on his drive, and he was busted, so i figured most people were already very aware of it. but human nature always breaks through, of course. sigh.

The issue of whether or not porn is useful or valuable or should be viewed, how much, which type etc. is quite a separate one (and not entirely an easy or trivial one, in my mind) — but as some have said, this is ABSOLUTELY dif. than the above issue.

It is very much like the issue of why i am so annoyed at Bill Clinton for his dalliances while in office (and yes, i realize this may open me up to the potential of being flamed away) — did he not realize he was being held to a higher standard, right or wrong, and the conditions of the lives of hundreds of millions of people were in the balance?

Similarly — argue all you want, but if you are a scientist, you *KNOW* how puritanical our society is, and it is *NOT* going to help our funding cause for you to be doing something that a very large fraction of the populace is going to be *po’d* about.

So yes, i do believe this person should be terminated immediately, or given some large suspension at least — and i sincerely hope other scientists will take heed, and behave much more responsibly. and, if inclined, carry on your pro-porn campaigns (the political and the viewing ones) separately, and from home computers.

And to Bryan — it is true that work and home boundaries are somewhat blurred, but i think no one will deny that sitting at home and engaging in these activities is *rather* different (and differently seen, and logged) than doing so explicitly *on* the public’s dime.

Phew.

So because a lot of guys do it, it’s okay? That doesn’t quite fly. I want senior NSF officials to be promoting their mission, which is more important now than ever given the past 8 years of Republican attacks on the entire institution of science. After work they can go home and watch all the porn they want.

What I most want now is for someone to find porn on Charles Grassley’s hard drive.

ps: I also recommend that some of you read the book “Everybody Poops”.

> So because a lot of guys do it, it’s okay? That doesn’t quite fly. I want senior NSF officials to be promoting their mission

As long as they do their work, whatever else they do on their computers is none of your business.

Low Math- Here are some more things that you may want jump into a tub of purell over:

- many people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
- even when not watching porn, guys often “adjust” themselves handling their junk in the process.
- and yes, people watch porn at work.

wow, it really is amazing how clueless some you on here are!

There is only one meaningful question; did the guy get his work done, properly, in a timely fashion? If so, what’s the problem? If not, fire him for being incompetent.

Not an american wrote:

As long as they do their work, whatever else they do on their computers is none of your business

If it’s your employer’s computers, and your employer’s internet connection, and your employer’s office, and you’re on the clock working for your employer . . . then it’s their business how you spend your time, and it’s up to them what forms of procrastination they will and won’t tolerate.

At many jobs, using your work time to look at porn on the company computers will get you fired, or at least in serious trouble.

It’s the people saying “Everyone does it,” or “Why would he be fired if he’s getting his work done?” who are the clueless ones, in my opinion. I don’t know what sort of employers you work for, but believe me, this sort of thing is not universally tolerated or ignored.

> If it’s your employer’s computers, and your employer’s internet connection, and your employer’s office, and you’re on the clock working for your employer . . . then it’s their business how you spend your time, and it’s up to them what forms of procrastination they will and won’t tolerate.

If on my employer’s contract it’s written that I am a slave, and on everyone else’s contract it’s also written that they are slaves, it doesn’t mean that I or they are a slave. Despite what “work ethics” you were indoctrinated with, work is just an exchange of goods. If I provide the work, and use a computer you provide to do that work, it’s not a big deal if I take advantage of that computer to do other things, if it doesn’t incur you additional expenses.

And it is absolutely, completely none of your business if I procrastinate by a chatting nearby a water cooler, or by surfing porn in my private office. The only problem you can have is with the procrastination itself.

Can we at least agree that the people doing this at jobs where they could reasonably expect to be fired for it are being, well, stupid? (Assuming they care about their jobs, I mean.) And moreover, that a “senior NSF official” should realize he falls into that category, given that his job has a more than average chance of attracting public scrutiny?

I mean, “ick factor” or not, this just seems like a really dumb move.

Not an american wrote:

If I provide the work, and use a computer you provide to do that work, it’s not a big deal if I take advantage of that computer to do other things, if it doesn’t incur you additional expenses.

You might think it’s not a big deal, but that doesn’t mean your employer will agree. And ultimately, the computer is their property, and they have the power to dictate terms of use.

You might feel that an employer isn’t being reasonable to impose restrictions beyond “Get your work done on time”, but that isn’t going to save your job if they get fed up with you breaking their rules.

Lots of employers have a mandatory “code of conduct”, and while you might find this objectionable, it’s still a reality of the business world.

I’m standing firmly in a corner with Julianne on “ick.”

Jacking it in the office is just not polite. And it’s weird.

AND SEX IS NOT THE SAME AS POOPING. Seriously. Or you’re doing it wrong. This is not an invitation to link to 2 Girls 1 Cup.

Low Math- In addition to the list by Brian and GQ of disgusting things:

- many people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
-even when not watching porn, guys often “adjust” themselves handling their junk in the process.
- and yes, people watch porn at work.
- people pick their nose and then shake hands with people.

I’d like to add:

- people fart. And when you are in the same room as them you are actually inhaling their fecal matter!

I hope you don’t have a nervous breakdown after hearing these facts…but yes, this happens. And you have been encountering such people and situations everyday for your entire life and it has not killed you. This is what makes this post so hilarious. How can you not be aware of these things!?!?
You guys are icking and ughing about things you encounter everyday in your life. What’s all the fuss?

<Low Math feels a cold, creeping dread flow over him as he realizes that, for some, sex may be much too much like pooping…>

ITT: a bunch of NSFers nervous about being fired.

Yes, “professionalism” is the fairy dust that one can sprinkle when there is no real argument …

The guy is clearly an idiot, but it is certainly not worth a witch-hunt. Thats the point.

I meant to write “…employers can demand…” above. IRTE.

Whoa – Perhaps they could buy John Currins new work and hang it in their work space – For the more conservative; Courbet,s Origin of the world would be nice. And I have a very nice frontal nude of a beautiful young black man.

I just look at pictures of Julianne all day. Does that make me old?

This reminds me a bit of a time, years ago, when I was involved with running an astronomy conference. The website for the meeting for some reason generated a huge number of hits. It was all very perplexing until we located the page that was stirring up all the interest. It was headed “Guidelines for Submission in Latex”.

I think most visitors to the page were severely disappointed.

no. it’s about an idiot holding up science funding because someone looked at porn at work…that’s sheer idiocy.

“Andy Says: No. it’s about an idiot holding up science funding because someone looked at porn at work…that’s sheer idiocy.”

Actually it is about NSF computer security failing to do its job as mandated by the Congress. I

As for not an American, you have a lot to learn about what a work contract is. And it has nothing to do with privacy. You have NO reasonable expectation of privacy on your work computer. Your employer can (and many do) monitor every keystroke and fire you for failing to comply with conditions of employment and / or insubordination. Moreover, unless you are a state employee, you can get fired for no reason at all. I suggest you learn about at-will employment in the US.

20% of his work hours watching porn?

Man, that’s a lot of porn.

Remember way back when the precursor of ArXiv at LANL had the URL of xxx.lanl.gov. This was at the time xxx was being promoted as a voluntary identifier for porn sites. I wonder how many scientists hit problems with porn filters because of that. I gues it must have been the sense of humour of someone at LANL.

Hey I just tried it and it still puts me through to arXiv!

Dave B- that was one of the funniest things I’ve seen! I wonder if such a discussion is going on at the NSF right now. “you take away our coffee machine, and now we cant wank at work. What’s next?” priceless!

Joe- may be a more realistic goal is a “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. At least as a first step. lol.

I don’t think I can say, Joe. My thoughts are that there are two issues here: (1) using computers at work for porn, and (2) masturbating at work. Those who have a reaction of “ick” or “that’s unprofessional” to (1) probably have it to (2), too. But they’re then on shakier ground, because they can’t argue that (2) contravenes your employment contract (right…?). Of course, (2) takes time (as does having a coffee break), and Ellie pointed out, colourfully, that if she was permitted to do (1) then (2) could be accomplished more speedily.

I think that’s what managers call “best practise”.

I found the story in the post to be incredibly tame. Were any of you around during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair? If *this* story makes you’ll go “oh my” and “ick”, I wonder how any of you survived the Clinton/Lewinsky affair.

@Dave B: I don’t think having sex in the office contravenes most employment contracts either. It certainly doesn’t contravene mine – I’m a law-abiding citizen, so did check before having sex in my office.

Anyway what’s a worse use of stimulus package resources: spending 20% of my work time on porn, or paying myself a million dollar bonus? Let’s just say that 20% of my salary is a whole lot less than a million dollars. You may say “ick” to porn, but I say a much bigger “ick” to those obscene bonuses. What’s more obscene: a million dollar bonus, or images of people having sex? Discuss.

20% huh? Don’t make me laugh, you also have to account on how he used the 20% of porn time.

Personally this would be a great experiment as they have obviously shown that they know what type of porn. So…:
1) Set 7 super porn fetishes up as your homepage
2) Write an auto bot to constantly shuffle between porn websites, at exactly 7.77 second intervals
3) Get your wife to pose the number 7 as a background image
4) Set the welcome music when you log into the computer to some romantic song featuring the number 7
5) Set up AIM bot to message to yourself “Fooled you 777″
6) Think of two other things featuring 7 to befuddle the traffic monitors.

…or maybe they’ll figure out that the biggest w***ers of all are tax-cheating wife-beating libertarian ideologues who are so plentiful on the net (but not in any actual workplace).