Personal webpages can get you fired [CNN]

[Jim Choate]

Forwarded message:

>      Barrett   January 15, 1998
>      Web posted at: 5:47 p.m. EST (2247 GMT)
>      
>      TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) -- Hired to teach computer technology
>      at a marketing company, Cameron Barrett suggested his trainees check
>      out his Web page, where he published his own fiction.
>      
>      Some women staff members did, and were shocked by the violent and
>      sexually explicit passages.
>      
>      They complained to their boss, and Barrett was fired.

[text deleted]

>      "Just as people need to watch what they say in real life, what you
>      put on your Web page is going to be visible to everyone, including
>      future employers," said Esther Dyson, a director of the Electronic
>      Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.
>      
>   Personal Web pages aren't considered private
>   
>      Although the First Amendment prevents the government from stifling
>      speech, private employers are under no such constraints.
>      
>      Companies can fire people for comments deemed inappropriate, and
>      experts warn that personal Web sites, even if done at home, are
>      public venues that employers can use to determine who is suitable
>      for the company.

[text deleted]


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