ILE...except GETTING FIRED

Kodanshi you have surely placed "inappropriate mnaterial" on ALL our drives. This is why we love you.

Unless they want to fire your punk ass, in which case you're fucked.

and what is the supposed "inappropriate material"?

Did they tell all employees that they were snooping?

If no to the above, then you're in a good position. Certainly use a Union if you can.

I'm assuming that the stuff you have isn't so dodgy that the old bill would be interested?!

Well, I don't have any child porn or owt like that! But I do have SOME porn (I can't remember what though!), violent images (squashed guy who fell victim to a tank), loads of songs, loads of videos, etc. Most I stocked mainly because of my workplace's massive hard drive space. Some ultra- dodgy stuff (people crushing snails and suchlike) I stored to gross out various folks on online message boards (mainly Prolapse).

I can't really claim anyone else put that shite there - only I have access to what they call a "home drive".

InTech - a department in Kirklees Metropolitan Council which deals with computer-based aspects. I think people know that they keep checks. I suspect they had their eye on me due to my using web-based e-mail accounts. They've firewalled them out (along with game sites, lingerie, alternative journals, drug abuse, etc. etc.), but my address below didn't fall into their catchment.

I can't believe that people would look at you differently simply because you would engage in something that I believe almost everyone feels (sexual desire). It didn't affect my work...

Ah well. I'll just go in all amiable and not speak in their language of politics. I think in situations where people expect you to react in a certain way you should confound their expectations completely. I believe they want me to either beg & apologise or fight. Instead I shall sit there calmly and meet them upon this honestly.

Cheers for all your kind words peeps! It feels good to know that some of all y'all like me. http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/roll.gif

Having said that, I did a quick clear-out of my cookies a few months ago and at least half-a-dozen were explicitly sexual, despite the fact that I have *never* knowingly been to a porn site at work. It's all too easy to fall into the trap...

However, unless they actually do want to get rid of you, you'll probably be okay. Someone else already said that, ah well.

a few (unrealistic) suggestions-

put a little tape player in your mounth, have a small remote controll running down to your pocket, and when they ask why you were looking at porn, open your mouth and press play. At which point the sweet melodies of masonna will come bellowing out your gob. I bet they wouldnt be expecting that.

Good luck, don't let the man bring you down. Everybody else, regularly delete those cache files!

It seems to me that while there are several high-profile cases of workers getting fired for looking at porn, most companies take a more pragmatic approach. If you're a good employee, they'd be idiots for letting you go for a minor and probably forgiveable misdemeanour, unless you work in a prmiary school, abused woamn refuge or some other sensitive area (which you don't).

However, if you do get let off (or even if you get an official warning), you can be absolutely sure that some vidictive jobsworth is going to watch your Punk Ass for months afterwards.

As for revenge, go to a cybercaff and sign your persecutor up to every dodgy site you can find using their work email address.

Again, Kodanshi that's not directed at you, I hope you sort everything out amicably.

On the other side of the coin, don't forget that there are appeal procedures you can follow if you feel that the punishment, assuming there is one, is unfair. I beleive there are 3 levels of appeal - in my case, I went to the first, lost it, and stopped there as I had no desire for the board of directors to find out about my situation.

Whether you feel hard done by or not, it's at least going to be a kick up the arse which will hopefully make you a better employee (said with tongue undecided about its position re: cheek). Also, don't forget (as was repeatedly said to me) that if you're not fired, they are obliged to help you sort the problem out and move on.

Good luck, and I'll stop banging on now.

Of course, I had the last laugh, as shortly before I resigned, a coworker and I discovered a massive cache of pr0n on one of the computers. Our (extremely sanctimonious) employer had apparently been using our office's only Windows machine -- which didn't, I think, even belong to the company, but rather belonged to one of our clients! -- to look at dirty bits at 3 in the morning. He knew to clear the history trail, but apparently didn't realize that Explorer kept a cache of that sort of thing...

If they fire me it will not look good on my CV. If I resign I can honestly say I left of my own accord.

So I thank all y'all. At least it has gotten me my longest discussion thread on this Board!