back to article IT team sent dirt file to Police as they all bailed from abusive workplace

Welcome again to On-Call, which returns for 2017 with more tales of your fellow readers' experiences of horrible jobs at horrible times. This week, a story of horrible bosses, from “Mike” who tells us he once worked for an investment fund that handled money in a very politically correct way for positively Saintly institutions …

  1. Milton

    An innocent question

    How does El Reg verify these submissions? For some reason I find myself curious.

    1. Ralph the Wonder Llama
      Thumb Up

      Re: An innocent question

      Subject to the above: well played that man.

      1. Sam Therapy

        Re: An innocent question

        Agreed and upvoted.

    2. Naselus

      Re: An innocent question

      I believe they use the 'does this sound cool' method.

    3. DropBear

      Re: An innocent question

      I'm somewhat more interested in exactly how, in the age of effortless conjuring and vanquishing of bits at one's whim, does one judge the merit of a claim such as "all these files are coming straight off the defendant's hard disk Your Honor, I totally didn't simply acquire a random selection online and copy it into "Exhibit A" (and the off-site backup) myself, honest, Guv.". Not that I suggest "Mike" did anything of the sorts, obviously - but if he did, how would we know?

    4. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: An innocent question

      Why would The Register need to verify the story? The Register does not name names, so there's zero liability if the submission is a complete work of fiction. On-Call is for entertainment.

      1. illiad

        Re: An innocent question

        The point is, most of the clients customers would have almost zero clue as to how all that stuff got there - like most innocents, they think the internet is magic, and usually hold the highest praise for the great guy that saved their computer/ years of photos/ etc...

        and as you know, it just takes a few bits of 'evidence' to *really * sour customer relations...

        Consider the recent 'he touched me 30 years ago' trials of superstars later proved innocent... :/

        If *everyone* who had fun in the 60's was put in prison, there would be almost no one left outside... LOL

    5. Christian Berger

      El Reg is not in the fact checking business

      El Reg is in the tech marketing business, so why should they check?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: El Reg is not in the fact checking business

        I remember losing lots of business i had with an accounts firm some years ago. Some selfish prick grassed them up to their clients so they couldnt afford to buy our videos.

        We made porn with naked girls riding ponies.

        1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

          You mean

          you don't have a personal saline drip for use when reading On Call?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: El Reg is not in the fact checking business

          Er, itym ... naked horses riding girls?

  2. Admiral Grace Hopper
    Pint

    I want this to be true as much as I would like to buy the teller one of these ->

  3. imanidiot Silver badge
    Coat

    Uhhhmmmmm

    I think we are going to have "that" discussion again.

    Why accept the abuse for years on end before collectively resigning? Why not start by collectively speaking up? Why not start by collectively refusing service to those who spout the verbal abuse (starting with TOWF), perhaps supporting those that get fired with written and verbal support for their unfair dismissal case? Why not start by sending a signal (soon) by just erasing every single trace of porn from the company servers? It's not like they are going to admit in a court case they were storing objectionable materials. I highly doubt this way of handling things got the message across to TOWF. He's just going to hold a grudge for being "the victim" instead of understanding he's a c*nt.

    1. Admiral Grace Hopper

      Re: Uhhhmmmmm

      Well, for what very little it's worth, I can understand how this may have come about as I experienced an echo of the situation.

      While working as a waitress in a West Midlands restaurant we were progressively hacked off by the behaviour of a recently arrived new restaurant manager, lately a bar steward on the Royal Yacht Britannia. After a couple of weeks, conversation revealed that the whole front of house staff and and the kitchen staff were sufficiently disgruntled to have sorted out other jobs or to be ready to walk and find something else rather than work another day. We looked ahead for the night in the next week with the most bookings (this was in the run up to Christmas) and on the last shift before that Saturday we all handed in our notices, with immediate effect indicating that we wouldn't be turning up again any time soon. Some times working in an effectively casualised industry has its advantages. This left him with a full restaurant, no staff and no chance of hiring anyone to cover that night at least. We were all in work fairly soon after and while I'm sure that he had a full staff fairly quickly, the restaurant was closed down during one of the busiest periods of the year.

      So while it may not have got the point over to TOWF, I know that collective action like can happen and feels quite satisfying at the time.

      1. m0rt

        Re: Uhhhmmmmm

        "While working as a waitress in a...."

        Guess what tune is now in my head...

        1. Blofeld's Cat
          Pint

          Re: Uhhhmmmmm

          "lately a bar steward on the Royal Yacht Britannia"

          "Guess what tune is now in my head..."

          Rule Britannia?

          Sorry m0rt, I couldn't resist it - Have one on me.

        2. Milton

          Re: Uhhhmmmmm

          "'While working as a waitress in a....'

          Guess what tune is now in my head."

          Something by Brad Fiedel?

        3. Nolveys

          Re: Uhhhmmmmm

          "While working as a waitress in a...."

          Guess what tune is now in my head...

          Dear Catastrophe Waitress?

          1. Daedalus

            Re: Uhhhmmmmm

            "While working as a waitress in a...."

            Guess what tune is now in my head...

            Dear Catastrophe Waitress?

            -- no, it's "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League (80's glam-poppers).

            You are all hereby relegated from the League.

            1. Aladdin Sane
              Coat

              Re: Uhhhmmmmm

              So they're now in the Sub-Human League?

              Personally I was thinking of Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses. Underappreciated bass line is underappreciated.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Uhhhmmmmm

              -- no, it's "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League (80's glam-poppers).

              You are all hereby relegated from the League.

              We all know they knew that, really...

              well, apart from Daedalus, maybe.

            3. Anonymous Coward
              Coat

              Re: Uhhhmmmmm

              Maybe the TOWF's name was Carter. As in Get Carter? And Mike looked in the mirror that morning and said I am the Law. Go on, 80s-heads, look it up. I Dare you.

        4. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Uhhhmmmmm

          Alice's Restaurant?

        5. Anonymous Coward
          Thumb Up

          Re: Uhhhmmmmm

          Admiral Grace Hopper, Ma'am - stellar work leading your League of Humans to pastures new and better. (Sorry, couldn't quite work the title of 'Star Force - Alpha Centauri' in there, but I did my best)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Uhhhmmmmm

        Excellent example of "hang together or hang separately"

    2. Triggerfish

      Re: Uhhhmmmmm

      Sometimes taking people to things like ACAS are not as easy as you think. I was effectively set up by a company years ago funnily enough dissmal for gross misconduct couple of days before I was supposed to be collecting my redundancy, they lawyered up I had no money at all, and had to represent myself it didn't go well.

      A friend of mine last year was talking about one of her colleuages who suffered harrasment at the place she worked at, took her a year to fight and win that case and the toll it took on her mentally and to some degree physically was massive, it also cost her financially in that year until the case was won.

      Sometimes a big fuck you might just be easier and more satisfying.

      1. Stuart Castle Silver badge

        Re: Uhhhmmmmm

        "Sometimes a big fuck you might just be easier and more satisfying."

        Been there, done that.

        While I was a student, I temporarily stacked shelves in Sainsburys. It was a soul destroying job, only made worse by a manager that was under the impression that no matter how many shelves we stacked (and it was a lot), we should be stacking more.

        When I got another job (just as a cashier in Blockbuster), I took great pleasure in going to see the manager, inviting him to talk to me in the centre of the store where I worked, then telling him (loudly) that he could stick his job up his arse.

        Childish? Yes. Rude? Undoubtably. But oh so satisfying..

        1. networkboy

          Re: Uhhhmmmmm

          On the topic of satisfying if non professional exits...

          My kid brother was a yard guy at an equipment rental place. Manager was a prick and my brother was "young, stupid, and brash" in the way most of us just past teen males tend to be.

          He quit by locking himself in the managers office and getting on the PA for the yard (naturally while customers were present) and listing of his grievances in the most colorful language he was able to muster.

          Pretty sure that earned him a termination for cause (which here in the states means no unemployment). Not much of a loss though and he had a new job soon enough.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Uhhhmmmmm

            "On the topic of satisfying if non professional exits..."

            I once faxed my notice. On a Sunday night. Stating that I would not be in on Monday. Why? Let's just say that not paying your employees really motivates them.

            The owner then fabricated quite an interesting story which he told the police. Fortunately this was easily debunkable. Had to take him to small claims court to get paid too.

            Also called the MS piracy hotline to report sales of several computers with unlicensed MS operating systems to government agencies throughout the country (this was after the 1995 consent decree).

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Uhhhmmmmm

              >Also called the MS piracy hotline to report sales of several computers with unlicensed MS operating systems

              FAST pay incentives to whistleblowers - there's an unerring correlation between abusive dicks in power and sloppy licensing practice IME. I've never done it due to the collateral damage factor, but I've worked in places where 5% of the historical use payment would have comfortably cleared my mortgage..

              http://www.fast.org/what-piracy/use-unlicensed-software

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Scumita

        I worked for Scumita & was sacked 2months shy of my 2 year.

        I heard from my PM he was meeting someone in London the next day. When I followed up I got an auto-reply "I no longer work for Scumita!"

        Apparently you walked in, the manager read his script, took your mobile & laptop off you and security walked you out of the building.

        25% of the division sacked before Xmas.

        Lovely!

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

    4. nerdbert
      Unhappy

      Re: Uhhhmmmmm

      Why accept the abuse for years on end before collectively resigning? Why not start by collectively speaking up?

      Because it rarely works?

      My version goes like this. We had a group in a big, TLA company back in its gold plated era. A productive group, we never missed a tapeout by anything other than the expected amount (i.e. for this company we never made the fab wait more than what they were running behind). It got our manager a promotion by 2 levels, and we got a new, freshly minted manager from a different area that was chronically late and buggy.

      Step 1: 3 months later 25 people scheduled a group meeting with the former manager's and his subordinate who was our manager's manager, presented how badly he was treating us and how badly he was managing the schedule. "All proper concern" was expressed to our complaint, and "corrective action would be taken."

      Step 2: after 6 months of nothing being done, two individuals were chosen to begin feeling out opportunities with external companies for the entire group. We had 3 bids and ...

      Step 3: after 3 months of searching, 24 people put 24 15-minute appointments on our former manager's calendar to hand in our resignations. The new company was certainly better than the TLA with the infamous bureaucracy and paid better, but the important factor that going to work was fun again, and we actually got to do work rather than spend all our time avoiding management abuse. The TLA got out of that business line soon after that, as they never were able to put out another competitive chip in that market segment.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Uhhhmmmmm

        The new company was certainly better than the TLA with the infamous bureaucracy and paid better, but the important factor that going to work was fun again, and we actually got to do work rather than spend all our time avoiding management abuse. The TLA got out of that business line soon after that, as they never were able to put out another competitive chip in that market segment.

        Hmmmm..... "IBM" has three letters...

    5. BillG
      Coat

      Re: Uhhhmmmmm

      @imanidiot wrote: I think we are going to have "that" discussion again. Why accept the abuse for years on end before collectively resigning?

      Obligatory xlcd cartoon:

      xlcd: Settling - Life Scorecard (I'm not really happy here but maybe this is the best I can expect)

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Uhhhmmmmm

      They probably should have contacted the police first, before resigning, and not alerted the muppets that people were aware of what was going on.

      That way evidence could be collected properly, and the muppets dealt with appropriately.

  4. Aaiieeee

    What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

    My first thought was that TOWF would claim IT staff put the material there and doesn't know anything about it, especially if you have been opening files to verify their contents. Do you really want to go up against a character like that? Especially if they have the presumed weight of their reputation and the skill to maintain a fake image for so long. An tactful email to his clients etc saying that they have discovered a rouge IT person with discusting habits and that they need some support will probably get everyone on his side!

    I think first instance is inform a higher-up who isnt involved or failing that go directly to authorities without tampering with the material and reviewing as little of it ias possible (just enough to be sure).

    This whole situlation terrifies me and frankly I'd have left long ago.

    Edit: the article doesnt clearly state what the material was but reading between the lines it seems to be some kind of abuse/child porn??

    1. m0rt

      Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

      "My first thought was that TOWF would claim IT staff put the material there and doesn't know anything about it, especially if you have been opening files to verify their contents."

      Financial institutions will have good backups. Those backups will go back quite a long time, some longer than a couple of years. So if there was something the plod would investigate, it would be well within the realms of possibility that form, and age of some of the files, could be established.

      I don't know if it is true or not. But I know of a ex-colleague who worked in the City as IT, and his stories seem to back up the existence of arrogrant pricks who will become IT support in Hell when they get there.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

        I worked at a company where there was a healthy load of banter in the office and people didn't run to HR or their lawyer if someone made an inappropriate joke or remark. The company hadn't had a policy about online tasteful videos for a while after the high speed internet connection had been installed. They did eventually have a fairly draconian one which the lawyers had insisted on. Even so it wasn't a bad place to work and I enjoyed it. So it was very odd when someone didn't turn up to work one day and was absent for a couple more and then their desk was cleared. Questions were raised as to what had happened to cause this rapid departure only response was that he had left the firm.

        Then someone in IT was going through his computer looking for anything relating to his current work that needed to be passed on to someone else. They found he was using a 'chat room' (can't remember exactly what it was) and that he had been chatting to members of the opposite sex about the opposite sex and things he'd like to do to them/them to do to him. His removal had obviously been so swift that he hadn't had a chance to close the browser and the machine had gone into standby. Copies of what he'd written (he'd made txt file copies of previous sessions) were distributed around the building until management found out about it and this was stamped on....which coincidentally was what he was asking someone.........

        1. kain preacher

          Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

          I had some thing like that happen. I was in company chat room and lady name sheila said had to go. Then Some idiot made the comment she is late for a cross burning. He truly did not understand why it was inappropriate or why I got mad.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

            > He truly did not understand why it was inappropriate or why I got mad.

            Yeah, your post makes no sense to me either. ;)

        2. Alan Brown Silver badge

          Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

          "Then someone in IT was going through his computer looking for anything relating to his current work that needed to be passed on to someone else"

          Believe it or not, unless this is signed off from "on very high" or the recently departed, that 'someone in IT' can find themselves prosecuted and the organisation investigated by the ICO for DPA breaches. In general for such cases it's best to have a witness when doing the work.

          Circulating personal data such as chat logs for personal amusement can result in other charges too.

          There's a reason the lawyers write draconian policies when someone thinks to consult them.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

            Yeah they had someone present from HR watching what was looked at by the IT Support person and it therefore must have been signed of by the head of HR. There was absolutely zero chance that the sacked person was going to complain about anything given they'd broken at least three of the IT rules in the employment manual, and at least four of the others. They were lucky not to get chased by the company lawyers for the cost of removing some bit of malware or other from his machine.

            As someone pointed out though it did say in the employment work manual that stuff written on company computers whether for business purposes or otherwise was copyright of the company and it was a condition of your employment that you accepted this. You were not permitted to use your work email for personal messages for this reason.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

            Don't even begin to look for pornographic material on someone's computer. You'll be in as much trouble with plod as the PC's original user.

      2. Alan Brown Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

        "Those backups will go back quite a long time, some longer than a couple of years. "

        Almost all of them will be vastly longer than that. 7 to 10 is pretty much standard in financial services.

        Mine's the one with the fireproof data safe in the pocket.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

      > This whole situlation terrifies me and frankly I'd have left long ago.

      It's easy to say that from the outside, but when you are in these situations, it is far more difficult to act decisively, especially under a regime of constant denigration, designed to make you question yourself and your own standards.

      My own experience is that there are some people who deal with large quantities of other people's money who come to believe that they are worth that money, and identify with the power they imagine on that money, as though it was their own. Those people invariably behave in a most unpleasant way, and take a lot of trouble to ensure that any perceived underlings have as much power exerted against them as possible; it's the only power they really have. And while they tend to fold when confronted, they will lash out in a way that damages as many people around them as possible. That's a powerful deterrent.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

      > This whole situlation terrifies me and frankly I'd have left long ago.

      Yup.

      These people are narcissists or sociopaths and you have to DESTROY them without recourse. This is indeed hard and will involve talking to a lawyer, then tipping off the cops. Quite possibly a bit of those "funds" were not being used in the way the clients intended either, who knows.

    4. Brangdon

      Re: what the material was

      The article mentions a girl and pony video, so presumably bestiality, which is illegal under UK law. (And it mentions Scotland Yard, so presumably UK law applies.)

      1. Triggerfish

        Re: what the material was

        It could have just been naked girls innocently riding.... erm, wait that came out wrong.

        1. Chris G

          Re: what the material was

          "It could have just been naked girls innocently riding.... "

          Honest yer 'onour I just typed Pony Club into the search bar.............

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

      Why are these wayward/maverick (dare I say roguish?) IT persons so often of the red variety?

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Red scare!

      "An tactful email to his clients etc saying that they have discovered a rouge IT person with discusting [sic] habits and that they need some support will probably get everyone on his side!"

      There's a commie behind every bush!

      1. herman

        Re: Red scare!

        "There's a commie behind every bush!" - Now why do you think that all bushy ladies are commies???

    7. Arty Effem

      Re: What is the correct protocol for dealing with this material?

      " An tactful email to his clients etc saying that they have discovered a rouge IT person with disgusting habits and that they need some support will probably get everyone on his side!"

      Just ban lipstick in the workplace.

  5. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Not a great surprise

    I've never been unfortunate enough to have been in such a situation, but know people who have. It's actually quite easy to get to a place where it's difficult to get out - through financial commitments etc. It also takes time to realise just how bad a situation is, and that it's not just one individual going through a melt-down. On top of all that, you have to already have something lined up before jumping. You'll never get a reference, and that combined with an unexplained and unusually short time will raise concerns on the job market.

    1. Aaiieeee
      Thumb Up

      Re: Not a great surprise

      Last year I left a job only working my notice with nothing lined up. It was very unlike me but then having 3-6 months of expenses in easy-access savings gives you options.

      Knowing you can pay the mortgage, bills and buy food for at least 6 months is liberating and I would encourage anyone to have a 'screw you' fund. From this experiance I have promised myself I will always have money set aside for this reason, so I am never a prisoner. Almost everyone said to me "I wish I could do that, you are so lucky.". Ha, yeah its called planning!

      I found another (and far superior) job after 2 months of not even looking :)

      1. Triggerfish

        Re: Not a great surprise

        I can't agree more, some fuck you money in the pocket is essential (if you can afford to do it), there is a lot of people trapped in shitty job situations because they cannot afford to get out, in a way they effectively become indentured.

        Also pay a few quid a month and join a decent sized Union, and don't tell your employer about it. You never know when you may have to face HR, but it is so much more fun when someone tries to railroad you thinking you do not have back up.

        1. Steven 1

          Re: Not a great surprise

          Any suggestions on a good Union to join for an IT type? Asking for a friend....

          1. Triggerfish

            Re: Not a great surprise

            I wouldn't know I am with Unite, I haven't actually had to use them in anger as such. But I have been put in a position before where a railroad stopped quite quickly when it transpired that instead of the HR thinking it was them backed up with the might of their company to hire solicitors and such, vs an employee with whatever he could produced, changed to shall we all forget about it? And would you like a small payrise instead of a disciplnary.

            If you end up working for companies with toxic work environments the sort of places that have managers who are allowed to get away with and basically get their daily kick from bullying that sort of thing, then they will generally back off from people who are less perceived as victims or weaker, like bullying everywhere really.

            If your friend is in that sort of position, get a union to protect themselves whilst they go find a new job, because places like that are run by twats anyway so it will likely never get better, the best you can do is armour yourself whilst digging your escape tunnel.

            Edit I'll add that a lot of companies with Toxic work environments rely on the fact that employees often do not know what their rights are fully and it's one of the ways a company can get power over someone, (especially if your are tied in financially and have no fuck you money see earlier post). A lot of these tactics can be often quite dodgy and illegal*, but rely on that lack of knowledge which is why having some union backing can often put this sort of twattishness off.

            *I've worked for one company where even though staff did not have to work bank holidays by contract, the shift manager would take the younger members into his office and basically force them into it, whilst showing them a large pile of applications for their jobs.

            1. Triggerfish

              Re: Not a great surprise

              I'd like to for your friend... add there are better jobs out there, I've worked for some excellent people, and frankly I have worked my arse off for them because they treated me well, and would not hesitate to work for people like that again. You would be amazed if you are in a shitty job, how much difference it can make to your whole life and wellbeing to work for a good employer.

              1. Triggerfish

                Re: Not a great surprise

                Extra edit. I'll add saying I wouldn't know I am with Unite, was because I do not know how effective they would be if really needed, however they are one of the larger unions and that can give a bit of clout when games are played. I cannot fully recommend them because I have no real experience of seeing them fully in action to measure them qualitatively. But they may be worth a look at.

                1. Steven 1

                  Re: Not a great surprise

                  Thanks for your replies Trigger, will take a look at them.

                  Place I've been at has had a change of senior management in the last 12 months and the new SVP is a full on sociopath, coupled with a recent change in HR..... sorry "People Strategy" we've got a clown that wants to make a name for himself and has already put himself about a bit.

                  Suffice to say the first tasty role that comes along you won't see me for dust but having someone in your corner probably isn't a bad idea and the cost is relatively trivial in the grand scheme of things.

                  Thanks!

                  1. Triggerfish

                    Re: Not a great surprise

                    Look after yourself mate, a bad company deserves no loyalty. A good company earns it by their actions.

            2. Matthew 3

              Re: Not a great surprise

              If you are picking a union it's a good idea to make sure they're on the taxman's approved list. You can then reclaim the income tax you've paid on your membership fee. It saves a useful few quid.

              Gov.UK link

        2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Not a great surprise

          "Also pay a few quid a month and join a decent sized Union"

          IME a total waste of good money. Put it in the FU fund instead.

          1. Sir Runcible Spoon

            Re: Fuck You fund

            I hadn't thought of this option for permies. As a contractor you keep 6 months money in the bank as a matter of course.

            I learned this the hard way after my first contract was terminated without notice and I hadn't saved up enough for 2 months, let alone 6.

            Now, after the mortgage/food/bills, money goes to the contingency fund before any kind of luxuries until the 6 month pot is full.

            1. Mark 85

              @Sir Runcible Spoon -- Re: Fuck You fund

              I'm glad you brought this up and beat me to it. That is a lesson any contracted person should know. Start the new assignment and scrimp/save whatever it takes. If the job suddenly terminates or the environment is bad... go for the door. Don't hesitate.

              Decades ago I did contracting and all the contracting companies were keen to tell anyone they hired about this. It's a necessary survival skill and gives one the freedom to follow their conscience when they get into a bad situation.

          2. Triggerfish

            Re: Not a great surprise

            @ Doctor Syntax. I would disgree if only to say it gives you some protection while you get your FU money, especially if your employers are bad at the moment, however I would say FU money is probably a better idea in the long run.

            @Matthew3, good tip I did not know that, thanks.

            1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

              Re: Not a great surprise

              "@ Doctor Syntax. I would disgree if only to say it gives you some protection while you get your FU money,"

              Note the "IME" at the start of the post. It was a total waste of money paid to a union which did absolutely nothing for any of its members at my establishment and ended up with the official who came to visit us getting a very rough ride in a meeting.

              1. Triggerfish

                Re: Not a great surprise

                Fair enough, I was thinking of my first out of uni job where I got really screwed, I think some union protection then would have given me some help. I suppose YMMV.

      2. W4YBO

        Re: Not a great surprise

        "...having 3-6 months of expenses in easy-access savings..."

        Good on you, @Aaiieeee ! That's exactly what a financial planner will tell you to do, "Pay yourself first". Being prepared removes a lot of stress from daily life.

  6. Lee D Silver badge

    Mike is a prat.

    He suffered years of abuse when he should have just left.

    He also thought that destroying client-base is an acceptable and professional solution to the problem.

    Alongside that, the reason the police did not act is "fruit of the poisoned tree", making all those offences unprosecutable forever. He knew, tolerated, and accepted the practice right up until it actually was something he wanted to reveal to exact revenge.

    Sending stuff to religious clients? What are you, some kind of child? Submitting that thing to people who didn't ask for it is an offence in itself, and you're lucky you're not before a court for that.

    I've done any amount of "Oh, by the way, I'm leaving" self-satisfying exits, if you're going to do it, do it in style not like this. I've reported employers to authorities, and actually got them into big trouble by RECORDING, REPORTING and being REASONABLE and still winning. I'm by no means a pushover, but petty revenge as described here feels good for about 10 seconds until everyone involved writes you off as an idiot who's wasted the opportunity to cause any real damage.

    Hey, Mike, have you told your current employer that you aired your previous employer's dirty laundry to all their clients because you were pissed at them? If not, why not?

    1. Adam 52 Silver badge

      'Alongside that, the reason the police did not act is "fruit of the poisoned tree", making all those offences unprosecutable forever.'

      I don't know about the rest of your post, but this is completely wrong in England. It's also a gross misrepresentation of the US principle, because in this case the prosecution would have obtained evidence legally.

      1. Dr. Mouse

        "in this case the prosecution would have obtained evidence legally."

        Exactly.

        The police obtained evidence from a source. It doesn't matter how that source gained the information, as long as they were not in the employ/under the supervision of the police (e.g. an informant).

        The police would need to verify the information (e.g. get a warrant and seize docs/computers/backups) to take them to court. The information provided would be used as supporting evidence to obtain the warrant.

    2. Alan Brown Silver badge

      "Alongside that, the reason the police did not act is "fruit of the poisoned tree", making all those offences unprosecutable forever"

      UK courts do not have that doctrine. Nor do most commonwealth ones.

      However in the financial industry in the UK, problems like that are usually solved with a suitably large donation to the COLP.

      1. Robert Sneddon

        Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

        "UK courts do not have that doctrine. Nor do most commonwealth ones."

        A long time back I was a witness in a Scottish court giving evidence and heard the defending counsel say those words to the justice. The case was about property theft from a company I had worked for and the "fruit" assertion was, as I understood it, that the chain of custody of the physical evidence was broken in some way.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      if not, why should he?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Small scale

    I worked for one UK office set up for a foreign entrepreneur, couple of engineering guys myself and a "manager" known to the guy overseas, this was back in the 90's and PC's were pre-used with not enough drive space to hold much porn and do PCB work, I discovered.

    Each day I'd run into crashes out of space, bearing in mind I knew exactly bugger all about computers it took me a while to find the internet cache and clean it up, seems the manager couldn't do any useful work during the day so spent it online, remember also we had 56k dial up then so downloading enough porn to use any appreciable space must have a been a long slog. I was grateful for the work, didn't know if that was unusual for managers so just got on with cleaning up the drive each day before trying to use the PC. Although the story has that air of modern American fable, where the bad guy gets it and Christians are offended I could imagine how, over enough time, it could happen.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not surprised

    Having worked in IT in the investment industry this doesn't surprise me at all.

    The investment managers are often complete prima donnas who have a very over-inflated opinion of themselves for what is in effect high class gambling. The highest accolade that you can give some of them seems to be that they are 'lucky'.

    Their PA's are often worse actually since they tend to try and bathe in the reflected 'glory' and are ultra demanding.

    If you do see a problem with the way they work and raise it at a higher level, nothing ever changes since the IM's are seen as far too valuable to the company to bother, peons aren't shall we say.

    "xyz is storing hundreds of GB's of porn on the SAN? Well they brought in £x million to the fund last year, we have to allow him his little pecadilloes, Just add more storage"

    The fact that the porn filters on the proxy obviously aren't working which is a problem in and of itself and with that much stuff he must be spending more time 'enjoying' himself than working escapes them of course.

    1. DropBear
      Devil

      Re: Not surprised

      Look, I enjoy speaking in drastic absolutes at least as much as any Aspie out there and I do certainly have my own opinion on what constitutes "worth" about the work one does, yet I cannot help but point out that in that Unconditionally Worshipped Gloriously Best Economic System There Is of our days, Captialism, people - not entirely unlike any other Product or Good - carry as "real" whatever value the market assigns to them*; as such, if any high-rolling parasite scumbag cruising on sheer luck is deemed by a sufficient majority of the market to be rare and therefore valuable enough to warrant getting away with murder and being begged on one's knees to stay, then that's the value they'll be carrying and that's exactly what's going to happen - they'll get away with murder and begged to stay. I might (as I do) disagree with that assessment all I want, but that won't change how the rest of the world (well, at least the part of it that matters) will go on acknowledging it and treating said scumbags as entities factually embodying untold heaps of value worthy of being rewarded with anything they might desire, at the expense of anybody else including any and all disposable wage slaves.

      *Part of the problem clearly being that those dispensing the rewards obviously judge worth by results obtained rather than effort expended: while this view has its obvious merits minimizing wasted effort, it can be said to have certain morally arguable aspects in any properly functioning society. At any rate, its logical conclusion is that the worth of someone achieving great results with zero work is great, while the worth of someone achieving little with Herculean efforts, regardless of the circumstances that cause this, is slim, and that both should be rewarded strictly accordingly to that value. Anyone taking a dim view of that conclusion is hereby cordially invited to find a better system, with the caveat that anybody who possibly could to anything at all to help replacing the current system with their new one will be absolutely, categorically opposing this wonderful idea (and they'll have society's official division of institutional thuggery on their side, not afraid to use it). But despair not fellow worthless scum - as Soames would say, you could always try selling balloons and dream of becoming great yourself...

    2. Adam 52 Silver badge

      Re: Not surprised

      " with that much stuff he must be spending more time 'enjoying' himself than working escapes them of course."

      It doesn't matter. If he does bring in £x million and they're happy for indulge him then they can. Not your job to force your morals onto other people.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I normally dont approve of revenge behaviour

    but I am struggling to see an alternate path (assuming the story is reasonably true).

    If all the escalations are themselves corrupt there is little option but to go external. Based on a comment above on possible "tampering" I would be fairly sure this was enterprise level stuff covered in audit logs and backups etc that would be impossibly hard to forge over time. This wasn't all the material appearing all of a sudden by the sound of it.

    As the company involved continues to trade it is hard to assess if the action had the desired effect though beyond making a point in time disruption to business and day to day operation.

    I have myself had similar colourful language from fund managers directed at me, especially when I queried a trade of $160,000,000,000,000.00 to ensure it was valid (it had crashed a report). after about 20 mins of rant they thought they should check it before the clearing deadline wiped the organisation...These guys where however, not my management team (who "helped" when I got off the call by saying I could have handed it over...)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I normally dont approve of revenge behaviour

      This is more than the USD dollars in the world according to google by about 16x.

      Would have looked good if the fund made that sort of money (at the expense of more than bankrupting every possible global competitor...)

  10. Blofeld's Cat
    Devil

    Ah yes ...

    Many years ago I had the misfortune to work for an individual similar to Mr TOWF.

    This wonderful example of humanity used to specialise in reducing people to tears over minor issues that were invariably his own fault, such as double-booking meeting rooms, or arranging to be in two locations simultaneously.

    Eventually the atmosphere became so toxic that a number of people resigned, including myself. His response was to dismiss everyone who had resigned for "gross misconduct" and then to sue them for "damage to the business".

    When this matter came up in court, (against the advice of Mr TOWF's original lawyers), the judge dismissed it "with prejudice" and awarded us costs, pointing out that no individual's contribution could be simultaneously "essential" and "of no worth" to the business.

    Mr TOWF then responded by sacking his HR manager for "gross misconduct", on the grounds he had not prevented Mr TOWF from starting the legal action...

  11. Potemkine Silver badge

    The sad thing in the story is that this IT staff had to endure a couple of years of harassment, something than can hit hard people and destroys them. Such behavior from the management staff should be legally punished.

  12. wolfetone Silver badge
    Coat

    "After a couple of years of daily abuse, Mike and his fellow IT workers decided to act."

    I'm guessing if Mike and his IT crew took that sort of bullshit for a few years, they must each own some PVC, bondage and whipping equipment at home?

    1. Triggerfish

      Not making any judgement on veracity of the story.

      But a good well run and consitent bullying campaign can negatively effective people mentally, and make them feel a bit hopeless and possibly worthless, this can lead to a demotivation that carries on into home life, or a lack of feeling of self worth meaning they do not feel like they will be able to move into a better job because they are worthless etc. People get trapped by their own mental state.

      Also financially people can get trapped, job market can trap you, life can trap you if you have a family as well and you need to take into consideration the effects that may have.

      There is a big difference in how big a problem can look, or seem to look depending on how effected your thinking is by a mental state, or your current situation in life.

  13. CheeseTriangles
    Thumb Up

    Cap doffed

    ...to Mike.

    I truly hope and pray this story is true.

    I think Mike's anecdote is the IT equivilent of a seven-year-old's dream of scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final (but obviously without the big-bucks to go with it).

    1. Naselus

      Re: Cap doffed

      "I think Mike's anecdote is the IT equivilent of a seven-year-old's dream of scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final (but obviously without the big-bucks to go with it)."

      I suspect Mike's anecdote is about as likely to be true as a seven year old scoring the winning goal in the FA cup, personally.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Doesn't ring true, sorry ...

    in a past life (2000 to be exact) a firm I worked for (thankfully not operationally) had their servers hacked, and used to store some illegal (even then !) pornography. Uncharacteristically, the ops guys had nothing to say on what they had seen except it involved children.

    Police were called, and (again, even then) were thorough enough to determine that it had been a hack, and that the material was definitely from somewhere outside the company.

    The one thing that stuck was a tech saying they police had interviewed them all - at length - and made a parting comment that the *only* way to deal with such an occurrence was to *immediately* notify the authorities. If there was any evidence of a delay, they would assume there was company involvement, and anyone who knew but didn't tell could be at risk of being charged as an accessory.

    So a tip from plod to all El Reg readers. If you find anything criminal on your machines - better tell plod than play Columbo.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: Doesn't ring true, sorry ...

      Even if the high ups have the ability to make the plods look the other way?

  15. Peter Christy

    Some years ago, I was working for a small company as a video editor - in fact the only video editor! It was a great company, and the bosses became personal friends, but this was at a time of financial crisis, when interest rates were going through the roof. It became clear that the financial assumptions made when the company was set up were no longer true, and the business was in trouble.

    Sure enough, one day a load of suits turned up, and we were informed that we were now working for the administrators. I was duly summoned in to meet them to "discuss my future".

    The order books for editing were full, at the time, so I was pretty busy, something that the accountant interviewing me was quick to point out. "We need you to stay on," he said, "but we're only going to pay you the legal minimum wage!"

    I pointed out that I'd already taken a substantial pay drop from my time working with a major broadcaster, and that I certainly wasn't going to take any further cuts to my pay.

    I also pointed out that if I walked, he'd have to employ a freelance to complete the work, and that it would cost him at least double what I was being paid.

    He decided to call my bluff, and said "Well we're not prepared to pay you any more."

    "Good-bye!" I said, as I headed for the door.

    "What do you mean, good-bye?" he screamed!

    "Just what I said! I'm off home now, and I won't be coming back!"

    "But what about all this work we have lined up?"

    "That's your problem now!", I said, and left!

    It was the most satisfying expression I've ever seen on an accountants face!

    I walked out of there on a Thursday, and the following Monday I was back working for a major broadcaster on a proper salary again.

    Speaking to my former colleagues a while later, I discovered that the administrators had made a total cock-up of their handling of the sale of assets. They hadn't realised that the property was owned not by the company, but personally by one of the directors, which meant they had to pay compensation when a wall had to be demolished to remove equipment! They sold priceless equipment for peanuts, and tried to sell junk for well over its market value. Totally clueless!

    But at the end of the day, it was one of the most satisfying exits I ever made!

    1. Nunyabiznes

      Nice!

      We could have an On Call article just on satisfying exits.

      Best day of my (working) life was the day I quit a factory job. I did a full redneck smoke show out of the parking lot with fingers extended to the office. Quite a feeling of relief.

      One of the better decisions of my life, looking back now.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Two parting shots...

    First one - a Mr TOWF who almost drove me to top myself. I managed to get out and find a new job, but in my exit interview I warned HR that TOWF was a bully. My exit prompted a wave of resignations, each one happened on the day the previous guy/gal finished, and TOWF's behaviour towards me was mentioned in every one of their exit interviews. HR woke up after 3 or 4 of these, and let's just say HIS exit didn't require an interview.

    Second one - a previous boss wanted to renew my fixed-term contract, but on a lower salary. He was pretty smug about it on the phone, right up to the point where I said "Screw you, you cheap bastard - I quit!!" Poor guy didn't know I was out-of-town for an interview, and I'd just been offered 20% more for half the grief.

  17. unwarranted triumphalism

    Update on hiring policy

    Don't hire Mike. He will plant obscene material on your servers and then leak all your confidential data.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Surname was originally going to be "Hunt"...

      "Don't hire Mike."

      Well, there are lots of people called Mike, you're not going to exclude them all are you? Anyway, I've got Mike on the phone here and he assures me his second name is Rotch.

      Hey everybody! Don't hire Mike Rotch! [bar patrons laugh] Wait a minute. [to phone] You little SOB! Why, when I find out who you really are, I'm going to shove a sausage down your throat and stick starving dogs up your butt! And tell everyone not to hire you!

  18. JimC

    This will no doubt gather a huge array of downvotes, but as has been noted deeper in some comments this sort of thing is exactly why Unions and even strikes can be a good idea, because with a bit more balance of power between staff and management a less cataclysmic resolution might have been reached a lot earlier.

    1. Chris King

      This of course assumes that the company officially recognises the union that you have joined:

      https://www.gov.uk/trade-union-recognition-employers/overview

      The more slimy companies usually set up a "Staff Association" instead, usually filled with sycophants. They're fantastic for organising staff jollies and discounts, but they'll probably throw you under the bus or look the other way as soon as you hit a problem with management.

      1. Nunyabiznes

        I thought that was HR's job?

      2. Triggerfish

        True, but even so access to a union even if it's not recognised by a company means access to people who know employment law, access if you have a case to employment lawyers, and people on your side who are not going to be influenced by company politics.

        Also in a disciplinary when you ask if you can bring a member in, even if they do not let you because a company can refuse people from outside the company (check your contract on this*), tactics wise it at least may serve to show you are more prepared.

        By the way I feel guns blazing if you have genuinely cocked up and the company is generally alright with its staff I would not recommend your just gonna piss people off and make it worse usually. Guns blazing is the toxic companies and your back to the wall

        Also personally I think if doing a big fuck you, be careful, think of your own professional ethics as well, sinking a company from pettiness could put undeserving people out of jobs, releasing data could hang over your career stuff like that.

        *Dunno how this would count with a union rep being non recognised it's probably a arguable legal thing.

        1. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

          Union rep is probably another employee of the business anyway.

          1. Robert Sneddon

            Hired Guns

            The Union representative will probably be one of your co-workers. The Union lawyer at your side during the Interview with HR and senior management is your employee and she faces down bigger bastards than them five days a week.

            1. Triggerfish

              Re: Hired Guns

              Union rep may not neccessarily be an employee, small companies do not tend to have that sort of thing or size of organisation. I have worked for a few companies of ten -twenty people, also other big companies sometimes for some strange reason..... do not unionise, or mention much about it, and so people just start working at them and don't think of joining or starting up a union. Can think of a few helldesk farms like that.

  19. c1ue

    While what was done is perfectly understandable, I am more than a little surprised that Mr. TOWF and company didn't sue the departing IT folk for breaking their confidentiality agreements. Legally, the clearly unauthorized access of information also occurred.

    After all, if the TOWFs of the world aren't deterred by any form of human courtesy or decency, why then would they flinch from outright hypocrisy?

    1. JimmyPage Silver badge
      Stop

      er ... you can't sue over something illegal ...

      "people must approach the court with clean hands" principle.

      Also UK courts will not enforce an illegal contract.

    2. ecofeco Silver badge

      No contact or business policy supercedes criminal law. In fact, IT is under legal obligation to report the more egragarious cases.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I have been in a similar position where the higher ups were TOWF types. Been called a c*nt when I refused to open computers to softcore porn sites. I did for a time have a manager who was a buffer between that and myself, however years of that enviroment had led them to become very paranoid and short tempered at times. Which was almost as bad as having to deal with TOWF's

    Thankfully I had a FU fund in place and left when things got silly. I could have thrown a lot of people under the bus when I did go, however I was very diplomatic and simply stated in my exit interview that it was at times hard to do my job to the best of my abilities when some people had a complete disregard for network security/policies and asked (well shouted at, but I didn't say that) me to change network policies in ways that would comprise the very thing they employed me to protect. The HR bod who did the interview said it was very eye opening.

    As far as I know nothing has changed there. But I feel as though I left with my dignity.

    Sometimes it is easier to not fight the current, but go with it while heading for the shore and hoping you get there before you get to the waterfall.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It doesn't always work out that way

    True story - a company that I worked for had a US based Company President who would feel up the female customers, and offer them "deals" if they were "cooperative" - the company was in the medical business so there were a lot of female customers.

    One of the women finally went to the head office and reported him - the UK head flew to the US, and immediately fired hm on the spot. He then sued the UK company for unfair dismissal and won because the company refused to pull their own customers into the mess - he walked away with enough to retire on.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: It doesn't always work out that way

      Special place in hell for that bastard.

  22. TRT Silver badge

    Hmm... I am currently

    Having to console my youngest after his data-collation-and-repackaging company seems to have initiated a witch-hunt against him, presumably to save money during a restructuring.

    Absolute classic is HR referring him to the company intranet for documentation about the disciplinary procedure, staff handbook etc after having immediately revoked his access to the company intranet as part of that very same disciplinary procedure. There should really be a kind of DMZ for that sort of thing.

    I think he's most pissed off at being told his "desk toys" were not an appropriate professional accessory for the office. And this isn't a particularly public place, just an anonymous news-desk type hole in the butt-end of London. I mean, who doesn't have a Lego mini figure or a rubber ducky or a Blu-tack sculpture somewhere around their non-hot-desking place of work? I believe it's called environmental enrichment. The Home Office insists on that for our caged rats.

    1. wolfetone Silver badge

      Re: Hmm... I am currently

      I remember working for B&Q and it was my first job at the age of 18, and I broke my arm when I slipped outside of work. I was off for 6 weeks, and because I had broken my elbow I was told to go easy. At the time all I did was go in at 7am, take stock from the cages and put them on the shelves until 11am. In the time that I was there, we were getting more and more guys turn up to work for a week who were long term unemployed, and under the "New Deal" bullshit at the time (so over 10 years ago) they had to work 40 hours a week to pick up their dole money.

      Anyway, told my line manager about it, handed doctors notes etc. And I was constantly given heavy objects to lift. And I would always refuse. 2 weeks after I came back I was brought in for disciplinary. I had an MP3 player at the time in my hand, and I was asked what it was and I said I wanted to record the meeting. I was told no, as everything was being written down anyway. But it was complete bullshit. Every time I gave a reason as to why I was "slacking" (which I wasn't) the line manager said "Ohhh I'm gonna shoot you down here". He was a proper c**t.

      It stressed me out, and it came to a head one evening when I was training in the boxing club. It was a hard session of sparring, and my mind wasn't fully with it. All I could think of was work and the fear of getting sacked. I'm taking my gloves off and one of the coaches is telling me what I was doing wrong, but I didn't know what he was saying. I just wanted to get out of the ring (around the ring a lot of people were standing). And as I was getting out he said "No, stay there" and he carried on. I could feel this massive wave of emotion coming through me, and I tried to get out again and he said "No. stay there. Listen!". At that point I broke down, I was just saying let me out let me out. I walked in to the changing room, no one followed me. The fact I did it in front of so many people was making it worse.

      I calmed down on my own, I walked back out, straight to the front of the gym. My old man was there, someone had told him I was crying and I asked him if I could go home. He didn't say anything just said goodbye to everyone and we went home. In the car he asked me what had happened, and I told him like I've written down for you right now. Started crying again, he filled in the blanks saying "Is it the work that's making you unhappy?" and I said yeah, told him about what was going on.

      What followed is the single best piece of advice my Dad ever gave me: "If you're unhappy in something you shouldn't be doing it. It's a minimum wage job and it's not worth the shit that p***k is giving you. You can go in tomorrow and pack the job in. Nothing in life is worth getting this upset or unhappy for. Your mom and I support you whatever you do."

      I walked in to work at 7am the next day, went to HR and said I've had enough and I'm leaving. Threw them the bit of a letter I wrote saying the same thing. I "worked" my "notice" period of 1 week, and walked out of the place.

      What followed though was sweet. I didn't work for another 6 months as I wanted a job in IT and couldn't get one, so went to work for a pub while I went back to college. I bumped in to a girl I used to work with at B&Q about 12 months after quitting and she was telling me that the "team" I worked on had either been sacked or quit and more of these unemployed workers came in to replace them. It was a ploy by the line manager to reduce the wage bill, make him look good. Thing is though, for a full week one week no one showed up to work. So the store had 20 odd cages out on the floor for the full day, with the line manager sorting it all out on his own. It happened twice more after that, at which point he was sacked.

      I've no idea what happened to him, but I do know that I've turned out alright. And if there's anything you can take away from it for your own son @TRT, is that no job is worth the crap and unhappiness he's going through. And like you've already said, it means the world to someone like that if he's got the support of his mom and dad.

      1. TRT Silver badge

        Re: Hmm... I am currently

        That's a grand story, and I'm glad you got a lot out of your experience. I've never, ever, had a proper job I was unhappy with, so I'm really fortunate. The very worst job I had was in the late 70s delivering Sunday newspapers round the steepest roads in Bolton in the middle of winter under three feet of snow for a couple of quid and a packet of Wotsits. I was out at 6am in the dark, and finally finished at 4pm in the dark and that was AFTER having to call in my brothers as reinforcements. I did two Sundays and that was it.

        For my son, he absolutely loved the job. The crap and the unhappiness is purely and simply related to not being able to work after them pinning some incidents on him, incidents which happened outside the office but inside the shared rental. He's a train nut, which comes from having me as a father, and it was as close to a dream job as he could realise because you just can't get a job driving a steam train nowadays. I can't say too much more but you just can't replace local knowledge. It's like outsourcing the RAC call centre to Mumbai, if you catch my drift. "I'm stuck on the side of an A road, I'm not sure of the number... by that field near Milton Keynes, the one with the cows in it. I'm right opposite those, yeah."

        1. Triggerfish

          Re: Hmm... I am currently

          Absolute classic is HR referring him to the company intranet for documentation about the disciplinary procedure, staff handbook etc after having immediately revoked his access to the company intranet as part of that very same disciplinary procedure. There should really be a kind of DMZ for that sort of thing.

          I would check with ACAS about that, I am pretty sure it goes against their code of best practice. (i,e (and IANAL), not legally required, but frowned upon).

        2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Joke

          Re: Hmm... I am currently

          "The very worst job I had was in the late 70s delivering Sunday newspapers round the steepest roads in Bolton in the middle of winter under three feet of snow for a couple of quid and a packet of Wotsits. I was out at 6am in the dark, and finally finished at 4pm in the dark and that was AFTER having to call in my brothers as reinforcements."

          Eeeee bah gum lad, tha' was lucky! Now, when I were a lad.....

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Noooo!

    I tell my kid this, and I tell my IT people this: if you want an illegal acts investigated, you call the cops. If your job involves access to people's files and you see stuff that shows an illegal act (I'm thinking kiddie porn here) then Stop. Do Not Pass Go. Call the cops and preserve everything. Do not call HR first, call them second.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: Noooo!

      And if your job is able to make the cops leave empty-handed?

  24. Pliny the Whiner

    As it so happens, my title at my last job was "IT Cunt." Talk about prescience.

  25. Dinsdale247

    Fiction

    Fictional revenge porn for IT geeks. It was a fun read.

  26. Frank N. Stein

    :-)

    This story brought a smile to my face that will last all day. They deserve what they got for their ethics and behavior.

  27. JJKing

    I think first instance is inform a higher-up who isnt involved

    I found what turned out to be child porn on a catholic school principal's computer and informed the Deputy Principal who I had known for the 8 years I had worked there. It still didn't stop the cops executing a search warrant on a particularly memorable day/date so I remember the incident every bloody year.

    If you find something illegal, report it for sure but make sure you take steps to protect yourself coz the cops aren't there to find the facts, they just want to find you guilty.

  28. Z80

    If I'd been on the receiving end of “you must think you are some f**king clever pr*ck for sorting that, eh?”, I'd like to think I could have come up with something along the lines of: "No, not really - this problem you called us to help you with was one of the simplest I've ever had to deal with."

  29. ecofeco Silver badge

    Ho boy

    Let me get back to my computer and tell you all a good one...

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Ho boy

      Many moons ago, I was a network admin for a vendor of a Fortune 50 company. We were actually an in house vendor. A wholly separate company that had an entire floor inside the client company's headquarters. We enjoyed all the perks that came with it. The views were great.

      We did all the internal corporate media communications, mostly Power Point, but also brochures and glossy reports. We started with an Apple based system and moved to an NT based system, complete with a shiny new server. The previous Apple system was just individual desktop PCs. We're talking mid to late 1990s here.

      I ran the Apple system and then built the NT system and then transferred all processes and files. At the same time, we also acquired two fancy color printers with their own individual Sun mini servers for job batching and print spooling. They also had to be connected to our fledgling network.

      We also we're moving to put our new network in touch with the client's network and I was having private meeting with the client's head IT guy to work it out.

      We were also one of the fist customers for high speed (back then) Internet. I maintained that as well.

      With me so far?

      Our company was bought out by a very large company and rebranded. No problem so far. They then cut our vacation time. I had not had a vacation in a year and half. Now I had problem. I had accumulated 2 weeks vacation and they were going to cut that to one week.

      So when my vacation time came around, one that I had requested before the company got bought, I made sure the network was humming smoothly and left up-to-date note and instructions with my boss.

      I then took my two weeks vacation. That's right. Two weeks. Not one. Remember, year and half no vacation, built new network, was in negotiations with major client to connect out networks and successfully transitioned system from no server Apple, to NT real server network. And had fixed a brand new but buggy as hell server. (Compaq I'm looking as you, bastards)

      I get back from vacation find out I've been demoted for taking 2 weeks and some new run in now the network admin. Only... the network is down and has been for a whole week. A network I had left running perfectly with full updates and notes for the boss. I also find out I've been locked out and can't fix it. But neither can the new guy. I'm not happy, but I see a way to salvage everything so I offer to help the new guy. But he has no fucking clue! So I hand in my 2 weeks notice on the spot. (this all happened the very first day I'm back. Demoted in the morning, clueless new guy by lunch, 2 weeks notice by end of day)

      So... I spent the rest of week coming in (because I like money) and showed the new guy around and made introductions, handed over my notes and gave him the hardware tour. At the end of the first week, the network has now been down for 2 weeks and the client is making serious noises.

      My 2nd and last week, I made the new guy SIGN OFF on everything I had shown him. Everything. The whole who, what , when, where. I then made sure the boss had a copy as well and even went over it with him with new guy present as well. I offered again to fix it, but not without getting my old title and position back. They weren't having it. I didn't bother coming in the last day. The network was still down and now the users were bitching as well as the client.

      I heard later that their contract wasn't renewed.

      Oh and while there, I also got a bit of revenge on another old employer who had come to us as a vendor. I basically told the boss that they could not deliver on time and to be prepared for it. They didn't, he was, and they did not get any future business.

      The name of the Fortune 50 client? Enron.

      (please excuse the typos. gotta run)

  30. eldakka

    “you must think you are some f**king clever pr*ck for sorting that, eh?”

    My response to that comment (irrespective of who delivered it) would be:

    "No more so than how much you'd think how fucking stupidly-moronic you must be to have 1) done that in the first place and 2) not diagnosed it yourself"

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