UPDATE: Please take the time to read my followup post, Fifteen Minutes of Fame, for my thoughts on what happened after I posted the picture, why it happened — and most importantly, why I don’t blame Microsoft for their actions. Thanks!
The day started like any other day — get up, dink around for a bit, bus into work, and start working through the stack of jobs. Just shy of an hour after I got in, my manager came in and asked me to step into his office when I had a chance. Sure, no biggie, and I headed over as soon as I finished the job I was setting up.
“Okay, here’s the first question. Is this page,” and here he turned his monitor towards me, letting me see my “Even Microsoft wants G5s” post from last Thursday, “hosted on any Microsoft computer? Or is it on your own?”
“It’s on mine. Well, it’s on a hosted site that I pay for, but no, it’s not on anything of Microsoft’s.”
“Good. That means that as it’s your site on your own server, you have the right to say anything you want. Unfortunately, Microsoft has the right to decide that because of what you said, you’re no longer welcome on the Microsoft campus.”
And that simply, as of about 2pm today, I once again joined the ranks of the unemployed.
It seems that my post is seen by Microsoft Security as being a security violation. The picture itself might have been permissible, but because I also mentioned that I worked at the MSCopy print shop, and which building it was in, it pushed me over the line. Merely removing the post was also not an option — I offered, and my manager said that he had asked the same thing — but the only option afforded me was to collect any personal belongings I had at my workstation and be escorted out the door. They were at least kind enough to let me be escorted out by one of my co-workers, rather than sending security over to usher me out, but the end result is the same.
More frustrating for me is that, having read stories here and there on the ‘net about people who had for one reason or another lost their jobs due to something on their weblogs, I thought that I had done what I could to avoid that possibility. To my mind, it’s an innocuous post. The presence of Macs on the Microsoft campus isn’t a secret (for everything from graphic design work to the Mac Business Unit), and when I took the picture, I made sure to stand with my back to the building so that nothing other than the computers and the truck would be shown — no building features, no security measures, and no Microsoft personnel. However, it obviously wasn’t enough.
So, I’m unemployed. I am somewhat lucky in that I’m not technically unemployed — I am still on the roster for my temp agency, who has been very good to me so far (and hopefully will continue to be), but as their ability to place me anywhere does depend on the current job market, it’s not a foolproof guarantee of employment coming in quickly. I’ve put a call into them and let them know of the situation and that I’m available and willing for whatever can be found, so with any luck, they’ll be able to find a placement for me. However, it appears that it’s also time for me to start hitting the streets and shopping my resume around again.
Wish me luck.
It’s a sign of the times.
America use the “freedom flag” so often to justify the use of their military supremacy that people in the USA lost the truth meaning of the word freedom.
When a person can be fired for no reason other then taking harmless photo and a striking headline on a blog, it’s time to wonder what will be the future.
The hilariuos part is that duality of the “freedom-right-duty” balance on the microsoft manager:
“you have the right to say anything you want. Unfortunately, Microsoft has the right to decide that because of what you said, you’re no longer welcome on the Microsoft campus.”
Basically, that frase and their actions can be translated plain and simple as: “If you are an employee here either you don’t tell what I don’t to hear hear, or get fired. Doesn’t matter if you said elsewhere, or in the middle of 10 million people on the net. This your right. Period”
Here in Europe thast person couls sue Microsoft for his lost job. If in court it found that he doesn’t violated his contract, he could get his job back. Private business included.
That really is protecting the freedom of speech, right’s of employer and employe’s.
And that’s because freedom is a concept that can’t be turned off the minute you sign contract with an private business.
That’s great! Let’s here it for big corporate. May they all burn in hell! Linux is coming, Bill. Watch your ass!
“Remember kids, Freedom of Speech does not mean Freedom from Consequences.”
Are you trying to excuse Microsoft for this foolishness?
Get a lawyer–I don’t think this kind of dismissal is legal. Unless it’s specifically called out in an employee manual, there was no grounds for firing.
The question is,
What would they have done were it two pallets of Dells?
I think its obvious what’s going on here. Microsoft is starting to feel the pressure. They’re scrambling to make an operating system as secure as the mac and as reliable. This is a need brought on by the terrorist threat and the stark realization that Windows isn’t a safe platform. Recently Windows’ vulnerability was proven by the soBig and some other worms. I would call this panic.
This is all over /. Microsoft’s Screwed. And yes it’s besides the point that many /.ers use Linux.
what the phrack is going on with this world nowadays
Man, I hope my blog entry about Gates and Ballmer being the right and left hands of The Dark One himself doesn’t end up getting me killed. Oh well, at least I had a few weeks of joy with my G5. Luck to you sir.
First Amendment.
Marshall Law.
Get a lawyer.
So sorry about this.
Since it’s all over the blogosphere and on ‘net I am hopeful you’ve already secured a new job. If not, hopefully, via the platform in which you were terminated, you will soon be employed. Gotta love the irony in that.
But seriously, call Legal Aid. I’m certain there are some lawyers who would love to get a piece of the Marshall himself, Bill Gates.
Blogs + Mac = Good Thing. Blogs + MS = Bad Thing.
Halves,
First of all what the hell does “America use the “freedom flag” so often to justify the use of their military supremacy that people in the USA lost the truth meaning of the word freedom”., suppose to mean? That America spends countless billions of dollars to keep ignorant, lack of the english language and spelling Europeans, Middle Easterners, Asians, Central Americans… sorry the list is too long of how many we have fought and died for to keep thier country free at our expense. Sorry that we have tarnished our image with you while you most likely enjoy the freedom that was at our expense.
Please, let me simplify.
BLOW ME.
What a crappy thing to do, Microsoft. It shows that Microsoft has something serious to hide when a couple of G5’s shouldn’t be photographed as being MS’ machines (Oh dear, what is MS up to with those G5’s… ermm. DUAL G5’s… Win2k3 for G5 testboxes? Or .NET for OSX testboxes?
Clearly made me wonder why I’d continue alpha/beta-testing their software.
Hang in there, buddy. You’re better of at another employer who respects an employee. Or come to Europe, where we have decent laws to protect employees from stupidity like this.
i’m sure that the mac world would let you in for a job interview, and possibly even give you signing bonus.
Yes … never underestimate the possibility of a full-bore corporate panic.
I think the explanation you posted is just about correct … the photo itself may not have started
the “death spiral” phone calls. But, keep in mind, many, many aspects of corporate American have
NO sense of humor whatsoever. They take their companies as deadly serious as we might treat a
heart operation, and, unfortunately, they are missing the part of their brain that allows a person
to interpret, “Oh … isn’t that funny … even Microsoft uses Macs for their printing, etc, etc …”
Nope … what they interpret is, “Holy jeebers, Batman, we have a temp snapping pics on this property
and posting them on the Internet … what else might he be doing with them?”
Please keep in mind that the reasonably professional handling you had at your termination was not
at all reflective of the actual climate of when that post hit the fan. I can virtually guarantee you
that when that post hit the individual who was upset with it you would have heard some language you
typically only hear in the Holland Tunnel in a traffic jam.
Just for the love of God be careful in the future — one person’s joke can be another person’s
Four Alarm emergency.
I know a company in Cupertino :)
only because of that pic?!
As a revange, you can contribute to linux !
microsoft seams so happy to lose a skilled developer !
hey ! I finaly know why you lost your job by write in wich building G5 are !
you are giving to people precious strategic security and “patriot-act-and-homeland-security” informations !
yes! by telling which building is now equiped with G5, you are telling to the world and to “internet-terrorism-and-script-kiddies-how-8-m$” which building is no more vulenarable to bugs (or features?) or security holes!
That’s the most important information to the eye of MS, the new top-level security plan : to avoid microsoft products ! :)
This world is going crazy !
ok, lets wait for few year, linux will rulz da worldz
Did you get fired for taking pictures from inside the campus? So, they fired you from breaking a non-photo restriction that appends to the area?
First of all i have i think you have a legal case against M$ cause there was no legal reason to fire you for that matter.
second: This sort of attitude reminds me of a guy named Leon van Schie aka Sarge who is an owner and webmaster of the Apple-website Macfreak.org in the Netherlands. He also dismisses folks on instant who won’do what they’ve been told or who are somewhat different in their attitude.
Maybe related and also a former M$ employee? Seems like.
Anyhow… wish you all the best for the upcomming future.
Man, that sucks hard. I’ll be sending you lots of good thoughts.
Look, he could have gotten fired for taking and posting a picture of an EMPTY Microsoft truck and loading dock.
Macs had nothing to do with it.
Free speech had nothing to do with it.
MS’s supposed fear of Macs had nothing to do with it.
This was a security problem, end of story. Find another job and DON’T TAKE PICTURES of the facilities without the company’s written permission.
Wish I’d got this in the Slashdot thread before it went crazy. If Apple was smart they
would hire you just to flaunt it in the press. I’m sure the publicity would more than
cover the cost of hiring you for 6 months.
You could even try approaching them.
It would be cool if Apple would see this and offer him a job.
According to Anony Mouse free speech had nothing to do with it. As a weblog owner myself who sometimes speaks his mind about his employer’s decisions with which I don’t necesseraly agree, I do believe free speech had everything to do with it. I find it disturbing such thing can happen and every time some person loses his job for saying things he shouldn’t have said (at least from his employers point of view), I have a hard time believing we’re in a free country.
The fact that Microsoft knew about it in the first place might also imply they are checking out on their employees, which isn’t too noble either.
Poor Bastard,
You’ll find a better job, in a cool company.
We’ll keep the finger crossed for you!
Screw M$!
You are better off.
A weird and daft decision like that one belies their ‘shoot first…ask later’ mentality.
I now hope that one of those G5s was damaged in that tumble in the truck! Better dead on it’s back than livin’ on it’s knees inside that place!
Good luck to you, spin this into something great!
Just had lunch with a friend at One Infinite Loop (Apple HQ), you can bet your left butt cheek that Apple would fire someone for posting pictures taken on campus.
Sorry guys, this isn’t a free speech issue it has everything to do with being professional at work. Taking snap shots of a rivals machine and then posting on the web is funny but not that clever. I’m sure it wasn’t meant to hurt anyone but c’mon…
MS also skirts the whole wrongful termination issue because he is a temp and his employment is at will. They have a looooong standing history of this. If they don’t like the way you smell one day, they can call the agency and have you replaced, no questions asked.
As far as free speech goes, yeah, you can and should say whatever you want. The other party also has the right not to hear it and to request a change of venue for you.
Why did you spit at the guy paying you? And having spit at him, what’s so weird about him doing something about it? While you might be tempted to bask in the glory of victimhood, you’ll serve yourself better by seriously considering the fact that you lost your livelihood, however temporarily, as an unintended consequence of your action. Fair or unfair has nothing to do with it. It’s a done deed. Think straight, move on and do right. Sincerely, Someone’s Mom
So? If MS does this, that’s their choice. I don’t see what’s wrong with it. Actually, when this means they’ll use them to port their software, or something else i cannot imagine, i see it as progress. I don’t see it as hugely or something but it makes me laugh for a few seconds. Did you also knew MS owns a large % of Apple obligations?
This IS all about free speech; but company ”secrets” (interest) are seen as more important than that therefore free speech is less important and doesn’t count – see also laws against discrimination and free speech or laws which make it illegal to call names about God plus lots of more examples available, worldwide. In a transparant world where progression as world is important rather than self-interest (or company-interest), one could just tell such a ”secret” to another. If free speech leads to beeing unemployed; it is NOT free speech anymore, because of the abuse of authority after free speech is used.
Solution? For now, post it anonymous. Use Freenet or ENTROPY, for example. Do not host it yourself. Make sure nobody saw you taking the picture. You wouldn’t get personal credit when you’d do in this way. Is that what matters in this situation? I think not, but i’m not the one who’d answer this question.
Free speech and transparancy today. We are not living in such a world; this includes the USA. Many companies, NGO’s, governments do not live according to these ideals. It’s an illusion. However, some are heading this way.
What’s left to say? I feel for you. While admitting i do not like MS, my opinion is a global one. With MS on your CV, you’ll probly get respect and/or a chance at other nice companies. Leaves me to say… good luck with finding a new job. I also like your site.
With solidarity and warm greetings from the Netherlands,
-autonomous
You free speech people crack me up. He wasn’t on public property voicing an opinion folks, he took photographs on private property of his company’s internal processes and posted them for public viewing. I don’t care if it was a loading dock or a software development lab, he’s disclosing proprietary information and that is not free speech in ANY sense of the phrase.
And the reference that MS fired an employee is being played up here a lot too – they didn’t fire anyone, they simply stopped utilizing the services of a temporary from an agency. Anyone who is a temporary should know full well they are not priveleged to the same rights and customs associated with a full-time employee and their behavior will be under much closer observance.
There has been no acknowledgement of the fact that this guy was wasting billed time to photograph pictures to post on his personal weblog. How many of YOUR bosses would condone this behavior and would YOU if you were the boss paying the bill?
The blame game can continue now, as I’m sure it will… the point is learn a little something from the situation and apply it to reality.
What a dark company! Why do people use their product? That means support their behaviour. Copy…..Fire people with no reason….!
Just a suggestion, but you might try to use this to get a job at Apple. Stranger things have happened. Wasn’t there a guy who was fired as a driver on a Coke truck because someone saw him drinking a Pepsi (and then Pepsi hired him?)
You never know…
“I’t’s quite typical, in a Murphy’s Law kind of way, that this would happen just a few weeks after I blew my savings on a new computer. “
I hope it was a G5!
Corporations are the new religion. Americans are proud to get up everyday and say “I am a corporate whore! Work me more!” You goofed, but your real crime was to blaspheme against the new American dream.
I bet most people would have shrugged it off as “Well duh, they need a Mac to see what to make next.”
(I thought about what happened and made a post on /. about it, hope you dont me repeating what it here)
This MS policy does not make sense: Since it is fairly obvious the ‘security’ breach rationale for firing this employee is merely a convenient reason for dismissal, there must be a real reason (after all, MS managers have leeway to consider what constitutes a breach, the seriousness and whether or not to enforce action. It is also obvious little information of significance was released as you point out).
The first and foremost underlying reason for this dismissal is probably the perceived embarassment of the company by being seen to be purchasing a truckload of G5 Macs. The fact that they would see this as embarassing at all reveals part of the management culture at Microsoft. Would the managers have chosen enforcement action if he had been taking a photo of a truckload of Dells? Unlikely. These were in all likelihood not Mac Business Unit managers involved: Would a manager in the MBU be embarassed by an admission that they purchase Macs? Hardly. It’s apparent therefore that much of the (non-MBU) management at MS perceives a company adoption or use of Macs as an embarassment.
It’s interesting that a “Not invented here” attitude like this pervaded Apple a number of years ago, and caused them no end of strategic problems. Ironic that a case can be made that it is now Microsoft with such a culture, whereas it’s now Apple who has a much more flexible attitude.
(Edit: Maybe you should try to get a job at Apple ;-) But seriously, I’m sorry about what happend and good luck with the job hunt!)
well… good luck dude.
Geez. All these anti-corporate/anti-capitalism/fuzzy-thinkers out there claiming “corporate greed!” and “evil M$!!!”
Get a grip.
No, I’m not an M$ fan. As a matter of fact, I manage over 50 Solaris servers at work, have over 9 computers just in my “office” at home (only TWO run an M$ OS) and prefer Linux/Solaris/AIX/VMS to just about anything that M$ puts out. (I just can’t play my First-Person Shooters on non-M$ computers.)
M$, as ignorant and bureaucratic a company as they can be, isn’t evil just because they terminated the temporary employment of some poor schlub who not only took pictures on M$ property without permission, but then proceeded to post it on the Internet complete with information on where M$ property was likely to be sitting with no security to make sure it wasn’t absconded with.
Sure, M$ is ham-handed in how they dealt with it. Wrong? Nope. The appropriate action, upon discovering something like that would be to tell someone “Hey, there’s a stack of G5s sitting over on the loading bay with nobody watching them,” not take a picture and post it on a blog.
Victimhood. Don’t you just love it?
Hey, I have Second Amendment rights, as well as First Amendment rights. If I work for a company that doesn’t want me to carry on their property, even if I have a CCW permit, then I don’t carry on their property! If I don’t like it, I go work someplace else. Simple, eh? Nobody says I have to work there.
More importantly, if I disliked a company as much as I dislike M$, then I wouldn’t work for them in the first place!
What kind of company is this??????
I am working in Hamburg/Germany and never heared about this shit happens in my country.
Fuck on this bloody company called MS – let’s kick them out of the business and move all to Macintosh and Linux!
Best wishes for a new job!
Here’s for starting a petition that you have to a)speak English well and/or b)type English well before being allowed to post in a blog! Sheeseh. Come on folks. Half these posts took two reads! If you live in America, or post on an American blog, have the courtesy to do it in the appropriate language at least…
To the topic at hand:
I feel badly for ya, I really do. But, the point has been made, and made well, that it wasn’t your place to waste their dime (their time) to snap photos for the scrapbook. Nor was it your place to then post these photos without permission. And if they found it…that means they either a)had your address already (bad move probably) or b)you posted FROM your cube, thereby wasting more time on the redmond clock as you made them (to some) the laughingstock. So to recap, think like a manager to avoid being the terminated end-result of a pissy one.
Oh, and sorry about the whole job loss thing. Best of luck finding something else! I’d say give Apple a shot, but that’s already been said, and they may not want someone who snaps random photos around campus and posts them…depending on how picky they are about security.
j
Boy o boy. I’m not proud to say I’m European. Now I do. American diplomacy rules…
Microsoft is completely right to use Mac’s. Otherwise, they can’t work. They’re constantly being held back by all these patches and bugfixes and more… 99% of all the viruses are to tease Microsoft.
Buy a Mac and within an hour you’re up and running.
I feel sorry for the poor bastard, but indeed, move on. Microsoft isn’t worth your efforts…
McDennis
I’m really astonished…….and this is American Style ? I hope in somethig different……in italy we says that when we close a door, a bigger one is ready to open……..good luck from Italy
This story proves what all we europeans already know…
americans has gone totally security bananas.
so that is what you called the free speech?
shame on you M$
Greetings and i wish you well
Martin
Germany
Damn man… that sucks. Even with all the things you already did, they still managed to get rid of you. Ah, if only mngt actually knew what they did. :) Happened to me almost once because of something I said on an internal forum. You gotta be careful what you say there too. Take care.
Dude,
Nothing can suck as much as this. I’ve never read a blog before and must say yours reads very well. Such a sad occurence though. People get away with doing far less responsible things every day, frauds are overlooked, wrists are slapped, Windows ME is launched, but this is out of all proportion! I am surprised you didn’t injure yourself contorting to take The Most Innocent Picture on Earth ™.
x-IBM-r
I tipped the Dutch IT news site http://www.webwereld.nl and they made this story their lead story today (see http://www.webwereld.nl/nieuws/16724.phtml , it’s in Dutch!).
Good luck,
Mark Cruijff
I can seriously sympathize with your loss… but…
I had an eye-opening discussion many moons ago with a manager in a long-dead job that helped put things in perspective. He told me that as long as what I did was “just a job” then I would not be able to go anywhere at any job. I had to buy into whatever it was at whatever company I worked. Company loyalty is one of those things. I mean you knew that the information had the potential to be an embarrassment to Microsoft. Yet you posted it for the short term gratification to your ego from the masses of Microserf bashers. So you chose your ego gratification to the company that was putting money in your bank which contributed to the food on your table and a roof over your head. I hope it was worth it ego-wise.
MS wanted to send a big message – and you were the easiest (to replace) target.
If you truely signed no confidentiality agreement, you may want to see a lawyer.
But it was likely in the mountain of paperwork you had to sign when you started.
Expect Homeland ‘Security’ to come knocking tonight.