This sums it all up quite well.  Yes, the employer has title to the
furniture and equipment.  And yes, the employer has every legal right to
access either for a good reason, or simply to snoop.

I simply hope that ethical behavior in this "profession" relies on
appropriate interpersonal behavior, not bottom-line legal rights.

There is a certain freedom of thought/expression encouraged in the museum,
and it needs to be respected.  A computer is an instrument that can
facilitate creativity and can provide a storage place for new ideas that
aren't quite ready for the light of day.

We have to assume, rightly or wrongly, that professional staff won't be
using museum equipment,  time and money to distribute or seek porn.   We
have to assume they have common sense.  We have to assume they aren't
playing sex games with one another in the collections rooms or out in the
gardens.  We have to stay away from being policemen.

Ross Weeks Jr
Tazewell VA
-----Original Message-----
From: Hervé Gagnon <[log in to unmask]>


>I must admit that, after reading so many messages with a different point
>of view on the matter, I'm seriously reconsidering my own point of view
>here - as expressed in a subsequent message. I'd like to point out,
>however, that it has never been my intention to discuss material that
>shouldn't be discovered. I tend to agree with Ross that my computer is my
>tool first. However, it does belong to my employer and should be used for
>purposes established by the employer. Does that give the employer the
>right to have unlimited access to its contents? That's a legal question
>which I'm not qualified to answer but I suspect it does. Does it give the
>employer a moral and ethical right to control what's in its employees'
>computers? That, to me, is the essential question, one which ultimately
>brings us back to the notion of trust between an employer and its
>employee.
>
>Hervé Gagnon
>(opinions expresses are personnal and do not necessarily reflect those of
>my employer)
>
>Indigo Nights a écrit:
>
>> Well, I'd like to agree with the two of you.  However, in the US, the
>> Courts have ruled that the computer is the employer's, the documents
>> are his, and that even extends to email notes.
>>
>> Caution is the order of the day.  Do not store things on your hard
>> drive you do not want "discovered," and try, where possible, to keep a
>> copy of Norton's Utilities on your puter if you are concerned about
>> being invaded.  With Norton's, when you delete a file, you can wipe it
>> clean, such that the space that document is contained in is completely
>> written over by ooooos or some other similar character.
>>
>> Actually, as long as we're talking about discoverability, in a
>> litigatory sense, those who sue are now demanding backups of your hard
>> drive, including file fragments, so it makes good sense to be careful.
>>
>> When you delete a file, it simply changes the first character of the
>> file name to a "?".  Anyone with the right tools, such as Norton's,
>> can recover that file.  Best to wipe it rather than to simply erase
>> it, and best to not put things on your puter you do not want to later
>> be embarrassed by.
>>
>> Indigo Nights
>> [log in to unmask]
>> Southern California
>>
>> ---Hervé Gagnon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >
>> > I agree with Ross on this one: a computer is a personal tool and, as
>> long as you
>> > use it in your employer's best interest, it should remain personal.
>> ==
>> Indigo Nights
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
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