[techtalk] The manager to send flames to:

Tami Friedman tami at gnu.org
Wed Apr 18 19:32:53 EST 2001


Last week I sent out email detailing my experience as an accused telnet
criminal.  No one has yet made any convincing argument that I was in any
way jeopardizing the machine I was telnetting from, but the unnamed system
manager has completely halted my ability to job-hunt by his irrational and
ignorant prohibition of my use of telnet to my shell account where I
receive email.  

Since the rules of the site state that the resources of the site (including
the computers and their installed programs) are to be used for job-search
activities and I was using the telnet program ALREADY INSTALLED on the
machine, I cannot be accused of breaking the rules.

The rules DO NOT state that "thou shalt unquestioningly obey every order of
the system manager", which is really the heart of the issue.  Even in the
Army, we were taught that "just following [illegal] orders" is no defense -
one is obliged to disobey illegal orders.  I'm not saying his order was
illegal, but it IS stupid, and following it effectively ends my job search,
thus making his order to me in contradiction to the purpose of the TWC -
which is to help people find jobs.

After some thought, I think my best strategy is to have hundreds of emails
on my behalf flood the site manager's mailbox about the clueless and
counterproductive behavior of the
system-manager-who-refused-to-identify-himself who is this man's
subordinate.  That way, when I finally DO appear in person to complain, I
will have a host of experts who have already explained to him (hopefully in
excruciating detail) the complete lack of any danger to the site's machines
posed by my use of telnet from TWC.  I ask this because I fear the site
manager is no more clueful than the anonymous manager who issued the
unreasonable edict, and I need the strength of many professionals (the more
credentials, the better) to help me make my point and educate these people.
Otherwise, I fear the site manager will blindly and unquestioningly back
his system manager, right or wrong, and I might be placed in the position
of making the job-hunting situation worse for all Texas residents.  So far
this anti-telnet "rule" is vapor.  I do not want it to become cast-in-stone
policy.


The administrator to which the unnamed machine manager referred me
and to whom complaints about the anonymous clueless one may be sent 
(cc: or Bcc: tami at gnu.org please) is:

             Theodore Andrews III, Site Manager
               3401 Webberville Rd, Bldg 1000
                      Austin, Tx 78702
                    (512) 223-5459(voice)
                     (512) 223-5464(fax)

              theodore.andrews at twc.state.tx.us


I appreciate everyone's help.


.Tami
 .signature: syntax error at line 1: `(' unexpected

tami at gnu.org
(512) 699-7175
Austin, Tx.  




More information about the Techtalk mailing list