Ethical Question

[WhaWhaWha]

I work in technical support. Some of my clients run corporate servers. Others simply use a single wireless handheld. Some are professionals. Others are dumbasses. This query involves one of the latter.

Dumbass uses his PDA to take pictures. He stores the pictures in an online photo album. He does not know how to retrieve the pictures. He calls for technical support. That's me. I offer a walkthrough. He says he can't log in. I resend his password. Now he says he can't find the web page. I repeat the url several times. He says he's getting a page not found error. Now I'm thinking this guy needs help turning on the lights at night.

He asks me to log in to his account to confirm that the account is active and that the content is present. I do. It is. And the pics are of his girlfriend. She is clad in a manner that would be pleasing to most of the hobbiests here. She is esthetically pleasing. Her poses are reminiscent of layouts produced by Larry Flynt.

Now the ethical question.

Do I share with you all or keep them for myself?

 

[Gentle Ben]

The answer seems so bloody obvious,,,,, you don't even consider keeping them for yourself, let alone passing them around!

 

[WhaWhaWha]

Oh yeah I knew there was a third option I forgot to propose.

 

[Asterix]

I work in technical support. Some of my clients run corporate servers. Others simply use a single wireless handheld. Some are professionals. Others are dumbasses. This query involves one of the latter.

Dumbass uses his PDA to take pictures. He stores the pictures in an online photo album. He does not know how to retrieve the pictures. He calls for technical support. That's me. I offer a walkthrough. He says he can't log in. I resend his password. Now he says he can't find the web page. I repeat the url several times. He says he's getting a page not found error. Now I'm thinking this guy needs help turning on the lights at night.

He asks me to log in to his account to confirm that the account is active and that the content is present. I do. It is. And the pics are of his girlfriend. She is clad in a manner that would be pleasing to most of the hobbiests here. She is esthetically pleasing. Her poses are reminiscent of layouts produced by Larry Flynt.

Now the ethical question.

Do I share with you all or keep them for myself?

Taking advantage of a "dumbass", eh? More a bit pathetic than a ethical question. Go ahead and keep them for yourself if you think it's all that important.

 

[The Lone Ranger]

Get rid of them.

Not only is is unethical, if they get out on the web or somewhere public, you could be terminated, sued, or even worse you could be charged with something...not sure what but there are a ton of lawyers on here that could probably answer that.

 

[frankcastle]

Considering this is part of your job (helping with tech) it would be an abuse of your position and not looked upon highly. You mentioned that some are professionals and others are dumbasses. No need to jump from professional to dumbass over some naked pics.

I mean if he had a map to Hoffa's burial site or a copy of the Spears/KFed sex tape then maybe but even then it would be wrong but lucrative.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

Well yes of course there are the legal implications not to mention the threat of reprisal.

But what if she has really nice boobs?

 

[frankcastle]

Wow you must be underpaid if you are even entertaining the thought over a nice pair of tits.

 

[canucklehead]

Here is an FYI... A Sys Admin at a very exclusive school in TO found child porn on the Network Admins computer while using it. HE was fired for going into the other Technicians computer even with an agreement saying that he could search anyones computer at anytime. Both ended up with out work and no charges were laid. The tech that found it went to court and lost even though you sign an agreement that your computer email and such can be searched at anytime you have a certain level of privacy. He was not in his computer and had no rights going into another folder on the computer then he originally intended without permission.
Be careful this could cost you your professional creditability.

 

[MuffinMuncher]

I think it is meant as a tongue-in-cheek question, but if you want a serious answer...

Its is unethical to keep copies of the pictures for yourself or to distribute to others. They are not yours, its akin to stealing. You could probably get fired for it since it directly related to your job.

Ethics aside, if you are asking from a risk perspective, only do it if it is highly unlikely that it could get traced back to you (be smart about it). Cell phones and PDAs get hacked all the time (Vida whatshername, Paris Hilton, Fred Durst).

To me its not worth it, but keeping them for yourself is low-risk. Distributing them opens you up to more risk, because once you pass them around, you lose control over where they end up. He clearly knows you saw them, and a timeline could finger you as the most likely source of the leak.

 

[fuji]

Point out to this guy that his GF is really, really hot. Offer him A-class personalized service and support in exchange for a stream of pictures.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

I think it is meant as a tongue-in-cheek question, but if you want a serious answer...

Thank you! I knew there was some original thought lingering on the board...

Its is unethical to keep copies of the pictures for yourself or to distribute to others. ... from a risk perspective, ...its not worth it,

agreed and agreed.

Actually my post was intended to share an experience. To make it more amusing I phrased it in the form of a no-brainer question of ethics. Clearly I didn't count on the irony going this far...

 

[Berlin]

He says he can't log in. I resend his password. Now he says he can't find the web page. I repeat the url several times. He says he's getting a page not found error. Now I'm thinking this guy needs help turning on the lights at night.

He asks me to log in to his account to confirm that the account is active and that the content is present. I do. It is. And the pics are of his girlfriend. She is clad in a manner that would be pleasing to most of the hobbiests here.

That, is one bloody dumbass.

As for your question ... you saw, you enjoyed, and now you should move on. Forget that ever having happened.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

So I should remove my photobucket collection?

 

[Viewer]

So I should remove my photobucket collection?

Only after sending me the url and waiting, oh half an hour or so.

Posted with the same tongue-in-cheek attitude Wha clearly intended in the op. He only asked about the 'keep them' or 'share them' options - wasn't it obvious? Come on guys, what happened to your sense of ha-ha?

Wha, you can remove your tongue from your cheek now - almost no one noticed it there anyway.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

Could you get him fired, for improper use of corporate equipment. Then go after his girlfriend?

He was an end user. She had a useful end.

Wha, you can remove your tongue from your cheek now - almost no one noticed it there anyway.

If this keeps up I may have to start posting reviews **** sighs

 

[Terbevore]

Pictures.......

My vote is to not share the pictures and never enter that site again. This is a powderkeg, regardless of how innocuous it may seem. Yes, I may seem "square" (do people still use this expression), but in my lifetime I have seen things like this get completely out of hand.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

I enter that site a hundred times a day. It's my job. I may not log into his account ever agin unless he calls back. But I have to enter the site.

 

[frankcastle]

I think terbavore means the guys account. LOL. No need to quit your job..... unless the pics are THAT good!

 

[Viewer]

Does no one else 'get' that Wha didn't mean it? That he was kidding and having fun in how he worded his story of what happened? That -- get this -- he really never intended to share the guy's pictures with us?

Stand down people! lol

Oh, and Wha, you can PM me that url any time now. *drums fingers on desktop impatiently*