AT&T has finally repaired my internet connection, which means the blogging can resume! And the topic of course, is that which I had so little of at home these past six days, and probably a little too much at work…
Everyone, at some point or the other, is distracted at work. I’m willing to admit that on a few occasions, I have spend a few minutes here and there reading my Google Reader feeds (i.e. my noteworthy items feed) — but I challenge anyone to prove that they’ve never done something like check a random Wikipedia page or watch a YouTube video sent by their friend.
What I don’t do, of course, is spend an entire day blogging, cruising YouTube clips, or . . . editing Wikipedia pages. Why? Well, I like my job. That sentence can be interpreted from both the perspective that I enjoy what I’m doing and working with my team, but also from the perspective that I don’t want to lose said job either. And, I’m grateful that the firm does not particularly care about little pleasures so long as they are done in moderation and don’t interfere with the completion of work (like any sensible firm).
Apparently, not everyone shares my sentiments (hat tip to A. Phan):
Japan Officials Edited Wikipedia at Work
Japan’s Agriculture Ministry reprimanded six bureaucrats after an internal probe found they spent work hours contributing to Wikipedia on topics unrelated to farm issues — including 260 entries about cartoon robots.
The six civil servants together made 408 entries on the popular Web site encyclopedia from ministry computers since 2003, an official said Friday.
This next bit really gets me (disclosure: I’m a big Gundam fan)
One of the six focused solely on Gundam — the popular, long-running animated series about giant robots — to which he contributed 260 times. The series has spun off intricate toy robots popular among schoolchildren as well as adults known as “otaku” nerds.
And of course, the no-fun Minister of Agriculture had to note:
“The Agriculture Ministry is not in charge of Gundam,” said ministry official Tsutomu Shimomura.
You heard it first, America, the Minister of Agriculture is not ACTUALLY in charge of designing big Gundams — as was commonly viewed by . . . apparently people working for said minister. I smell a cover-up…
The other five bureaucrats scolded for shirking their duties focused their contributions on movies, typographical mistakes on billboard signs and local politics, Shimomura said.
The ministry’s internal probe followed recent media allegations that a growing number of Japanese public servants were contributing to the Web encyclopedia, which anyone can edit, often to reflect their views.
The ministry verbally reprimanded each of the six officials, and slapped a ministry-wide order to prohibit access to Wikipedia at work, while disabling access to the site from the ministry, Shimomura said.
NO WIKIPEDIA!?!? But . . . how ever will I have access to the collective wisdom of humanity!? Surely, Wikipedia is useful for something, Mr. Shimomura-san!
The ministry, however, did not object to their limited contributions on the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements.
Someone’s got his sights set on controlling Japanese trade policy. . . you sly devil, Mr. Shimomura-san. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.