Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: The Gnome

Well matrixgames.com has been shut down by my proxy server at work. I guess some admin took offense to something. My employer is _extremely_ loose and the only way they move on anything is some political correctness violation or something that can get them into legal hot water. I'm now awaiting the call into the principal's office.... home of the free... whee!

Just an FYI for anyone else that surfs from work.

You poor people. At my job I am the IT Manager, web admin, etc. I don't think I'll ban matrixgames.com [;)]. In fact, I don't think I'll ban anything at all from my own ip address. Power is so much fun... [:D]

ORIGINAL: Caltone

At my last job the site was banned but it was due to the word games in the page. The firewall told ya why it was banned.

New job has no restrictions at all so I usually keep the forum up while at work. I switch to it while running some large queries or compiling a long piece of code. My experience at the new job is most eveyone browses the net, I've looked in quiet a few history folders while troubleshooting machines. Funny thing is, if they ever decided to ban any sites, they'd probably ask me to help them set it up. [:D]

It sounded though as Gnome was 'reported' instead, if he wasn't joking about having to go to the principal's office. Maybe he doesn't realize how the blocker's work, but if it were keying on a word in the url then surely somebody noticing something objectionable to them wouldn't be an issue.

ORIGINAL: Charles_22

ORIGINAL: Caltone

At my last job the site was banned but it was due to the word games in the page. The firewall told ya why it was banned.

New job has no restrictions at all so I usually keep the forum up while at work. I switch to it while running some large queries or compiling a long piece of code. My experience at the new job is most eveyone browses the net, I've looked in quiet a few history folders while troubleshooting machines. Funny thing is, if they ever decided to ban any sites, they'd probably ask me to help them set it up. [:D]

It sounded though as Gnome was 'reported' instead, if he wasn't joking about having to go to the principal's office. Maybe he doesn't realize how the blocker's work, but if it were keying on a word in the url then surely somebody noticing something objectionable to them wouldn't be an issue.

Could be, and if was just a firewall hit with a warning, he might even try the IP. I never did at my last job but those guys were Nazi's. Opps can I say that? [:D]

Must say I agree with Oleg to a degree. As I mentioned earlier, nothing is blocked at my new job and in addition there is a much 'freer' attitude than the previous. Taking that into consideration, morale and productivity are light years better at the new job. People seem happy to be there (yours truly included) and you never hear 'I hate this place' I wish it were 5:00', etc etc.

My company uses a software package that scans pictures looking for offensive one's. But the software always marks photos with elephants in them as offensive, we love it and keep lots of elephant picture on our PC's. I wonder is this politicly motivated?[:-].
I work on simulators so Matrix writes software for simulations, JOB RELEATED. [:D]

ORIGINAL: Charles_22

ORIGINAL: Caltone

At my last job the site was banned but it was due to the word games in the page. The firewall told ya why it was banned.

New job has no restrictions at all so I usually keep the forum up while at work. I switch to it while running some large queries or compiling a long piece of code. My experience at the new job is most eveyone browses the net, I've looked in quiet a few history folders while troubleshooting machines. Funny thing is, if they ever decided to ban any sites, they'd probably ask me to help them set it up. [:D]

It sounded though as Gnome was 'reported' instead, if he wasn't joking about having to go to the principal's office. Maybe he doesn't realize how the blocker's work, but if it were keying on a word in the url then surely somebody noticing something objectionable to them wouldn't be an issue.

I think it was something to do with the bandwidth to a particular site... lots of sigs coming down the pipe can add up over a day. It probably put the url on a list of suspect sites and then they saw "games" in the name and blammo. Now it's just whether said admin decides to notify my boss or not lol.

I think most of the facist behavior in corporate America has to do with the runaway law suites. Everyone sues about anything so the executives figure better safe than sorry.

Ironically, everyone in IT needs to attend a class given by the Legal Department on writing email and my class was scheduled for today. It was frightening. Outside of the obcious the top talking points were:
1) Never write your opinion
2) Never criticize the company
3) Never say anything negative

It was downright Orwellian, they want robots working for them not people. I think I need another shower to get the remaining stench off me.

http://www.homepurchaseprogram.com/panzerlied.html

In case anyone wants to sing along.

ORIGINAL: The Gnome

I think most of the facist behavior in corporate America has to do with the runaway law suites. Everyone sues about anything so the executives figure better safe than sorry.

Ironically, everyone in IT needs to attend a class given by the Legal Department on writing email and my class was scheduled for today. It was frightening. Outside of the obcious the top talking points were:
1) Never write your opinion
2) Never criticize the company
3) Never say anything negative

It was downright Orwellian, they want robots working for them not people. I think I need another shower to get the remaining stench off me.

I suspect that a lot of that has to do with fear of whistleblowers. Preventing employees from having opinions or independent thought helps keep them from turning the company in to law enforcement. And even if you do, the company can undercut the accuser and defend itself with the line "Well, if we were doing something wrong and he/she knew about it, why didn't they say anything internally first?".

Just be glad you could access Matrix at work(if not now).The only purpose for it at my work was for inter-office E-mail,and trust me they monitor it to make sure nothing but business goes on[:@]I thought a couple of times to hooking up to the net to kill some time,but it would be found out and its a Terminating offense.Apparently someone else had the same idea because just recently everyone recieved a memo restating that using the company's internet connection for viewing porn,telling jokes,or any other use besides that which deals with day to day businees will result in the termination of said offender.I wonder who the poor sucker was thinking "they'll never know".[:D]

Just have to work at a game company like me. I can just say its research.

Spying on certain employsees net usage is illegal here... But if they do something to ban 'games' urls or something like that I propably set https proxy to my home computer and surf the net through it, so much for spying on my internet usage.

Like mapr said. It works like that around here too.

My previous job filtered the MG site, but the present one doesn't (obviously), so I guess it's very much up to the local internet usage policy.


My previous job, btw, is US owned (hello FORD!) and uses the US policy. Go figure. [8|]

With all this talk of surfing at work remind me not to hire you guys.[;)]

ORIGINAL: dtravel

ORIGINAL: kaleun

Might be. Germans became very sensitive about these things.
I heard the plastic models of aircraft in Germany can't have Swastikas on them.

Swastikas, the very word Nazi, basically anything associated with the Third Reich or Hitler is illegal in Germany. I know that Paradox couldn't even include the WWII German flag in their game Hearts of Iron because they wanted to be able to sell it in Germany.

It depends on the context, for historical purposes there´s no problem with showing Nazi stuff. For games it´s of course a different matter.

I have a few old books lying around here, some stuff that survived the WW, there´s absolutly no problem with owning it.


Btw, the Panzerlied is not "banned", I know the german Bundeswehr armor guys used to sing it [;)] . Our platoon song was alos one that was used by the Reichswehr and later on the Wehrmacht.

Btw, the Panzerlied is not "banned", I know the german Bundeswehr armor guys used to sing it . Our platoon song was alos one that was used by the Reichswehr and later on the Wehrmacht.

It is after all a great song, very inspirational. "Though our faces be dusty, our spirits soar; Our armor rages in the midst of the storm." Our tankers could be singing it today.....

Nah guys, I think you have it wrong. Those that have a problem with us using the internet at work are primarily IMO, those who think that the company is losing great amount of dollars because we don't 'work harder'. A bit absurd if your job is in IT like mine, but nonetheless people outside IT are often enough arrogant enough to think we're they're slaves anyway, so what's the harm in them sticking their nose where it don't belong? Anyway, they of course see no contradiction whatsoever with what for many of them is their diversion from work; you know, the ol' gossip network.

Original: Oleg Mastruko
You mean "Panzerlied"? I am 99% sure it's banned.

The first verse of Panzerlied is great. Unfortunately there are other verses that tend to, um, denigrate those who opposed the Nazis. That's why the song was banned -- or so I was told by a (West) German Tank Battalion Commander circa 1983.

I've always wondered who makes these decisions. I tried to get to the Matrix forum
one night at work and found it blocked. But when I typed "escorts" into the search
engine, you should have seen the parade of porn that rolled in. Apparently in
"Silly-Con Valley" it's ok to set up a date with a hooker from work..., but not to
discuss war-games.

ORIGINAL: Oleg Mastruko

ORIGINAL: Sonny

ORIGINAL: Beezle

This forum is banned at one place I work (but not at others) because "games" in in the website URL [:@]

Got the same problem - anything with games gets blocked.[:(]

Try using the IP address then [:D]

http://66.55.131.20

Personally I'd die without forum access from work. Heck, I actively play WITP, WAW and other wargames in office and am trying to spark the interest among the office mates, let alone browse the forums.

Not trying to start any "US vs. rest of the world" polemic here (I really love the US [:D]), but this fascism at the workplace is entirely American "invention", that is unfortunately spreading around the globe. I don't think employers get any *real* benefit by blocking these sites to their employees.

Oleg

Hmmm.... how odd.... employers actually want employes to WORK their 40 hrs a week.....Oh... I forgot, Euro's don't like to work that much.... When's the last time a US white-collar worker had the "luxury" of a meager 40 hr work week?????

ORIGINAL: ZOOMIE1980


Hmmm.... how odd.... employers actually want employes to WORK their 40 hrs a week.....Oh... I forgot, Euro's don't like to work that much.... When's the last time a US white-collar worker had the "luxury" of a meager 40 hr work week?????

And we have socialised medicine! And low gun crime! And some vague sense of job security! Shocking! U'all must be glad you won war of independance...

S - public servant working 60 hour weeks getting paid for 40

ORIGINAL: Charles_22

Nah guys, I think you have it wrong. Those that have a problem with us using the internet at work are primarily IMO, those who think that the company is losing great amount of dollars because we don't 'work harder'. A bit absurd if your job is in IT like mine, but nonetheless people outside IT are often enough arrogant enough to think we're they're slaves anyway, so what's the harm in them sticking their nose where it don't belong? Anyway, they of course see no contradiction whatsoever with what for many of them is their diversion from work; you know, the ol' gossip network.

Bottom line, for me, is my staff getting their stuff done on time and with the expected quality. If they are, I don't give a damn what they do whilst doing it. If they aren't, well, that's when the hammer falls and history files full of game site browsing, or any other extensive browsing is a MAJOR problem that WILL be rectified one way or another.