To cry or laugh. Can't decide.

[draco664]

Link


The DHS denied a FOIA request for the office phone numbers of public affairs staff.

Some federal agencies post the office phone numbers of public affairs staff on their websites.

Not the Department of Homeland Security, which believes their release poses "a clearly unwarranted invasion" of employee privacy.

So, whenever someone says to you, 'this proposed law will never be used in an inappropriate way', you can point to how the Freedom of Information Act is being used to prevent the release of the contact details of public relations officers at the Department of Homeland Security.

[Ginger Tea]

Because theyve only just got the infinate ammount of monkeys and typewritters generating semi cohereant sentances that a telephone ringing might distract them?

[siead_lietrathua]

i dunno. i mean part of me says ya, it wont kill them to have the office phone numbers published. but on the other hand i can imagine they just dont want random people calling to tie up the phone lines (more than they do) with their conspiracy theories (since it security in the article). or harass employees on a personal level.
if they can still be phoned through a switchboard and extension then the direct numbers dont really need to be posted, and the switchboard can hopefully filter out some of the nuts.

to me its kinda like having the customers able to call the field-repair-techs of a cable company on their direct company cellphone rather than calling the company and arranging support. it just hassles the techs and keeps them from doing their jobs.

although i didnt get from the article that the FOIA was preventing them from releasing numbers. that branch is demanding the release. the other groups are refusing to do it and trying to scramble for loopholes.

[HYHYBT]

to me its kinda like having the customers able to call the field-repair-techs of a cable company on their direct company cellphone rather than calling the company and arranging support. it just hassles the techs and keeps them from doing their jobs.

That's it exactly. Almost any business I can think of, you call the main number for the business, not the line for an individual (unless, perhaps, they know you or are already working with you, and therefore gave you the number themselves.) Why should a government agency be any different? Particularly one that's more likely than most to attract crackpots?

[Canarr]

ibut on the other hand i can imagine they just dont want random people calling to tie up the phone lines (more than they do) with their conspiracy theories (since it security in the article). or harass employees on a personal level.

Why would they? They can just call Gravekeeper...

[Panacea]

That's it exactly. Almost any business I can think of, you call the main number for the business, not the line for an individual (unless, perhaps, they know you or are already working with you, and therefore gave you the number themselves.) Why should a government agency be any different? Particularly one that's more likely than most to attract crackpots?

But . . . these are the public relations officers numbers that are under contention, not agents in the field (tech support). Basically, the people whose job is to communicate with the public doesn't want the public to be able to communicate with them.

Or, put another way, "We public relations officers will let you know when we have information we want you to hear. But we have no time to actually listen to you!"

[Andara Bledin]

You can still get to them through the switchboard, right?

If so, I still don't think that this is a worthwhile or even entirely valid fight.

^-.-^

[Panacea]

You can still get to them through the switchboard, right?

If so, I still don't think that this is a worthwhile or even entirely valid fight.

^-.-^

The real issue is transparency in government. There is no logical reason for a public relations officer not to be accessible by the public.

As for the switchboard, you could probably get a secretary screening calls. You might have to go through several layers of people to get the person you're really trying to get.

It's stuff like this that's the reason why people get so angry at their government.

[Andara Bledin]

It depends on what form of PR they do.

Besides, they have a specific number for their Office of Public Affairs. Is there a reason that the general public has a need for direct lines to individuals within the department?

^-.-^

[Panacea]

It depends on what form of PR they do.

Besides, they have a specific number for their Office of Public Affairs. Is there a reason that the general public has a need for direct lines to individuals within the department?

^-.-^

If I've been dealing with PR Officer Alpha, and I want to contact him, I'd rather just look up his extension than go through voice menu hell, or talk to some intern in the main office who decides to punt me to PR Officer Beta.

[Gravekeeper]

If I've been dealing with PR Officer Alpha, and I want to contact him, I'd rather just look up his extension than go through voice menu hell, or talk to some intern in the main office who decides to punt me to PR Officer Beta.

But if you were legitimately dealing with PR Officer Alpha, he'd likely give you his number or extension. So I don't know, I'm not seeing a huge deal here. If anyone needs to screen their calls, its Homeland Security. I can't imagine the sheer level of daily insanity that tries to call them, and I imagine it would translate into harrassment of individuals pretty quick if they weren't funnelled through a screening process.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to do your job when you've got a lunatic calling to harrass you your entire shift? I do, and believe me, its fscking hard to do your job around it and the legal countermeasures to stop it move at a glacial pace. In my case it was a just local line and only one person. Multiple that by an entire country and public relations officer or not, you would never get shit done with the amount of crazy calling you at your desk all day.

[Andara Bledin]

If you've been dealing with PR Officer Alpha, one would think he would give you his number/extension if he desired that you not go through the receptionist/phone menu hell.

Gk beat me to it.

^-.-^

[mikoyan29]

We pay taxes and therefore pay their salary.....If they want privacy, work for a private company.

[Gravekeeper]

We pay taxes and therefore pay their salary.....If they want privacy, work for a private company.

This is a silly statement. If you put this concept into practice, the entire government would grind to a halt in a matter of hours as would every company contracted with the government.

[Andara Bledin]

We pay taxes and therefore pay their salary.....If they want privacy, work for a private company.

This doesn't even make any sense.

This is the excuse of an SC crying for the manager to give them the CEO's number.

^-.-^