Your IT department is ruining your March Madness fun

[Reerun_KC]

Quickest way to being replaced or outsourced is trying to pull this shit in my company... You block March madness for the employees you can kiss your job and ass goodbye.

****ing IT Nerds.


http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_...ch-madness-fun

By Allison Linn
It happens in offices around the country, around this time of year.
There you are, squinting at your computer, pretending to be oh-so-immersed in that spreadsheet, but what you’re really doing is waiting for the boss to leave so you can get back to watching March Madness on the other screen.
But why won’t the game load?
Blame the ITdepartment.
A new survey finds that about two-thirds of ITdepartments take some sort of action to block, ban or throttle non-work streaming content, including the March Madness college basketball tournament.
When it comes to March Madness specifically, four in 10 admit they monitor employees who try to access March Madness on their computers, in order to protect the company’s network.
That’s according to a survey of about 500 ITprofessionals conducted this February on behalf of Modis, an IT staffing firm that is part of Adecco.
Let’s be fair to the IT folks. They aren’t necessarily trying to keep you from keeping tabs on your bracket during the work day, but they are trying to keep your network running.
According to the Modis survey, four in 10 respondents said streaming content from the annual basketball tournament has had some impact on the company’s network, such as slowing or even shutting it down.
Most IT professionals surveyed said they block streaming content to make sure everyone can do their regular work without network disruptions. But the majority also said they do so to keep people from getting too distracted at work.
It’s not clear how much March Madness, which begins March 11, really distracts people from getting their work done.
Challenger, Gray and Christmas this year poked fun at its own assessment of how much game time takes away from company time, and even admitted no one’s likely going out of business because of a basketball tournament.
The outplacement firm’s advice: As with most things, March Madness should be viewed in moderation. At least while you’re at work.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Anyone who has actually had the responsibility of purchasing and maintaining a complex network infrastructure for any reasonably sized organization wouldn't think twice about a decision like this. It's easy for the users to say "Throw us a little bone, it isn't hurting anything." All the while, they're sitting in front of a company computer loaded with company software using company bandwidth for doing something that is not work related and can be distracting from doing actual work.

Maintaining balance and a happy work environment is certainly important. But there are countless ways to do that which would conform to company policy and not set a precedent that could be abused later. Because I know from experience that if you give the users an inch, they'll expect to take a mile next time. If you say "Ahh it's OK, go ahead and watch the game this once.", then Judy McLazyass down the hall hears about it and justifies watching Judge Joe Brown, because Bob gets to watch basketball. Then it snowballs to the point of slowing the network down. And at that point, people begin bitching at IT because they don't have enough bandwidth. Which of course is also IT's fault.

This may seem to the common user to be something minor and would never actually cause any harm. But I can tell you from experience that it adds up very quickly.

Well said. Slippery slope....

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Anyone who has actually had the responsibility of purchasing and maintaining a complex network infrastructure for any reasonably sized organization wouldn't think twice about a decision like this. It's easy for the users to say "Throw us a little bone, it isn't hurting anything." All the while, they're sitting in front of a company computer loaded with company software using company bandwidth for doing something that is not work related and can be distracting from doing actual work.

Maintaining balance and a happy work environment is certainly important. But there are countless ways to do that which would conform to company policy and not set a precedent that could be abused later. Because I know from experience that if you give the users an inch, they'll expect to take a mile next time. If you say "Ahh it's OK, go ahead and watch the game this once.", then Judy McLazyass down the hall hears about it and justifies watching Judge Joe Brown, because Bob gets to watch basketball. Then it snowballs to the point of slowing the network down. And at that point, people begin bitching at IT because they don't have enough bandwidth. Which of course is also IT's fault.

This may seem to the common user to be something minor and would never actually cause any harm. But I can tell you from experience that it adds up very quickly.

Excellent post, well said.

[vailpass]

If you accept their paycheck you accept their rules.

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

One could de-prioritize CBS Sports streaming video in the network, allowing it to only consume X amount of bandwidth if no mission critical traffic is present, and not have to mandate anything to anyone.

The point about the non-basketball fan is a good one though. If a user doesn't like basketball how do you explain to them that they can't recieve the same benifits that a basketball fan does? Do you let them watch whatever they want as well? Are they only allowed to do that during the time the NCAA tournament is on? What if what they want to watch is during a different time of day or time or year?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Well said. Slippery slope....

That slippery slope slides the other way too.

I spend 12-16 hours a day on a company computer. I don't HAVE to but I do because I don't like to be working on Monday's work on Thursday. I have FAR more than 8 hours worth of work come in on any given day.

If my company were to suddenly block Youtube, Chiefsplanet, or any number of other things, where am I at 5:15pm? NOT on my company computer, that's for damn sure.

But then again, my direct employer "gets it". For every couple of hours I spend every day surfing the Internet, I spend 4-6 hours of "unpaid overtime" doing work for them.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

The point about the non-basketball fan is a good one though. If a user doesn't like basketball how do you explain to them that they can't recieve the same benifits that a basketball fan does? Do you let them watch whatever they want as well? Are they only allowed to do that during the time the NCAA tournament is on? What if what they want to watch is during a different time of day or time or year?

You can de-prioritize all streaming video (or audio) and then it's no longer a concern.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

One could de-prioritize CBS Sports streaming video in the network, allowing it to only consume X amount of bandwidth if no mission critical traffic is present, and not have to mandate anything to anyone.

You're recommending implementing additional administration work to allow users to violate company policy to use company resources for non work related consumption of bandwidth. No thanks. Much easier and more efficient to simply block it. I've been a system administrator for nearly 10 years now, and if there's anything I've learned, it's that you don't let your users set the rules. Sorry if the user is sad that they'll miss a game on company time. But it's not IT's responsibility to provide happiness for its users by breaking policy for them.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

You're recommending implementing additional administration work to allow users to violate company policy to use company resources for non work related consumption of bandwidth. No thanks. Much easier and more efficient to simply block it. I've been a system administrator for nearly 10 years now, and if there's anything I've learned, it's that you don't let your users set the rules. Sorry if the user is sad that they'll miss a game on company time. But it's not IT's responsibility to provide happiness for its users by breaking policy for them.

You're assuming that there's a company policy to violate, that's why I keep saying you're missing the point.

Again, I consult for both types of company. I see an OVERWHELMING trend when correlating office atmostphere/policy, productivity, and corporate output (shareholder return mainly).

Many of the most succesful companies out there are the LEAST rigid when it comes to mandating employee policy.

[Bugeater]

**** watching it online, I have a TV stashed in my shop.

[QuikSsurfer]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

One could de-prioritize CBS Sports streaming video in the network, allowing it to only consume X amount of bandwidth if no mission critical traffic is present, and not have to mandate anything to anyone.

So you'd ask your IT admin to create a internet usage policy for video streams as well as set bandwidth limitations during peak times? As a network administrator, I'd remind you what the company network is used for.
I run in to these types of issues all the time -- I've allowed radio streams through our firewall but you'd be surprised at the blow our network takes every morning when people are firing up pandora at the same time.

This issue reminds me of a call I got last weekend (after hours) from a elected offical -- he was so upset that we had his computer locked down to where he couldn't download anything or make changes to his computer.. He needed to be able to plug his sky caddie in and download the latest course GPS information... This is the kind of shit I deal with every week. Can't make everybody happy and keep the network at 100% uptime with average latency all the time.

[Saulbadguy]

Leave the rule making (and enforcing) to management, and just do what they tell you to do.

[R8RFAN]

use your vacation time you slackers

[ROYC75]

No problem here, boss bought us a new Mitsubishi 73" for the family room and installed a 20" in the office.

Bout time I got him to listen to me.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Leave the rule making (and enforcing) to management, and just do what they tell you to do.

But people who don't own companies always know how to run companies better than those who do.

[R8RFAN]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

But people who don't own companies always know how to run companies better than those who do.

It's the evil corporations man