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why would you close the thread (ethical vs. practical problems, whistle blower) ?

 
Greenhorn
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I have a question (that I suppose if it goes unanswered would serve as a comment), why would you close the thread?
 
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FYI.... this topic was split off from this:

https://coderanch.com/t/569494/Jobs/careers/Would-You-Whistle-Blow-Serious

The reason it was split off is to allow this discussion to continue -- even after the original topic is locked.

Henry
 
Mark Felt
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By splitting off the question into a separate thread, the context becomes at best obscured and at worst lost.

"Why lock topic in JD forum?" is really not the question that I asked. It's "Why would you close the thread?" The context was in the question of the "whistle blower" thread and my response to your post.

The nature of whistle blower is always that of subordinate to very powerful superior. A superior cannot whistle blow on a subordinate. It makes no sense. For example, a subordinate in a Fortune 500 company could be misusing company funds, embezzling, or committing tax fraud. The superior has a responsibility to notify authorities, and by doing so he has fulfilled his responsibility to his company. A subordinate's responsibility is to report the superior up the chain of command. If it gets squelched, he goes outside the structure and whistle blows. The same could be said of any hierarchical organization. Picture the military. A general does not whistle blow on a private for war crimes. The organization deals with the charge. The general has the power to ensure that the charge is dealt with. Reverse the ranks, and the private might need to whistle blow.

That speaks to the nature of whistle blower. The problem is then getting on the outside. Of course, others' first reactions are "that's a Fortune 500 company" or "that's the U.S. Army" or "that's the Roman Catholic Church" or "is this topic serious?". The immediate response is to discredit or diminish the whistle blower.

I am not making Area 51, Obama was born in Kenya, Bush blew up the WTC, the Warren Commission colluded in coverup claims. I am claiming that in a country (check my IP address!) where academic fraud, corruption, danger to students, and coverup gets whispered by the natives, where there is no free speech, where you dare not go against the hierarchical order, and I can't speak the language beyond ordering lunch at a restaurant, I have documents and had the position and access. The position and access force a moral, ethical, and professional responsibility on me. The documents make for, at the very worst, compelling reason for further inquiry.

Even among fellow I.T. people, I can't get past or persuade to ever so briefly suspend disbelief. At the cost of kilobytes to this board and to an educated audience who are free to vote with their feet, I can't discuss the dilemma confronting a whistle blower.

The topic is not "Why lock topic in JD forum"; the topic is "why would you close the thread (of the ethical vs. practical problems faced by a whistle blower)?"
 
Marshal
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That post explains why the original thread might be locked. Because no new information is being supplied, and the posts are simply repetition of what has been said already. You are, by the way, repeating what was said on the other thread.
So Henry is right to close the discussion. It is like what it used to say in the newspapers’ letters pages: “This correspondence now closed.”
 
Mark Felt
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OK. I did not understand or see that. I got sidetracked in addressing a mod's closing the thread because forum's have rules and the rules must be upheld. I wrote by analogy that my profession has ethics, morals, and rules, and that I am up the proverbial creek to try to uphold them... or not. I argued that any forum rule violation was minor compared to my risk, but I waived that I would request it's removal.

Another mod then wrote that my post was either serious and shouldn't be here or that the post was not serious. I tried to reiterate the detail and gravity of the situation. At worst, I'm wasting bytes on a page that others can choose to ignore. The last possibility is that I'm a practical joker, but I haven't revealed anything specific, so there is no target.

I'm in a scary place, and the situation is real. Maybe not to you, but it is very real and impending to me.
 
Henry Wong
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Mark Felt wrote:By splitting off the question into a separate thread, the context becomes at best obscured and at worst lost.



The purpose of this topic is *NOT* to continue discussion of the other thread. It is to let you to discuss why the topic is being closed. If ranchers want a deep context of the original thread -- he/she may read it themselves.


Mark Felt wrote:
"Why lock topic in JD forum?" is really not the question that I asked. It's "Why would you close the thread?" The context was in the question of the "whistle blower" thread and my response to your post.

The topic is not "Why lock topic in JD forum"; the topic is "why would you close the thread (of the ethical vs. practical problems faced by a whistle blower)?"



As requested... I will change the subject of this topic (admittedly, I have to shorten it due to length, hopefully, the jist is okay).

Henry
 
Henry Wong
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This topic was given a couple of days for final comments prior to being closed.

It has now been five days -- four days since the last post. The topic is now closed.

Henry

 
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