When is it ok to go against someone more senior than you?

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AspieSparkle
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14 Feb 2018, 2:00 pm

In my free time I help out with editing an online blog. I get on well with the owner, but on the relatively rare occasions that I disagree with him, he can be rather stubborn.

Yesterday the owner of the blog wrote an article about a troll who had attacked him online. What concerned me was that the blog owner included a link to the troll's online CV (resume), which has his name, full address and phone number at the top.

I was concerned that this was an invasion of privacy and might even put the person at risk (and I also feel it's unethical), so I shared my concerns with the blog owner, but he was dismissive and made me feel as if I was worrying over nothing. I didn't want to argue with him so I just left it.

When I woke up this morning, I saw that someone on Facebook had commented on the link to the article, saying "this is an open contract for murder". That really freaked me out so I went into the blog article and edited out the link to the troll's online CV.

The blog owner wasn't online at the time (otherwise I would have mentioned it to him), and he still hasn't noticed that I removed the link to the CV in his article. I'm worried that he will be angry If he does notice, so I'm wondering if I should confess to him and hope that he will understand why I took the action that I did?



kraftiekortie
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14 Feb 2018, 2:08 pm

I’m thinking: unless you had the blog owner’s permission, you probably shouldn’t have edited out the quote about “murder.”



AspieSparkle
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14 Feb 2018, 2:26 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I’m thinking: unless you had the blog owner’s permission, you probably shouldn’t have edited out the quote about “murder.”


The quote about murder wasn't part of the article - it was a Facebook comment that some random person had posted in response to the article.



kraftiekortie
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14 Feb 2018, 2:32 pm

I still sense you shouldn't have deleted it.

It's not that the guy is "senior" of you in any way. It's that he owns the blog. He might have wanted to use that quote as an example of absurd responses.

This is only my opinion. Based upon a bit of thought.



AspieSparkle
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14 Feb 2018, 2:35 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I still sense you shouldn't have deleted it.

It's not that the guy is "senior" of you in any way. It's that he owns the blog. He might have wanted to use that quote as an example of absurd responses.

This is only my opinion. Based upon a bit of thought.


Ok, what are your opinions on me deleting the link to the troll's resume containing his address and phone number?



kraftiekortie
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14 Feb 2018, 2:37 pm

If the person is stupid enough to leave a troll response with his name and phone number, then he should face the consequences.

Or was it the blog owner's name and phone number?



kraftiekortie
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14 Feb 2018, 2:41 pm

I think it depends, mostly, upon how much leeway the blog owner has given you in the past.

Does the blog owner know about it yet?

Let me emphasize: if I were in your situation, I might have done the same thing.



kraftiekortie
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14 Feb 2018, 3:56 pm

I hope this doesn't remain a dilemma for you for long.

I hope everything turns out good for you in the end.



Raleigh
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14 Feb 2018, 4:10 pm

Do you get paid for this?
If you do, you have an obligation to your employer to do as he directs, within the law.
However, I don't think it was ethical of him to disclose someone's personal information on the Internet in those circumstances.
I would have done the same as you, removed the link, at least until the owner confirmed his course of action.


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Fireblossom
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15 Feb 2018, 5:45 am

What does the law of your home country say about situations like this? Had that happened where I'm from, I'm pretty sure that what the blog owner did would've been illegal, putting someone else's contact information out like that.