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macbeach
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
Why should text of any kind (e-mail, IM, or something else) be on the record and voice be off? I see no reason not to have a public record of all phone calls as well. there should be no distinctions made based on the FORM of the message.

On the other hand, you have a perceived right of privacy for certain personal communications that have nothing to do with public policy. You have a need for ultra-secrecy in other communications regarding foreign policy etc. And then you have all sorts of things in between those two extremes.

It's hard to imaging a solution that addresses all these needs simultaneously and at the same time is actually usable. Even if the President is perfect in deciding which category a particular IM fits into, all the people he might be IMing will NOT be perfect and there will be leakage from one type of message to another.

Of course the Obama administration won't be helped by the left's obsession with Bush, including downright outrage that they carried (gasp) cell phones.

Gotta roll back all those illegally obtained Presidential powers you know?
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Uncle_Billy_Slumming
01/18/09

@macbeach: This expresses something I've been thinking about for a while. I would go further. All conversations of politicians and the people who work for them to be recorded during working hours. You want the life, you submit to complete transparency. I guess they could still cook up the pork through their wives, but seems like it would cut way down on the corruption.
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
um, I have a possibly very stupid question. where I work, we pass thru a log in screen reminding us of the fines for HIPPA violations, every time we log in

is in inconceivable to create an IM system with a reminder that your IM's are being archived, something which would remain in the header AT ALL TIMES? I'm no tech guy - tell me if this is an incredibly dumb idea, pls.
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FourInchHeels
01/18/09

@Monsigor Xtravagante D'ouchestache★: Not a dumb idea at all, it makes a lot of sense. My last job had the same thing. It was a civil engineering firm in a large office on many floors, so IM was often the easiest way to bounce a quick idea off of someone three floors away.

I don't know how often the system would be abused - in my experience, most office gossip happened in person; most people kept the IMs professional.
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18thCFox
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
Here's the thing about not having 24-hour instant access to everyone you know: you learn to manage your time better at work, you t figure out things for yourself instead of messaging people for the answers, you learn to write down a list of messages or questions to send people and when you roll into the office you do it all in one go. Obama's administration is arleady super-streamlined, the exact opposite of the shambling operation of the last Democratic administration. Shutting off the white noise that IM services provide will make them even more focused.
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PandoraSpocks
01/18/09

@18thCFox: That's how I feel, too.
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spitneybeers
01/18/09

@18thCFox: Are you old? You sound old.
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18thCFox
01/18/09

@spitneybeers: I'm 25. Not everyone that is intelligent is old.
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FourInchHeels
01/18/09

@18thCFox: Interestingly, not everyone who is old is intelligent!

*pointed glance at the monkey who is mercifully vacating office in TWO DAYS!*
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CaptainFantastic
01/19/09

@18thCFox: Yes. No one can make a decision for themselves anymore.
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Duke
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
Wasn't he on Hill Street Blues?
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jasonelias
01/18/09

@Duke: Yep. Officer Leo Benedetti 85-86 season.
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tunamelt
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
Dude, AIM saves all your AIM convos. I have some from 2005.
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GirlyWhirl
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
Looks like Axelrod is gearing up to go to some of those leather parties scheduled in D.C.
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jasonelias
01/18/09

In reply to Obama's Staff Facing Life Without IM
There's always carrier pigeons. They could also hire a young boy from the '40s to deliver messages from a sandwich board
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