Is this legal?

[chevyguy1000]

http://www.rankmysarge.com

It came up in my news feed on Facebook.  Is it legal to disclose pictures and names of soldiers without consent?

 

[Emilio]

What in God's name is this?

 

[Newt]

I don't know about the legalities, but it's sure as hell unprofessional.

Taking the piss out of fellow soldiers is a normal army thing to do, but like a lot of perfectly normal army things shouldn't be put out for the public to see.

 

[Emilio]

I don't know about the legalities, but it's sure as hell unprofessional.

Taking the piss out of fellow soldiers is a normal army thing to do, but like a lot of perfectly normal army things shouldn't be put out for the public to see.

And definitely beginning of a publicity nightmare for the CAF.

 

[JesseWZ]

And definitely beginning of a publicity nightmare for the CAF.

Why?

 

[Emilio]

Why?

Maybe nightmare was excessive, but some of the Canadian soldiers on the site are being portrayed pretty badly.

 

[Dissident]

Meh.

On a personal level I am not overly bothered.

On a professional level I am not too keen on airing out dirty laundry in public.

 

[JesseWZ]

It's no different then "ratemyprof" or "thedirty" or any other site like that. We are not exempt from the court of public or peer opinion. Be that as it may, I don't agree with it, and would much rather my peers say things to my face, rather then hide behind a ridiculous website. I would argue the public opinion of any formed body drops as soon as anonymity and audience are applied in equal measure.

Language warning to those who may be offended:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19

 

[Strike]

If this were happening to school-aged kids it would be considered cyber-bullying.

 

[Emilio]

It's no different then "ratemyprof" or "thedirty" or any other site like that. We are not exempt from the court of public or peer opinion. Be that as it may, I don't agree with it, and would much rather my peers say things to my face, rather then hide behind a ridiculous website. I would argue the public opinion of any formed body drops as soon as anonymity and audience are applied in equal measure.

Language warning to those who may be offended:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19

Exactly my point the website is too similar to "thedirty" or "ratemyprof", except the image of the soldiers shown on the website can become the image people see of the entire Military. While on the dirty those people are seen as individuals, and even then the website is frequently connected to bullying. The website needs to go down ASAP, or at least do more to hide the identity of the soldier.

 

[JesseWZ]

The website needs to go down ASAP, or at least do more to hide the identity of the soldier.

And again, I'll ask you why? Walk me through what it is that justifies it's removal. I see many more instances of good spirited joshing then bullying, though like any site, there are some instances of abuse.

Mods, I think this requires a move to Radio Chatter.

Edit only to fix a grammatical error.

 

[X Royal]

Does it not seem funny that this subject is a choice for a first post on this forum, from a poster who has not filled out their profile? :

 

[Emilio]

And again, I'll ask you why? Walk me through what it is that justifies it's removal? I see many more instances of good spirited joshing then bullying, though like any site, there are some instances of abuse.

Mods, I think this requires a move to Radio Chatter.

I agree for the most part it is good spirited "joshing", but civilians should not see certain high ranking NCO's being called the thing they are in this site.

The civilians who view this site will not see the the soldier as an individual, but a reflection of the entire CAF. And were just going to have to see,what happens when if the media gets a hold of this.

 

[JesseWZ]

:facepalm:

I am willing to bet the vast majority of these photos were obtained from Facebook, which is already accessible enough to the media as is.

but civilians should not see certain high ranking NCO's being called the thing they are in this site.

Why? What is the difference between them calling their boss something through anonymous means and ours calling ours something foul. Most of the members I saw were at the Cpl level, hardly a senior NCO. You're over-reacting.

When a RSM goes to Tim Hortons, he stands in line like the rest of us, just like a CEO, just like a member of Parliament or cabinet minister. Long have civilians lived with the image of the crusty Sgt Major (an image we have perpetuated through jokes, joshing, anecdotes, etc) and I hardly think this site will break the public conception of our military or our Senior NCOs.

 

[Strike]

...I see many more instances of good spirited joshing then bullying, though like any site, there are some instances of abuse.

I'm seeing the opposite - more bullying than other.

Any bullying is bad, especially when it's done anonymously.  Imagine finding out that you are on this site and people have been laughing about you behind your back.  If the people posting were NOT anonymous and they were discovered to be serving, you can bet that charges would probably be made.

Simple measure to determine if this is wrong or not - do you think people would post even half this stuff if they had to identify themselves?

 

[JesseWZ]

The OP question wasn't a question of ethics, it was a question of legality. Often the two don't run as parallel as everyone likes to think. If they did, all of the "rate" sites would long have been removed from the internet, especially "thedirty".

I would hope it is obvious, but in case it isn't, I don't care for bullying of any sort. I have investigated both physical and cyber bullying. I think it's cowardly to hide behind anonymity to slag someone else, and yes I agree charges would be forthcoming. We always trumpet the "we are a reflection of Canadian Society" line. The above mentioned site is our reflection, warts and all.

This site is getting what it wants out of this topic, traffic. Traffic generates ad-revenue, and ad revenue keeps the lights on. The OP question has probably been debated to death.

 

[The Bread Guy]

What is the difference between them calling their boss something through anonymous means and ours calling ours something foul. Most of the members I saw were at the Cpl level, hardly a senior NCO. You're over-reacting.

It's all goofiness and typical online idiocy until the wrong person gets piled on publicly and repeatedly, and then hurts themselves or others.  THEN the "cyberbully" headlines come out.

No, we shouldn't censor/edit these things based on the worst-case scenario.  That said, if it ever does happen, we shouldn't be surprised at the public and media response.

 

[Shamrock]

Is any of this improper conduct that is directed at and offensive to a member of the CF or civilian employee, in the workplace, that the poster reasonably ought to have known would cause offence?

Is any of this insulting language to a superior?

Do any of these comments, if seen or heard by any member of the public, possibly reflect discredit on the Canadian Forces or on any of its members?

Is any of this prejudicial to good order?

 

[Remius]

Given some legal actions taken against some sites and this one included, could one of those profiles on there not attempt to sue the site owners and posters for defamation depending on what is posted?  I think someone could prove that their reputation has been sullied and could seek damages from the site owners and posters.

While I'm sure from an NDA perspective nothing could really be done but civil litigation is certainly an option. 

 

[EFCFrost]

I found myself on the site the other day. Some not very nice things about my wife were said so I'm not too pleased.

Looking again today it looks like the site has been taken down. It shows as not found.

Thank the gods