On May 8th, 2007, we reported that a page on the FPC wiki was edited to remove information regarding Jeff Kottkamp, Florida’s Lt. Governor. (See: FPC Wiki Vandalized by State Employee.) This edit was entirely destructive, deleting specific information regarding Kottcamp’s settlement of a lawsuit which claimed age-discrimination.
Though wiki vandalism isn’t a new problem on our site, we have had little difficulty mitigating the damage caused by an occasional link spammer. This incident stood out from all previous vandalism, in that it was a deliberate effort to censor information. This was not someone trying to increase page rankings by littering our site with links to dubious products.
Jackie Dowd, (of The 13th Juror and the FPC), was first to notice the deletions and, to her credit, she realized that something was out of the ordinary. She then informed me, since I am the group’s technical adviser.
My initial investigation revealed that the vandal had used a computer IP address registered to the Florida Department of Management Services. I proceeded by registering a complaint with that department. Over the course of the month I made several calls, but my requests for information went unanswered. During this period, my complaint was referred higher within the department until, at last, it reached the Deputy Secretary for Enterprise Information Technology Services at the Department of Management Services, Crystal Armstrong.
My phone conversations had been with lower-echelon technical staff. I was very satisfied with the quality of service and pleasant demeanor of those I spoke with. I was not as happy that no one in authority had returned my calls, or updated me on the status of the investigation. When Ms. Armstrong finally responded to my complaint with an e-mail, I got very little of the information I had requested.
What follows is that first response to my complaint, sent on May 30th:
Mr. Harper –
As per your request, it is the policy of the State of Florida that employees use their computers appropriately. This policy is included in the Code of Personal Responsibility which state employees are required to sign. Below is an excerpt from the code regarding use of the Internet. The following is a link to the document on the Department of Management Services Web site.
[link]XIV. Telephone/Internet Usage/ E-Mail
Personal long distance calls shall not be charged to State telephones. Employees must use their personal long distance credit card for this purpose.
A. Internet Use
1. The Internet is to be used for reasons that are necessary in the accomplishment of an employee’s job assignments.
2. Employees ARE permitted to briefly visit other non-sensitive Internet sites during non-work time, such as break, lunch, before, or after work hours. Examples are health matters, weather, news, business topics, community activities, career advancement and personal enrichment. It is imperative that common sense be used in viewing non-work related sites and they must not result in any additional cost to the Department.
Common sense dictates that employees NOT access the Internet to visit such sites as those relating to chat rooms, news groups, political groups, singles clubs/ dating services, or for reasons of personal financial gain.
3. Employees are NOT permitted to access, send, store, or display sensitive materials including but not limited to, gambling or other illegal activities, sexually explicit materials, or materials that include profane, obscene, or inappropriate language, or racial, ethnic or other discriminatory content. ANY EMPLOYEE FOUND TO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THESE ACTIVITIES WILL BE SUBJECT TO SEVERE DISCIPLINARY ACTION UP TO AND INCLUDING DISMISSAL FOR A FIRST OFFENSE.
Thank You,
Crystal Armstrong
Department of Management Services
Enterprise Information Technology Services
I was surprised that a three-week-long investigation had produced nothing more than a link to a policy that I could have found in a minute, using Google. The above response was ambiguous regarding whether state policy had been violated. I was far from satisfied, so I restated my request for information with the following e-mail, sent on June 4th:
Ms. Armstrong,
Thank you for responding to my inquiry into the computer/network usage policy for state employees. While this is helpful, the information was only a small part of what I asked for.
As you are aware, our web site was vandalized by someone using a state computer. Links and text were removed from a publicly editable “wiki” page, which provides background on our current Lt. Governor, Jeff Kottkamp. The edit was an entirely destructive, determined effort to censor valid information concerning that politician.
In short, state resources were used in an attempt to influence the political process.
We are a group of politically active Floridians involved in a grassroots effort to spotlight progressive causes and candidates. We are building a political “web encyclopedia”, (or “wiki”), to inform Florida’s citizens and help involve them more fully in the political process. We are deeply concerned that a state employee has used state resources to censor material intended for Florida’s voting public.
I have been infinitely patient, waiting for someone with enough authority to resolve this situation became involved in the process. Each call I made was answered with indifference, though I remained polite in my insistence that someone contact me in regards to my complaint.
Now, (after the better part of a month), we have established that the state does have policies which could be construed to apply, I am looking forward to your response to the remainder of my questions regarding the situation, which have gone unanswered since the first of my several calls.
Has the state’s policy been violated in this case?
Was disciplinary action taken, and if so, what was done?
Was the individual a state employee, or a contractor?
What position does the individual hold, management-level or general staff?
If management, who and what office, and does this employee have contact with the Governor’s or Lt. Governor’s office?
What is the Department’s official response to the incident? We would appreciate a statement.
Mainstream news media has taken notice of our reporting of the “Editing Kottkamp” wiki vandalism. Political reporters at the St. Pete Times linked to our report from the paper’s web site, after contacting the Department to confirm that a complaint had been filed. I am certain that they remain interested.
I would hope that FOIA requests are not necessary to discover the answers to the questions I have posed. At present, I am at odds whether I should urge members of our organization to contact the State Attorney’s office to report the misuse of state resources in an attempt to censor political information and interfere in the political process. I am beginning to feel that the “investigation” which resulted from my complaint will not yield any useful answers.
Again, I and the organization I represent have been patient, allowing ample time for an investigation to be conducted. At present, I do not know whether state employees have free reign to vandalize our web encyclopedia. I’m considering blocking access to our site from your department’s entire range of IP addresses, as a precaution against future damage. I will, of course, ask my state representative and state senator why such measures should be necessary to protect our web site from vandalism by state employees.
Following are some links which may further your understanding of our complaint:
[FPC Wiki Vandalized by State Employee - Florida Progressive Coalition]
[The Buzz Florida Politics - St. Petersburg Times - Editing Kottkamp]
[Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki - Jeff Kottkamp]
[Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki - Jeff Kottkamp Edit History]
All the best,
David Harper
Manager
Florida Progressive Coalitionhttp://flaprogressives.org/
I received the following terse reply, on June 8th:
Mr. Harper,
Modifications were made to the Lt. Governor’s biographical information. Changes were made from the computer of Larry Ringers who works for the Lt. Governor. By nature, and as referenced in your correspondence, wiki pages are publicly editable.
Thank You,
Crystal Armstrong
That would be A. “Larry” Ringers, Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Kottkamp.
Despite Ms. Armstrong’s carefully parsed phrasing and use of the passive voice, I think we can safely assume that Larry Ringers, himself, had been using “the computer of Larry Ringers” to censor links and information from the FPC wiki entry on Kottkamp.
Ringers clearly violated the “common sense dictates” spelled out in the state’s computer/network usage policy. He also violated the trust of the community, when he chose to censor information, rather than contributing. Worse, by using the state’s resources to erase valid information regarding a serving politician’s history, Ringers action sets a very dangerous precedent.
A wiki is a garden tended by many, and visitors are encouraged to take part in nurturing its growth. Pruning must be done with care, and is a job best left to those who have made substantial contributions. We don’t lock the gates to our wiki, nor do we demand identification from those who would work alongside us. We only ask that our visitors respect the hard work that others have done, and avoid ruining it for the next person. It is nothing more than the Golden Rule, as any Sunday School teacher, (like Larry), should know.
[Updated, 4:55pm EDT, 6/13/07:
New information has come to my attention which necessitates an update to this post. Strike-through is now employed to de-emphasize the post's title and a portion of text in the closing paragraphs the post, as they may prove to be inaccurate.
The parsing of Ms. Armstrong's letter was the source of initial confusion. I understood "the computer of Larry Ringers" as indicating a single machine belonging to Ringers, one used primarily by the Chief of Staff. This is not the case. The phrase appears to be an intentional attempt at misdirection. Generally, when a noun is preceded by an article, (such as "the"), the determiner indicates specificity.
We may soon learn that every one of the computers in the LG's office is registered to Ringers. If this should be so, it is no longer safe to assume that Larry Ringers, himself, had been using “the computer of Larry Ringersâ€, (of which there are several, belying Armstrong's grammatically-incorrect usage of the definite article).
We were given a red-herring. There is a possibility that I erroneously indicated that Ringers was the wiki vandal. If this should be the case, I regret any errors made as a consequence of having relied on the veracity of a state employee.
We may soon learn the identity of the censor beyond any doubt. Expect a major newspaper to go to press with startling revelations concerning this evolving story.]
[2nd update, 6:13pm, EDT, 6/13/07:
The Lt. Governor edited his own entry. Story here: Internet mystery solved Lt. gov. did it - 06132007 - MiamiHerald.com]
Not only did she use the passive voice in order to avoid assigning responsibility, she also incorrectly stated what was edited. It certainly wasn’t Kottkamp’s bio that was edited, it was links to mainstream media articles that discussed the Lt. Governor’s potential ethical problems that were deleted.
How is this possible? The Christian Coalition. gave him top ratings.
We are shocked.
The first e-mail from Armstong was a total brush-off. I immediately apprehended that I had struck some kind of a nerve. No one that high up in an organization would be dealing with this… not unless a judgment call had to be made. Something as trivial as that brush-off would have fallen to a subordinate. Nothing that simple takes three weeks to handle. If it were so unimportant, why had the the complaint been passed around the department like a hot potato?
I know CYA when I see it. [speculation] Armstrong was likely the person responsible for deciding whether policy had been violated. If that were so, the only wise career move may have been to give the LG’s best friend a pass. [/speculation]
I used the pitchfork approach to shoveling past the manure: I asked a lot of pointed questions. Like I figured, she flinched and gave up the name. No one wants to be in the line-of-fire when the s**t starts flying. (BTW, I’m not at all surprised that she couldn’t name Ringers as party to any action requiring a strong verb.)
An additional bit of clarification to address something that came up in an e-mail referencing this post:
I filed a formal complaint with the Dept of Management Services and was given a reference number for the incident: 195320
It appears that the DMS has already resolved my complaint to their satisfaction.
It’s up at The Buzz now.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2007/06/editing_kottkam.html#comments
Crystal is not very high up at all, she is a helpdesk supervisor, and a horrible one at that. As for the brush off, she has NO I-T knowledge and could not help in any way. She is very good at spinning the wheels of justice. She was herself investigate for numerous activities HR related.
Howling, all of hat is 100% irrelevant to this story. The fact that the story was reported makes it more than valid for us to report and the fact that the LG would try to erase it rather than tell us his side of the story undercuts your claim. Either way, a LG should not be using government computers to edit a Wiki when he should be concentrating on solving the problems of Floridians, you know, his job.