Facebook, Last.fm, Pandora, Myspace (who cares), Screencastsonline forums, any site involving gaming of any sort, lots of sites that use flash of any sort, Youtube, Flickr, Meebo, or any IM except gtalk (see below).

I can access gmail and thus use gtalk through there but need web browser open all day. I also use Twitter the same way but being IE6 I think need seperate windows open so for general browsing during lunch or other times I open yet a 3rd window.

I work for a NSW government department and it is very annoying. Even a few months back Gtalk wouldn’t work either. I don’t know if they blocke it or it was on Google’s side. It sucks and I try and work around it but I still manage to access Techmeme but some of the linked stories are blocked depending where they are at and The Onion is always good for a laugh during the day.

I can understanding blocking pornographic, offensive and harmful sites but other stuff like that listed above is just silly.

um… try Telstra too.

Your belief is that an employee should be able to do whatever they want as long as they get their work done.

While some employees use the work computer for good, many use it for evil or personal reasons. Should I be allowed to book tickets to Tahiti at 10am when I should be in a staff meeting? How much more work could I be doing if I wasn’t chatting with Yolanda about her dog’s virus.

Do I think blocking any internet service is stupid? Absolutely. It’s a very powerful tool for getting a job done. But is it their right to do so? Yep. And not everyone needs the same level of access.

We should look at the issue from the company’s perspective sometime instead of just the employee’s. Let’s chat sometime about it

I guess as a former auditor for large companies, I look at things with a strict financial bent. But I disagree… I understand your point (and agree with it) very well.