Michael Bentine used to ridicule the BBC for a memo that went round saying the BBC Television Centre should not be used for comedy programmes, and IBM feels just the same way about its internal computer conferencing system: Newsbytes reports that after finding that even people in Blue Suits will become anarchic if offered the tools of anarchy it has circulated new rules that ban bad language, slurs, talking about unannounced plans, talking about anything not directly related to business, or the use of sarcasm and irony – and IBM stresses that the system is intended for peer-to-peer communications, and not a substitute for official communications channels when you want to get your views over to your boss – the IBM hierarchy rules OK, and IBM doesn’t want the new means of communication that are being created by computer conferencing – and which it promotes to its customers infiltrating the hallowed halls of Armonk, thank you very much.
