4 ms·

The first thing anyone who is not asleep at the wheel would ask is, “does this person really want to be named?”

alex_hitchins 8y ago
We are all human and humans make mistakes. While a devastating action, it was likely a process that failed rather than an individual being inept.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  We hope there is a process. We can be sure that several individuals were inept. The journalist certainly knows the source wished to remain anonymous, and an editor certainly had to approve that.
- alex_hitchins 8y ago
  Given all the down-votes, seems I am a sucker to give them the benefit of the doubt and not join the crowds calling for heads on plates. How dare I attempt to have faith in humanity.
  - toss1 8y ago
    So, if I make a mistake that puts you and your family on a hit list of a murderous dictatorship, you'd be cool with it?
    - alex_hitchins 8y ago
      Of course not. But having someone sacked won't reverse the mistake or prevent this happening again. It was a terrible, terrible mistake, but the absence of malice here should be considered.
      - toss1 8y ago
        Absence of malice is nice, but what should be considered more highly is the absence of care. Remember, this error probably will get people killed. A rapid & public sacking may not reverse the error, but will have at least some preventative effect -- some people learn from the mistakes of others. Of course this should not be the only step, and they should also add processes & procedures to help make it more difficult for this error to get through again (default to no names for sources?, second set of eyes asking for every source?)
- toss1 8y ago
  Yes hyumans make mistakes. And those mistakes have, and should have consequences. When the likely result is to get someone killed, there should be serious consequences for the people, regardless of whether it was 'people' or 'process' that you put at the top of the fault chain. That is the way it works in the real world. Small bits of inattention can lead to death. We don't say that 'it was just a small thing' when someone is texting while driving and crashes and injures/kills people, even tho it was just a a few seconds lapse of attention. This source, and/or his family back home are now likely on a NK hit list. The employer has now had it's credibility for confidentiality destroyed for a decade. This lapse should have consequences. (And if you don't like the potential consequences, either make sure you play the game right, or don't play the game.)
  - alex_hitchins 8y ago
    I'm not sure I understand your comment in full, but I wasn't suggesting there be no consequences for this mistake. I also don't see it in any way trivial. Sacking people is easy and a quick fix but what change was actually made to ensure this never, ever happens again.
- mieseratte 8y ago
  Humans make mistakes, processes or the lack thereof allow them to happen. When mistakes of a certain threshold happen, the organization should have a post-mortem to ensure such a scenario does not recur. In addition, the person who failed should hold their own post-mortem in private, with the possible addition of a supervisor to determine how they failed, if at all, and how they can use the incident as a learning experience. "Blame process, not people" is great in that it encourages folks not to pillory someone for a mistake that they themselves could have possibly made, but it is not a "Get out of jail free" card.
- stordoff 8y ago
  Humans make mistakes, but this was a mistake at multiple levels. The name shouldn't have been in a draft, certainly shouldn't have been anywhere near the final piece, and probably should have been caught by an editor.

We are all human and humans make mistakes. While a devastating action, it was likely a process that failed rather than an individual being inept.

jessaustin 8y ago
We hope there is a process. We can be sure that several individuals were inept. The journalist certainly knows the source wished to remain anonymous, and an editor certainly had to approve that.
alex_hitchins 8y ago
Given all the down-votes, seems I am a sucker to give them the benefit of the doubt and not join the crowds calling for heads on plates. How dare I attempt to have faith in humanity.
- toss1 8y ago
  So, if I make a mistake that puts you and your family on a hit list of a murderous dictatorship, you'd be cool with it?
  - alex_hitchins 8y ago
    Of course not. But having someone sacked won't reverse the mistake or prevent this happening again. It was a terrible, terrible mistake, but the absence of malice here should be considered.
    - toss1 8y ago
      Absence of malice is nice, but what should be considered more highly is the absence of care. Remember, this error probably will get people killed. A rapid & public sacking may not reverse the error, but will have at least some preventative effect -- some people learn from the mistakes of others. Of course this should not be the only step, and they should also add processes & procedures to help make it more difficult for this error to get through again (default to no names for sources?, second set of eyes asking for every source?)
toss1 8y ago
Yes hyumans make mistakes. And those mistakes have, and should have consequences. When the likely result is to get someone killed, there should be serious consequences for the people, regardless of whether it was 'people' or 'process' that you put at the top of the fault chain. That is the way it works in the real world. Small bits of inattention can lead to death. We don't say that 'it was just a small thing' when someone is texting while driving and crashes and injures/kills people, even tho it was just a a few seconds lapse of attention. This source, and/or his family back home are now likely on a NK hit list. The employer has now had it's credibility for confidentiality destroyed for a decade. This lapse should have consequences. (And if you don't like the potential consequences, either make sure you play the game right, or don't play the game.)
- alex_hitchins 8y ago
  I'm not sure I understand your comment in full, but I wasn't suggesting there be no consequences for this mistake. I also don't see it in any way trivial. Sacking people is easy and a quick fix but what change was actually made to ensure this never, ever happens again.
mieseratte 8y ago
Humans make mistakes, processes or the lack thereof allow them to happen. When mistakes of a certain threshold happen, the organization should have a post-mortem to ensure such a scenario does not recur. In addition, the person who failed should hold their own post-mortem in private, with the possible addition of a supervisor to determine how they failed, if at all, and how they can use the incident as a learning experience. "Blame process, not people" is great in that it encourages folks not to pillory someone for a mistake that they themselves could have possibly made, but it is not a "Get out of jail free" card.
stordoff 8y ago
Humans make mistakes, but this was a mistake at multiple levels. The name shouldn't have been in a draft, certainly shouldn't have been anywhere near the final piece, and probably should have been caught by an editor.