Sometimes, though, life is more complicated. For example, if you're a sysadmin and end up on the receiving end of a federal subpoena (as I have), you find your

Sometimes, though, life is more complicated. For example, if you're a sysadmin and end up on the receiving end of a federal subpoena (as I have), you find your self suddenly thrust into the uncomfortable role of actually having to spy on your users and sift through their personal info searching for requested bits of information. And that sucks. I bet Google and Facebook get hundreds of such requests a day. While they have automated systems to deal with some of this, at some point some poor sysadmin has to get his hands dirty and sift through logs and data to fulfill the requirements of the subpoena. During which you may be subjected to things you just don't want to see or know about. Blindness is a good trait in a sysadmin, but so is forgetfulness and keeping one's mouth shut.