I have a lot of conflicting feelings over the lawsuit (complaint here as PDF) against Domelights, an internet forum run by an active-duty Philadelphia Police Department Sergeant and allegedly moderated by on-duty police officers over City-owned resources.
It took longer than I expected, but someone has finally sued Domelights, the unofficial Philadelphia Police Department messageboard. The Daily News reports the site’s owner, who posts under the username McQ, is “believed to be Fred McQuiggan, a Philadelphia police sergeant. McQuiggan, 47, of Torresdale, joined the force in March 1986.” The site is currently bursting at the seams.
In the nine years it’s been around, Domelights has actually been a fascinating look at the Philadelphia Police Force. The signal-to-noise ratio is pretty bad, but read enough and you’ll find some interesting threads. How much can we take from it as a whole? Eh, like most things online, probably not too much. But it’s certainly somewhat of a look into the mindset of a Philly cop. And, really, it’s hilarious when police officers whine and bicker for all to see. Cops: They’re just like us!
The technological evangelist in me says that having a forum for police officers to ‘collaborate’ is useful. The dirty-f*cking hippy in me says that the majority of angry white guys who cry and whine all day in their secret racist codes on Domelights are straight up bigots. The angry white guy in me thinks that there may be legitimate claims that this is just minority-lawsuit ambulance-chasing. But lastly, as a person concerned with the law, if the allegations are true, allowing on-duty police officers, at PPD workplaces, using computers connected to City of Philadelphia internet connections certainly has some liability implications.
On the whole, Domelights should stay up. The administrator should not close it down. He can block City of Philadelphia IP addresses and/or make the site members only. Regardless of the decision of the site’s admin, if I were the City’s IT people, Domelights would be BLOCKED from any PPD PCs.
Tags: crime, domelight, Domelights, humor, internet forum, jokes, law enforcement, McQ, NAACP, Philadelphia police, Philadelphia Police Department, police, political correctness, PPD, racism
