[asciident]

That seems like a dangerous line of thought. Imagine a software engineer (maybe one who writes code for airplanes or medical equipment) writes some sloppy code late one night and puts it on their open source github, and the commit log is "this code rocks."

You could make the same argument that As a software engineer, you have to be able to identify and write high quality software to be effective at your job. So should your employer fire you for writing this code outside of your regular job duties?

What about if a friend shows you their code, and you say "that looks good" but it turns out that this code is vulnerable to a key security issue? Should you get fired from your security job?

I think we'd agree not, and more broadly, that making a statement or doing a task related to your job but outside of your job's responsibilities should not be sufficient to fire you from your job. Especially when it's clear you are not representing your employer, by using pseudonym.

[threatofrain]

Well, if you're in a position of having to say "Yes, I used my work email to create a Disqus account, and most of those comments are mine, but not the one about Muslims hating America and being deported..."

A professor naturally speaks with the authority of their institution, and reputation is far more easily maimed than repaired. The decision for Temple University to fire her is pretty obvious.

[ohashi]

Apples and oranges.

I think a better example would be the case where the university professors/students committed known vulnerable code to linux kernel and they banned the whole university. If you're doing something ethically questionable and potentially harming others (spreading hate and conspiracy theories can do real harm), it could be grounds for not believing they are capable of doing their job.

I don't think it's a freedom of speech issue at all, it's a I want freedom of speech without social consequences issue. Sorry. If you're spreading around hate and lies - as a journalism professor no less - there should be consequences. You don't deserve the responsibility of teaching others.

[asciident]

I don't see how that's a better example, and you missed the point. Your example is about someone doing something unethical as part of their job. My example was about someone doing something unrelated to their job duties. That's the entire point I'm making, that things done outside of job duties do not reflect the competency of the job.

If you read the grandparent post, it's about making a judgment about whether one is effective at their job.