NASA CIO: Do As I Say – Not As I Do.

NASA CIO staff continue to make their own rules when it comes to setting up websites outside the NASA firewall for official purposes – websites with no security in place, according to postings on the NASA Forward Maker Camp website.
Keith’s note: According to NASA GSFC’s Jon Verville (@jonverve): “We are following the precedent set by OSTP/GSA here: http://expertnet.wikispaces.com/Getting+Started Please cite the NPR/NPD requirement which restricts the use of non-NASA websites.” My response: “Your group is not operating this website according to NASA policy per NASA HQ. Precedents in other agencies do not count. Otherwise all NASA NPDs can be ignored since someone somewhere else always does things differently. Why have any rules at all?”
I wonder what would happen if CIO staff were to randomly walk around the agency and ask people what would happen if they went out and set up their own website outside the firewall for a project they were working on – or ask management what their reaction would be if their staff just went off and did this. The answer should be obvious. It would certainly be nice if NASA were much more open in this regard – but it is not there yet. Instead of breaking the rules (or making them up ad hoc) these CIO staffers need to set an example and follow their own rules. And if the rules are not working, they need to cite the problems, and then then change the rules. Otherwise having rules of any sort is pointless.
I fail to understand why NASA CIO sets standards that the entire agency has to follow when it comes to website hosting, security etc. and then their own staff can go do whatever they want in this regard. Why should anyone else at NASA bother to adhere to these rules – or pay attention to what the CIO says? Does the “precedent” that Verville mentions have any official bearing on NASA rules and regulations? If so, then where is the NPR/NPD that says so? Otherwise you can’t just assume that you can do something simply because someone else did it.
Mixed Messages From NASA CIO Staff, earlier post