Then why complain about the rules?

Would you want your information up in some bank employee's dropbox?

Because you're going to want IT to fix issues you have with Dropbox.

Dropbox does not currently have HIPAA, FERPA, SAS 70, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, or PCI certifications.

Either you've run into a bad admin and decided that we're all like that

How can you disregard Federally instituted IT policy without some sort of repercussions?

Finally, in my experience, most people who are willing to circumvent policy once to get work done are also willing to do it ten times to hit YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, etc. for totally non-work-related stuff.

Those rules exist for very good reasons.

Actually, it is more like the facilities crew has set aside certain areas and receptacles for your trash and you are mad that you have to suffer the indignity of having to walk to the bathroom to empty your bladder.

And, just to be clear, you want to take intellectual property, work product, and client information from your office and put it all on an outside service that your agency has no control over what so ever? Does that about sum it up?

Neither should an IT policy be so restrictive as to keep you from doing work that you've been assigned.

On the other hand, if an end user brings it upon themselves to install some piece of software that they got off the web at home, and it crashes their computer and\or network environment, or god forbid INFECTS my environment, it's not the end user that will be there late into the night fixing the problem - it's going…

Listen, I'm busy with my own work. Making your job easier isn't my problem, and thinking that it somehow is is exactly what's wrong with IT these days.

Taking a wild stab here, but it almost sounds to me as if someone is trying to push through a big project without proper oversight (IT and otherwise), and is pissed off and frustrated because they have to follow the rules.

It sounds like you are of the belief that the IT department should just sit back silently, let end users do whatever they want to network and equipment and clean up the aftermath?

I know the problem - like most - is at the management level and that IT "rank and file" are just doing their jobs as they've been instructed.

Couldn't disagree with you more - It IS our responsibility as administrators and engineers to police the network when warranted, and make sure that ALL end users are complying with corporate (and sometimes governmental) policy as well as the official accepted use documents that they sign.

IT is there to enforce policies and also make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible.

It would be nice if IT departments would come to the understanding that their job is to support the enterprise, not police it. If a bunch of people are using Dropbox and it's slowing down the network, sure, that's a problem - but the problem is the network, not that your* users are trying to get some work done. Figure…

Nurse, we've got a tongue here wedged further into her cheek than medical science thought was possible. Get me forceps, stat!