Cowing, a former NASA employee who quit in 1993 because he didn't like the way the agency was being managed, launched the RIF Watch site in April to provide information for NASA employees whose jobs are at risk as the agency's budget shrinks and it is asked to carry out its mission with fewer employees. Rogue webmasters have set up sites for IRS employees and Postal workers. And an online magazine has devoted a section to let federal employees of any agency sound off about what ticks them off. On the NASA Rif Watch site, Cowing posts documents that agency employees send him concerning NASA policy and personnel issues. They include information on buyout plans, news articles on NASA policy, papers on the direction of NASA's mission, and press releases from the agency.
New information is posted daily.
By contrast an official NASA RIF Page , sponsored by the Office of Space Science, has been updated only three times in the past four months. Cowing estimates that about 10 percent of NASA employees look at his site on a regular basis. He said RIF Watch gets more than 1,000 visits each day, and that virtually all the visitors are NASA employees. Donald Teague, president of the NASA Headquarters Professional Association, says the RIF Watch site provides invaluable information. A committee of headquarters employees nominated Cowing for an agency award for running the RIF Watch site.