Legitimate to "out" forum users?

I have recently encountered a situation where I have been arguing with people on a forum (under a forum name) and my ‘opponents’ have googled around to find personal information about me, my work etc., and posted it to the forum with the clear intention of causing me a problem at work. As it happens I’m not too worried about the consequences, but it strikes me as a bit of a creepy thing to do. Or am I just being precious? Thoughts on the moral maze?

*googles DrJ*

Oh don’t worry a particular bike company did something similar, although they didn’t use it on the forum they tried to use it as a threat in an e-mail, with a “look what info I have about your I’m on the phone to your employer as yuo’ve commtited X offence” boy oh boy that certainly back fired on them 😉 I had committed no offences and I certainly resent people threatening me. It’s wrong.

Be careful what you enter into the public domain.

Back when I was interviewing staff, I routinely googled candidates. It often proved useful in weeding out ‘unsuitable’ people.

I have an Internet footprint the size of Belgium, but I’m always very conscious not to put anything inappropriate where any munchkin might find it. I never swear on Twitter / Facebook, for a start.

Dr J’s achievements

Back when I was interviewing staff, I routinely googled candidates.

hence my name is not Turner…

An easy solution, never argue online as it is utterly pointless and those that choose to do are …… To argue and put a point of view across it is necessary to observe body language, intonation of vocal delivery and the nuances of facial movement so sitting behind a keyboard and monitor is not the ideal situation to take these “tics” into account.

Ignore them.

Dr J – yo’ pretty famous already.

“hook shot !”

I purposefully dont make great efforts to hide who I am – it means I am always reminded to consider whether I would worry about my professional id being linked to what I type in here. And to date Ive been more than comfortable with it.

If you thought you were “Mr Invincible Anonymous”, trolled for England, offended at leisure, admitted to being called Alice at the weekend and riding a Fat Bike….and then got identified and outed…..*sucks teeth*

Cougar that’s acceptable, but aruging with people or falling out then making creepy threats is NOT allowed!

This is going to run & run (opens another bag of kettle chips)

An easy solution, never argue online as it is utterly pointless and those that choose to do are …… To argue and put a point of view across it is necessary to observe body language, intonation of vocal delivery and the nuances of facial movement so sitting behind a keyboard and monitor is not the ideal situation to take these “tics” into account.

how the **** can you say that, you ignorant, clueless, b*st*rd !

🙂

<Grabs handful of squid’s kettle chips>

nom.

How dare you turnerguy 👿 , i’ll have you know i am not ignorant……not a bastard and maybe….just maybe you have me up a creek without a paddle with regard to clueless but i claim defamation…..please forward £50,000 to appease my feelings, my Nigerian friend will be along soon to send you a carefully worded email regarding where to send the money – western union preferred or paypal gift.

Googles *Stoner* & *McMoonter* to see if I might be a love child of either

DrJ YGM

Who’s nicked all the kettle chips?

I think that searching out a forum users real identity and trying to make mischief for them at their work is very odd. Although maybe for the OP using his e-mail in his profile isn’t the best option? Two clicks and you could probably get plenty of personal details.

Googles *Stoner* & *McMoonter* to see if I might be a love child of either

Googling is pretty amateurish, I normally go through their bins and drawers if I want to find out more about them….

As for Stoner’s choice of socks, let me tell you…..

If you thought you were “Mr Invincible Anonymous”, trolled for England, offended at leisure, admitted to being called Alice at the weekend and riding a Fat Bike Spesh….and then got identified and outed…..*sucks teeth*

*Wonders who Stoner could possibly be referring to

Did you win the argument though ? Thats the important point.

I would not use same email for work stuff as forums. Your CV makes interesting reading.

Get a ‘proper’ email addy, that you use for work, never online or for accounts online of any kind.

Then get a (couple) of emails – one for forums etc, one for buying accounts.

There are some right slimey little cowards all over the Internet. Including Here too. I’ve had someone go out of their way to pull a right devious little stunt on me that impacted on me, pretty seriously, in the real world. All anonymously of course, like the weasel they are. I’ve a pretty good idea who it was. Maybe one day our paths will cross. I do hope so.

I’ve also had emailed death threats. Seriously. I shit you not! obviously I was really really scared! Someone hates me that much, they were prepared to go to the drastic length of sending a threatening email!!!! Eek!!! They must really mean business!! 😆

Yeah, maybe I’m a bit naive, but in many years of using internet forums I’ve never encountered this before, including when arguing with the Zionist nutjobs from Jerusalem Post, so I’m a bit surprised that people do stuff like this.

EDIT Just to be clear, I’m not talking about STW.

including when arguing with the Zionist nutjobs from Jerusalem Post

they probably just pass your name on to Mossad who put you on *a list*.

should I feel disappointed I’ve never upset anyone enough to receive death threats. Even a ‘I’ll come and give you a wedgie if you don’t shut up’ email would have been something.

Years ago there was a individual that trolled numerous car forums, generally upsetting all and sundry. As soon as he posted on a thread, it went ballistic. He just insulted everyone, although he did seem to know his stuff. Long and short of it, after year of winding people up pictures of started to appear on aforementioned forums. Then people started posting his IP address. Finally his home address appeared, he still carried on doing thing though. It got a bit out of hand then, people that he had upset took it personally and carried out the various threats that had been bandied around. Kinda brought on himself, one of his post claimed that he was some über soldier and if he showed his id card to police after an incident no charges would be brought against him.

A couple of years ago I used to post fairly regularly on a certain car related forum.

The forum had lots of problems with the forum software, and it went down for an extended period for a refit.

Some (loads) of the members decided to start an alternative forum and invited many users over. So I went.

A few weeks in, a member was asking for help with an IT problem. They had to find a way to keep a Windows 98 install around, and as they were fairly tech-savvy I suggested using VirtualBox.

I made the mistake of remarking that it was ‘free’- it is. But a certain know-it-all forum member decided that I was advocating software piracy- he’d misunderstood that I was referring to Virtualbox, not the ’98 discs.

Well, things took an unexpected twist when he contacted the forum mods/owners and explained how important he was :), and how he could have them shut down at any point for openly advocating piracy. Despite their efforts to show him he’d made a mistake, he continued in this vein for some time- threatening, basically.

A very cursory Google for his username showed him on some cable telly forum a couple of years before, asking where he could buy dodgy boxes and how to break their encryption….needless to say, I passed this info onto the forum mods, who passed it onto him.

He posted a very public apology on the forum very shortly afterwards. Oddly enough, despite massive humiliation, he continued to post incessantly and still does.

Public notice

It is the Internet.

It is not real life.

Arguing on the Internet? WTF.

It is not real life.

but it is real people and they tend to have the same sort of communication problems on the internet that they have in real life.

It’s just more tricky to punch the bloke you’re pee’d off with so they get more inventive.

slowmart – Member

Public notice

It is the Internet.

It is not real life.

Arguing on the Internet? WTF.

So which other part of real life ‘isn’t real life’?

Munqe-chick – Member

Oh don’t worry a particular bike company did something similar, although they didn’t use it on the forum they tried to use it as a threat in an e-mail, with a “look what info I have about your I’m on the phone to your employer as yuo’ve commtited X offence” boy oh boy that certainly back fired on them I had committed no offences and I certainly resent people threatening me. It’s wrong.

You were threatened by a bike company?!?
Why?
That’s the most bizarre thing I’ve heard in ages.

Please tell us who. I’d love to know.

binners – Member

There are some right slimey little cowards all over the Internet. Including Here too. I’ve had someone go out of their way to pull a right devious little stunt on me that impacted on me, pretty seriously, in the real world. All anonymously of course, like the weasel they are. I’ve a pretty good idea who it was. Maybe one day our paths will cross. I do hope so.

I’ve also had emailed death threats. Seriously. I shit you not! obviously I was really really scared! Someone hates me that much, they were prepared to go to the drastic length of sending a threatening email!!!! Eek!!! They must really mean business!!

Jesus.
I’m really not trying hard enough, am I?

I know two forum users who have stored / sought information about me for aggressive use. One had used incorrect info, the other had threatened to use said info.

One if them posts on here. AFAIK the other one doesnt.

I had someone tell me that what I did was “a bit shit” after I mistakingly sold something to the wrong person. I was horrified. 🙁

I’ve had sexually charged emails from:

binners
TeeJ
Junkyard
hora
Stoner
geoffj

It was a bit shocking at first, but I got used to it after a while. If I’m honest, I even started to enjoy it.

Someone figured out who I was on here by the way I wrote. 😯

I’ve been threatened twice with physical violence. Not really a problem as its a cycling forum. If it was a MMA forum though I’d shit myself 😆

Surfmat has threatened to beat me up on another forum 😆 this was a regular occurrence and was a case of mistaken identity. Sadly he has got a weird internet stalker who lives in west Wales, his behavior on web sites brings it on himself thoug.

I recently overheard a prominent stw’er is also a member of a dogging website. NO I wont name names but I want to know how this person…found out..

So few Bravisimo? I presumed I was one of a long list of swooning admirers? Which, to be honest, I’d reconciled myself with.

*flutters eyelashes and scratches arse*

Surfmat has threatened to beat me up on another forum this was a regular occurrence and was a case of mistaken identity. Sadly he has got a weird internet stalker who lives in west Wales

I bet he has the most awesome stalker on the net though 😉

I received abusive messages / threats from someone who used to post on here. Bothered me at the time, but now I just think he was a bit of a sad cockweasel.