Okay, Slowtwitchers…give me your thoughts regarding this subject, please.
I recently called out a poster for their treatment of a family member. They implied in their response that since the person could not be identified, no harm done. I disagree. I’m interested to hear what people have to say on this matter. Thanks.
Well Sweetie,
I’d say that based on the thunderous silence since your post, you’ve gotten your answer.
Sigh. I did much better with my “I’m Soooo Hot” thread. I think I’ll be off to my therapist now…Thanks, 180!
I tend to agree with you Sweet Pink. For that matter, my personal opinion is that everybody should have to register under their real name. To me, that only seems fair and that is why I do it (in addition to the obvious promotional benefits for my business).
However, that is not how the internet works. If we did do it that way probably 30% of the posters on this forum or more would leave the forum. The number of lurkers would likely remain relatively good, but even that would drop off.
Is it okay? No.
Do I do it? Sometimes. (I am a bad person)
I started to answer this, but then couldn’t decide what “anonymous slandering” means. Does it mean that the person doing the slandering is anonymous? Or that the person being slandered is? From your second paragraph I thought it was the latter. But I inferred from Demerly’s response that it was the former. Or, am I overthinking this and I should go back to work?
No. Both parties should be identified and any relationship to said parties should be revealed. But, like Tom alluded to, this being the internet, people have no fear of saying/posting BS cuz they get to hide behind a cute screen name.
To all others reading this thread, I am the purported slanderer and a relative is the target of my purported slander. I’m not anonymous, just click on my handle and see who I am. I see no big deal in revealing myself. 99.9% of you don’t know me anyway, at least beyond this forum.
Well, it’s not slander, maybe libel. But, it would have to be a false statement. It wasn’t. It’s all true. I used my relative only as an example. It could have been anybody, it doesn’t matter, the experience happened to be with her, though. The point I was making is the hypocracy of advocating health while puffing away on a smoke. Kind of dilutes the message.
I agree. Good observation(s).
ditto…
I’ve changed my profile as well but I’m not changing my user name to jen hughes…
that’s just plain boring 
(Not that “Tom Demerly” is boring…or even “Jen Hughes” really for that matter. I guess I always just wanted a handle. Ahhh Jeeze…anybody got a shovel!!!)
I once went to a therapist for treatment of an eating disorder. She was very obese and I questioned how she sould be able to help me if she obviously hadn’t healed herself yet. I, too, thought that she was being hypocritical. But, I found that she needed to y guide me, not be a shining example to me, and that I could heal myself, in spite of her seemingly inablity to heal her own behavior.
I’m pretty sure your relative knows that smoking is not okay, and that she struggles to live up to the image she is trying to portray. She’ll probably get there eventually, maybe even faster with supportive relatives;)
I apologize for my own hypocrisy about tattling, and then tattling on you. mea culpa, HalfSpeed
Joyce Silverstein, a.k.a., Sweet Pink
Even without providing my name, I’ve had someone on a different site identify me through races I’ve been in (he checked the results, cross-referenced, and was able to identify me because he had a general idea where I lived), looked me up on the internet and found my regular email address, which is on classmates.com. Fortunately he was not a scary guy, but it’s nevertheless scary that someone went through that much trouble to find and contact me. I’ll stay anonymous, but I don’t slam anyone anyway. I just say dumb stuff.
Yup…that’s a little creepy. I hear ya.
Thankfully nobody is looking for me.
If they were…They would have found me by now, they’re not looking hard enough or they’re just dense. 
All other issues aside, it’s not a good idea to plant personal information on a world viewable website…Even just your name…When you include other information, it’s easy to misuse this information…
Don’t believe me, there are plenty of sites where your name can be searched and every place you’ve lived can be found, with other background information available for a fee.
Yum, peoplesearch.com, us-search.com, etc If you’ve ever filled out a government form, someone can find when, where, and why.
As an experiment as an undergraduate, some fellow Techies and I began looking for high priority keywords in the FBI’s Carnivore Database (pre-Patriot Act, we were able to track where emails get copied, split, and rerouted when Carnivore finds something it likes based on a word list, crap like that). Using that list we began sending emails to each other (non-threatening, boring emails) and waited to see how long before Tech’s Office of Information Technology was subpoened for the email records from our accounts. One week. It took one week for the FBI to take an interest in six, fat, pimply sophomores in college as a national security threat. This is before 9/11, the spring of 2000 to be exact.
Shakes head
There is no privacy, there is only the stillness of being watched intently by unseen eyes.
Oops…you’re right. I feel very vulnerable right now. Thanks for the warning.
And how many lives do you suppose have been saved by the FBI’s use of tools like these? How many lives would make it worthwhile? What damages did you sustain in the course of your experiement?
Okay, Slowtwitchers…give me your thoughts regarding this subject, please.
I recently called out a poster for their treatment of a family member. They implied in their response that since the person could not be identified, no harm done. I disagree. I’m interested to hear what people have to say on this matter. Thanks.
slandering others is never “ok”. However, if one cannot be identified one cannot be sued which some seem to think makes it “OK”.
“slandering others is never “ok”. However, if one cannot be identified one cannot be sued which some seem to think makes it “OK”.”
Frank has a point I was going to make: What good does it do to make negative statements about anyone/anything? What good does it do?
Even without providing my name, I’ve had someone on a different site identify me through races I’ve been in (he checked the results, cross-referenced, and was able to identify me because he had a general idea where I lived), looked me up on the internet and found my regular email address, which is on classmates.com. Fortunately he was not a scary guy, but it’s nevertheless scary that someone went through that much trouble to find and contact me. I’ll stay anonymous, but I don’t slam anyone anyway. I just say dumb stuff.
I agree with your concern 1000000%. Though I put my “real” name out…it is not my legal name at all. That to me is a bit of protection. We live in far to scarry a world to post our real name, city, then have ASI post our photos in spandex for some freaky ass stalker to decide that he likes the flavor of. He can then google you, and google map your house to get 3D directions to your home…nope, not for me.
And SLANDER is not the same as someone posting “Chip is a stupid shit”…that is fine…I think that the only line to be drawn is like Slowman said…when it can alter a persons job, income, AND is unverifiable, and or just not true…but, we all know I am a stupid shit so…I dont have a word to say.