Tracking down personal info - threads out of control
Discussion
This is for the mods, and sorry if i've missed it in the current T&C's.
I don't know how PH can handle this as I guess we already have a rule about posting the personal details of users on here. But, is there anything that can be done to discourage posting anything related to the actual actions of hunting down user details?
I know that nobody can stop users from going on a little investigation spree and finding out details. However, can PH do anything about people who begin to do this and then start dropping hints on threads?
The thread below is a classic example of how this has spiralled out of control:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Thanks.
I don't know how PH can handle this as I guess we already have a rule about posting the personal details of users on here. But, is there anything that can be done to discourage posting anything related to the actual actions of hunting down user details?
I know that nobody can stop users from going on a little investigation spree and finding out details. However, can PH do anything about people who begin to do this and then start dropping hints on threads?
The thread below is a classic example of how this has spiralled out of control:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Thanks.
Biker's Nemesis said:
Hmm, starts checking through funkyrobots posts.
Sometimes, a little help can be useful (if someone is being scammed for instance, and wishes to know details of contacts to send complaints). However, I think this should all be done via PM.
My point with this this post is to try and stop people dropping hints into the publicly viewable section of threads that may hurt people.
I've done somoe digging around in the past too, but it hasn't been in a situation like this.
funkyrobot said:
Biker's Nemesis said:
Hmm, starts checking through funkyrobots posts.
Sometimes, a little help can be useful (if someone is being scammed for instance, and wishes to know details of contacts to send complaints). However, I think this should all be done via PM.
My point with this this post is to try and stop people dropping hints into the publicly viewable section of threads that may hurt people.
I've done somoe digging around in the past too, but it hasn't been in a situation like this.
There's more important things in life to do IMO.
Oakey said:
PH didn't really care about that thread about me so it seems as long as YOU start a thread about someone else it's fair game.
Well the thread's gone now and I suspect that that is for the best, although I might have been tempted to just delete the posts made since the sleuthing started.Oakey, in your case I think it was a bit of a question of digging your own grave. It would have been possible for you to have kept your head down.
It is, IMO, sometimes acceptable, especially when it is to help someone, but when it is just for amusement it is something that the PI's would be best advised to keep quite about the fruits of their labours.
Rude-boy said:
Well the thread's gone now and I suspect that that is for the best, although I might have been tempted to just delete the posts made since the sleuthing started.
Oakey, in your case I think it was a bit of a question of digging your own grave. It would have been possible for you to have kept your head down.
It is, IMO, sometimes acceptable, especially when it is to help someone, but when it is just for amusement it is something that the PI's would be best advised to keep quite about the fruits of their labours.
In what way did I dig my own grave? I'd already been outed long before I posted as I had no internet access at that time. I only made a handful of posts explaining my side of the story but the thread was about 50pages long by that time. Oakey, in your case I think it was a bit of a question of digging your own grave. It would have been possible for you to have kept your head down.
It is, IMO, sometimes acceptable, especially when it is to help someone, but when it is just for amusement it is something that the PI's would be best advised to keep quite about the fruits of their labours.
I think we need to be there when a line is crossed, and we need you to alert us to events where this takes place (we don't read all threads after all).
The trick is to define where fun (the odd old post made on PH or a publicly available image that shows the OP in a contradictory position to the case they are stating) takes a step too far (home address details, pictures of family/ wife etc).
I'm not sure it deserves a new rule as one expects a level of common sense to be applied, but we do need to be responsible and delete posts/ threads when needed.
The question you need to ask yourself before posting is this, would you be happy if someone posted similar about you? Personally, if you want to take the piss out of me with some light-hearted images that's fine. If you want to post my home address or an image of my family, less so.
The trick is to define where fun (the odd old post made on PH or a publicly available image that shows the OP in a contradictory position to the case they are stating) takes a step too far (home address details, pictures of family/ wife etc).
I'm not sure it deserves a new rule as one expects a level of common sense to be applied, but we do need to be responsible and delete posts/ threads when needed.
The question you need to ask yourself before posting is this, would you be happy if someone posted similar about you? Personally, if you want to take the piss out of me with some light-hearted images that's fine. If you want to post my home address or an image of my family, less so.
Oakey said:
In what way did I dig my own grave? I'd already been outed long before I posted as I had no internet access at that time. I only made a handful of posts explaining my side of the story but the thread was about 50pages long by that time.
In your case, IIRC as to be honest it isn’t something I keep in my head too much, you could have ignored the whole thread as far as posting is concerned and ‘disappeared’.A few PM’s to Mr G, who as you will see above seems to my eyes to have a good idea of what is fair and what it too far, and Oakey could have been history and the new member ‘Punchey’ or whatever could have appeared over the next couple of weeks.
Oakey would then have slipped off everyone’s radar and the rest could have been history. As it is whenever you make posts concerning or relating to the intrusion on your privacy or that of others, or even in relation to the 100 things posted about or by you in that thread, all it does is introduce more people to that thread. Sort of like every time anyone mentions fire there is a post mentioning Emsman.
Not trying to lecture you at all (even if it doesn’t seem like it!) but for every person who will draw the line at a certain point there is at least one more who is happy to cross that line and sometimes it is better to walk away and leave everyone wondering than it is to try to rectify a situation which can only get worse.
The thing with this particular thread is you could feel it was going to turn. I PM'd him yesterday suggesting he be a bit more circumspect with what was (freely, publicly) available material. Alright, I actually said "You might want to make your flickr account a bit more private - PH has a few knob-heads on now and again, if you get my drift" but it's the same thing
From my lofty position on this here horse, this particular thread just wasn't an appropriate place to do some digging then post it on here for a cheap laugh.
For the scammers and the piss-takers, though, long may PH sleuthing continue.
From my lofty position on this here horse, this particular thread just wasn't an appropriate place to do some digging then post it on here for a cheap laugh.
For the scammers and the piss-takers, though, long may PH sleuthing continue.
Rollcage said:
What happened?
Part-time PI's got in on the act after OP let a few too many bits of personal information slip and it would appear neither he nor his harlot understand much about protecting their social network pages.They were restrained in that they didn't put too much up on PH but it was clear that a number had far more information about the OP than healthy and it was only a matter of time before someone overstepped the mark.
Apparently OP's hopefully soon to be ex wife makes up in looks what she lacks in morals.
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