Vomaturge
Hazard to Others
Posts: 285
Registered: 21-1-2018
Member Is Offline
Mood: thermodynamic
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Emails and Anonymity
This may have already been covered in another thread (although I looked and didn't see it anywhere), it might be in the wrong place, and it might also
be a dumb or inappropriate question, in which case the "right place" might be detritus.
Here's the issue: I recently registered with this forum, and that requires you to give your e-mail, obviously. The e-mail I used is actually tied very
closely with my real identity. I use it for business, I have contacted a lot of people with it, etc. Basically, if someone knows that (the person with
my email) has said something on here, they know I've said it. Just like a phone number, my email can easily be traced to me, to my place of residence,
and so forth. Yes, I know I should have thought about this prior to registering, which I did (a little) and decided it was worth it. Also, as most
people can probably tell, I know hardly anything about computer science. Now, I have some questions:
1. Does Google have a record that my email goes with the Sciencemadness account Vomaturge? The email I used is a gmail account.
2. Do the Sciencemadness moderators know my email? Nobody take offence at this; I trust all the moderators. I just want to know.
3. Could anyone else (friends, police, FBI, coworkers, family, hackers, other non-mod. sciencemadness members, everyone else) find out that
"Vomaturge" is the same person who has my email? (In a similar line to question #2, I don't plan on being criminal or embarrassing myself on
sciencemadness, but I'd still like to know).
4. Would any of you recommend making an extra email specifically for your sciencemadness account for better anonymity, or is that a stupid idea?
As a noob both on this forum and to computer science in general, I appreciate any input!
[Edited on 27-1-2018 by Vomaturge]
[Edited on 27-1-2018 by Vomaturge]
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Bert
Super Administrator
Posts: 2821
Registered: 12-3-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: " I think we are all going to die. I think that love is an illusion. We are flawed, my darling".
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OK, content now.
Google? Who knows. They and the security state are so far up each others assholes I don't bother to keep track anymore. As far as non state/corporate
OTHERS getting into the data Google, NSA, alphabet soup & company keeps forever, yeah, in time and with enough money or other good reason,
anything humans can make can be compromised by other humans. Are you in any way important enough to have that kind of scrutiny focussed on you?
Yes, moderators can look at your sign up email. But the email is in no way checked for veracity at the time you sign up, the trolls know this and do
as they please. I glance at isps used for sign up and posting occasionally to decide which of the stupider and more egregious troll identities to ban,
but really, this isn't worth the time.
Hackers, crackers, nosy inlaws, FBI, NSA and oh My! Sorry. These days if you want something to be in any way secure, you do NOT put it on an
electronic medium. Our devices are pretty much backdoored or otherwise had their security deliberately compromised at state's behest before leaving
the factory, right down to your printers and other peripherals. Also: two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead...
So if you want to make life a little more difficult for those who as a matter of course snoop into your online life and mine your metadata, sure. Get
you some alternate ID, spoof or mask isp, bounce your traffic through Kazakhstan telecom and encode every blessed byte with PGP. They'll still warp
your newsfeed, handicap any web source of awkward truths and slant your web searches however they please.
You could just say fuck it and be the same person everywhere, online or off. I just don't have the time to be subtle or think I can outmaneuver the
kind of money that paid for the Manhattan engineering district and out plan the kind of deviousness and sociopathy that is the ultimate cancerous
outgrowth of the shit Allen Dulles foisted on my country.
Fuck 'em all. There are not enough of the people you are worrying about to matter if we all just do as we feel is right at all times. The theatrical
hammering rained down on the nails that stand up is done to cow the rest of the brads and tacks into keeping their heads down. If EVERYONE
metaphorically (or actually, please make me proud, children...) waits for the 3:00am visits of secret policemen in the stairwells and hallways with
fireplace pokers and baseball bats, none of us are going to Siberia and the Stassi will not meet recruitment goals next quarter.
If you don't hear from me again, it is because I was shot with a meta curare dart and sealed in carbonite by blue meanies. Viva la revolution!
[Edited on 27-1-2018 by Bert]
Rapopart’s Rules for critical commentary:
1. Attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly and fairly that your target says: “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it
that way.”
2. List any points of agreement (especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement).
3. Mention anything you have learned from your target.
4. Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.
Anatol Rapoport was a Russian-born American mathematical psychologist (1911-2007).
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Vomaturge
Hazard to Others
Posts: 285
Registered: 21-1-2018
Member Is Offline
Mood: thermodynamic
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Sorry about that. I just pushed the "enter" button, and it sent the "message" before I could get started.
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j_sum1
Administrator
Posts: 6229
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
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Mood: Organised
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Me neither. But I will give it a shot.
Quote: Originally posted by Vomaturge  |
1. Does Google have a record that my email goes with the Sciencemadness account Vomaturge? The email I used is a gmail account.
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In my understanding, Google has a policy of not forgetting anything. What they do is limit what is searchable and what people can access. The link
probably exists but it might take a very determined and resourseful hacker to get anything from it.
| Quote: Originally posted by Vomaturge | | 2. Do the Sciencemadness moderators know my email? Nobody take offence at this; I trust all the moderators. I just want to know.
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I don't think so unless you made it visible in your profile.
| Quote: Originally posted by Vomaturge | | 3. Could anyone else (friends, police, FBI, coworkers, family, hackers, other non-mod. sciencemadness members, everyone else) find out that
"Vomaturge" is the same person who has my email? (In a similar line to question #2, I don't plan on being criminal or embarrassing myself on
sciencemadness, but I'd still like to know). |
I doubt it. I expect the easiest access route would be following breadcrumbs of personal information that you drop -- which you likely will do if you
hang around here long enough. I know I have left enough information for someone very determined to be able to track me down. But it would be a bit
of a detective job. More information is in U2Us which would make it trivial. AFAIK, that information is secure. Although it could be leaked through
member information sharing.
| Quote: Originally posted by Vomaturge |
4. Would any of you recommend making an extra email specifically for your sciencemadness account for better anonymity, or is that a stupid idea?
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Well, I have a few online identities and accounts and limit each one to a particular sphere of my life. I try to prevent them overlapping. Having a
dedicated email address for each identity is essential for that to work. So, yes it is done and no it is not a stupid idea.
Although I consider it poor form, there are some here who have one or more sock puppets. I think the idea is that you can pursue a particular line of
enquiry or discussion while preserving anonymity. I doubt it is really that effective. We all have tells in our writing that can disclose the
association. I think it is better practice to just refrain from discussing things that you don't want public.
Welcome to SM. If you stick around, read and engage you cannot help but learn some good chemistry and gain a lot from the exquisite knowledge held by
some here. (Myself excluded although I am on the up.)
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Vomaturge
Hazard to Others
Posts: 285
Registered: 21-1-2018
Member Is Offline
Mood: thermodynamic
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Thanks! It sounds like I'm probably not too easily identified, and there's an easy option to insulate myself further if I want to. I don't know that I
will: like I said, I don't have much reason to be worried if I do get 'unmasked'. Anyhow, I've noticed that sciencemadness turns up in so many
searches about amateur science, and I'm impressed with the content. I've decided to join the discussion. Again, thanks.
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