Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

What Do You Think of Online Vigilantes?

Posted by Cliff on from the digital-justice-or-online-nuisance dept.

gwoodrow asks: "I'm a member of the (primarily) Mac community Spymac. I originally joined for the 1 gb of email, but eventually found myself joining in on discussions in the forum. Today, I received an email from a supposedly anonymous Spymac member ("supposedly" because the smart guy didn't mask his IP). Basically, it said that he or she had harvested 10,000 member screen names/email addresses from Spymac's pages and that this, paired with the ability to view individual member's profiles, created a major problem because of the extent of information so readily available. The email this person sent out and the forum discussion that follow are available here. All cracks and personal opinion about Spymac aside, what do Slashdot members think of online 'vigilante' justice?" "Some viruses are released with little notes within that say things like - 'this is why you need to do X or Y to fix your software' Some hackers have also gained infamy by hacking a major system allegedly to help. Do you support such actions and why? Are virus/trojan writers, hackers, and spammers doing a noble deed or going about things in the wrong way? If you don't agree generally, are there exceptions when online vigilantes are fully in the right? Is the accessibility of vulnerabilities a good excuse to partake in such actions, or should there be ethical bounds regardless?"

8 of 273 comments (clear)

  1. Vigilantes, I support you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please don't hack my computer at 127.0.0.1. Thanks!

    1. Re:Vigilantes, I support you! by RLiegh · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn; whoever that is has some GREAT porn!!!

    2. Re:Vigilantes, I support you! by jayhawk88 · · Score: 4, Funny

      The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
      Spring follows Winter follows Fall follows Summer follows Spring.
      The moon follows its phases across the sky, the constallations move in the same patterns that they have for 10,000 years, and the planets dance the same waltz they have since the dinosaurs roamed the earth.

      Yet none of these things is as predictable as a "127.0.0.1" joke in a Slashdot article about hacking.

    3. Re:Vigilantes, I support you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Nice try buddy, except the earth was created 6000 years ago.

  2. As long as they wear...... by ericdano · · Score: 4, Funny
    AS long as they wear tight fitting clothes, have whips, and basically look like Catwoman or Sandra Bullock all will be well.

    Maybe I'll misbehave a little to get some "punishment" ;-)

    --
    It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
    I moderate therefore I rule!
    --
  3. Slashdotting by maximilln · · Score: 2, Funny

    Isn't being slashdotted a form of vigilante justice?

    --
    +++ATHZ 99:5:80
  4. Re:Where does that stop? by lavar78 · · Score: 2, Funny
    no, i was molested by the babysitter's brother when i was like 6. fuck the children, it's about revenge.
    But if you fuck the children, you're just continuing the vicious cycle.
    --
    "Dave, I stand still--the conclusions jump to me!" - Bill McNeal, NewsRadio
  5. Re:This looks like a job for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    your friendly neighborhood Spider-Mac!

    Sounds like a OS-X localized search engine :)