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Controversy Erupts Over Craigslist Prank

An anonymous reader writes to mention something of an ongoing controversy over a recent Craigslist prank. Waxy.org has the full details: "On Monday, a Seattle web developer named Jason Fortuny started his own Craigslist experiment. The goal: 'Posing as a submissive woman looking for an aggressive dom, how many responses can we get in 24 hours?' He took the text and photo from a sexually explicit ad in another area, reposted it to Craigslist Seattle, and waited for the responses to roll in ... '178 responses, with 145 photos of men in various states of undress. Responses include full e-mail addresses (both personal and business addresses), names, and in some cases IM screen names and telephone numbers.' In a staggering move, he then published every single response, unedited and uncensored, with all photos and personal information to Encyclopedia Dramatica." The Wired blog 27B Stroke 6 has analysis of the prank, which author Ryan Singel views as 'sociopathic'. He then follows that up with responses to comments from his analysis, with further exploration of the weighty issues this juvenile prank has brought up.

674 comments

  1. The jokes on you! by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I stole the picture I sent from another site! Ha Ha!

    1. Re:The jokes on you! by kripkenstein · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I stole the picture I sent from another site! Ha Ha!

      This is exactly what I was thinking as I read the article. Who is being fooled here, exactly? There is certainly the possibility that

      1. Mr. Fortuny made up all the responses, to get publicity (which he indeed did).

      or

      2. Many of the responses were made up by whoever sent them. Just like Mr. Fortuny made up a fake listing for fun, other people may have sent fake responses for fun.

      In other words, what verification do we have that the posted information is real? None whatsoever.

    2. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    3. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      well, he did take down all of his personal information on his registered website that has existed for at least a bit. so we can assume he's real or a damn good planner and has lots of time on his hands. his resume isn't likely to be fake either. As to the respondents, well if he's stupid enough to use HIS real name (this will follow him negatively for a long time) he's probably not faking his joy and arrogance in the many many responses and probably actually did this stupid stunt.

    4. Re:The jokes on you! by AaronDunlap · · Score: 1
      Perhaps the most interesting part of this story remains unknown... I was wondering how many of these "outted" folks will "hook-up" because of him outting them?

      (Find partners from this publicity)

      The first rule of B&D is...

      --
      Relax... You're soaking in it." -Madge
    5. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    6. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Got to love the fact that the idiot's taken all his personal details down... He can give it out but can't take it. How pathetic.

    7. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      he also used to sell domination related t-shirts i think.

      blah
      blah2

    8. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ya, I said the same thing, that is not me, really.

    9. Re:The jokes on you! by Mikkeles · · Score: 1

      I wonder if Jason works for the board of directors of this company.

      --
      Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
    10. Re:The jokes on you! by sjwaste · · Score: 2, Funny

      Obligatory...

      You have a woman dressed in leather, down on all fours, with a dog collar around her neck and some man is pushing a leather glove in her face. How is that not offensive?

      Look, you should've seen what they wanted to put on the cover. And it wasn't a glove, I'll tell you that much.

    11. Re:The jokes on you! by zardo · · Score: 0

      Hah, whatever makes you feel better, bub.

    12. Re:The jokes on you! by gizmonic · · Score: 1

      I stole the picture I sent from another site! Ha Ha!

      People modded this plus 5 funny, but seriously, if one of those pictures was you, and you were not the one who sent the reply, would you really find it so funny? Like you're ever going to be able to honestly convince anyone that that *really* wasn't you who sent that. There would *always* be doubt in the back of everyone else's minds. Sure your friends would laugh and go "Ha ha, yeah, that sucks, kinda funny, but really we know it wasn't you" yet there would always be a splinter of doubt in their minds.

      And what if that DID cost you your job, and it wasn't even you? Just some dude who stole your pic off the net?

      Yep, that sure is +5 funny.

      (Don't get me wrong, I do find the humor in it, and it did make me smile, but there is a lot about it that's not funny at all...)

      --
      WWJD?
      JWRTFM!
    13. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You see it's like the Beatles White album, only black...

    14. Re:The jokes on you! by HeroreV · · Score: 1
      The first rule of B&D is...
      don't say the safe word.
    15. Re:The jokes on you! by evangellydonut · · Score: 1

      lol you haven't posted a female personal ad on CL have you? o_O

      i've done a similar experiment on CL for fun and out of boredom and has the emails sitting in one of my gmail inbox, haha... and only thing i can say is, if he had made this post in LA, he would've gotten 500 replies easy...

  2. This is not exactly a new trick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Send me a picture of your cock -- I'll suck the best one - w4m" got about 22 replies that made me very, very sad about Gmail autodisplaying images, and very, very sad that I was on the particular mailing list used to post the ad.

    1. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That's what you get for subscribing to the gay sex mailing list.

    2. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by cerberusss · · Score: 2, Funny
      "Send me a picture of your cock -- I'll suck the best one - w4m"
      I sent a picture of my Golden Retriever.
      --
      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
    3. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by James+McGuigan · · Score: 1

      I sent a picture of a transvestite hen.

    4. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by Anivair · · Score: 1

      Huh. Gmail automatically blocks images for me, unless I ask for them. Might want to check your defaults.

    5. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by -brazil- · · Score: 2, Informative

      It blocks images linked to in HTML emails, but not images sent as attachments. And that behaviour doesn't seem to be configurable.

      --

      The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
      --Henry Kissinger

    6. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by Sqwubbsy · · Score: 1

      When is a cock not a cock?

    7. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by Soygen · · Score: 1

      Which came first: The chicken or the cock?

    8. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by spun · · Score: 4, Funny
      "Send me a picture of your cock -- I'll suck the best one - w4m"

      I sent a picture of my Golden Retriever.


      I sent in a picture of Foghorn Leghorn.
      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    9. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 1

      Larry Flint

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
    10. Re:This is not exactly a new trick by Thuktun · · Score: 1

      Images referenced in HTML on externals sites are often used to determine if an email has been received by the addressee(s). Allowing the user to specify whether he/she wants to view them is similar to confirming before sending any requested read receipts.

      Attachments, however, have already been received. Viewing them doesn't really reveal anything to others, though clearly it may reveal things to the reader that he/she didn't want to see.

  3. It's perhaps time people understood by Flying+pig · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The risks they are taking with this kind of behavior: I mean the respondents, of course. It seems a lot of people still do not understand how the Internet works; for instance, when people post personal details to blogs and then are surprised that other people read them, as if they thought only "suitable" people would somehow have access. The more people understand that giving away personal information in an insecure environment is actually deeply stupid, the better for us all in the long term.

    Prank yes, sociopathic possibly, may get some people to think a bit more before giving away potentially embarrassing or expensive data, priceless.

    --
    Pining for the fjords
    1. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by mano_k · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They did not understand how the internet works?
      They did not publish their personal information on some website, they sent it to someone who had published an ad in a suitable forum! This has nothing to do with "how the internet works" but is all about "how people work"!

      Of course I would not send my real name, official email-address and such in response to an ad, but this has nothing to do with me being a nerd, but with knowing that there are truly stupid people out there.

    2. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Tim+C · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree with you to an extent, but this is not the same as people expecting blog postings to magically only be visible to the intended audience. This is people responding to an invitation to contact someone who is making that invitation under false pretences. There is absolutely no difference between this, and someone placing a personal ad in a newspaper, then publishing the responses in that paper (other than that this costs the guy nothing).

      I agree that there should be no expectation of privacy regarding information that is published on the web. However, this was *not* published on the web, and I think there is an implied expectation of privacy regarding personal communications (eaves-droppers notwithstanding).

      You're right, in that some of these people were perhaps a little foolish to supply personal contact details quite so readily, but that doesn't excuse the guy who did this. I'm certainly not a psychologist, but this guy pretty much fits my personal, layman's definition of sociopath, as he clearly has zero empathy or respect for the people he did this to.

    3. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Excuse me, but sending very private information to someone you don't have the foggiest clue about pretty much means you don't know how the 'net works.

      It's funny how many people will even respond to fraudulent requests to surrender information to "da man", thinking that everyone pisses their pants before even considering imposing as federal agents, not thinking that it could be kinda hard to execute federal US law against someone located in a country ending in -stan.

      Then again, considering the anti-spam, anti-fraud, anti-bad-thing-done-through-the-internet laws passed recently, neither do politicians have a clue how it works...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Maybe you don't understand how personal communication works.

      At least with written letters, if you write and send me a letter I can do what I want with it. Read it out loud, publish it online, whatever.

      There are limitations to phone conversations due to wiretapping rules, but when you send me nude pics of your beautiful 300 lb naked self, you have no right to tell me what to do with them.

      Exposing yourself like this is a bad idea, and people need to learn that.

      There is no expectation of privacy for stuff you freely give away to a freaking stranger you don't even know.

      These perverts are probably mostly married and looking for a fling and they deserve what they get.

    5. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by CortoMaltese · · Score: 5, Insightful
      It certainly is time for people to understand.

      You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say on the Internet can and will be used against you. You have the right to speak to an attorney, but he can't help you take back what you said on the Internet. Nobody can.

    6. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by pembo13 · · Score: 1

      They sent it to a stranger they didn't even really meet on the internet. Nuff said.

      --
      "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    7. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Tim+C · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe you don't understand how personal communication works.

      I understand perfectly how personal communication works. Perhaps you have problems with "common decency" and "trust"?

      There is no expectation of privacy for stuff you freely give away to a freaking stranger you don't even know.

      There is an implied level of trust in this sort of thing. From the point of view of the respondents, they are replying to a like-minded individual who is advertising in an appropriate forum. This trust has been abused. No law has been broken, it's true, but it's a pretty reprehensible thing to do. I agree in my original comment that sending such personal contact details in an initial contact is perhaps naive, but that's still no excuse for this guy's actions.

      but when you send me nude pics of your beautiful 300 lb naked self, you have no right to tell me what to do with them.

      Nice ad hominem - so this behaviour is acceptable because the people caught out by it are ugly? Well, they must be, right? They use a personals site.

      No, you have no right to tell someone what to do with a picture you send them - although you are of course free to *request* that they treat it with a little respect. Again, there is an expected behaviour in this situation, and this guy violated that expectation. He knew how most of these people would feel, and didn't care - he was in fact counting on it, that was the whole point. In my book, that makes him a bad person. Does it matter? Not really, but it does help make the world that little bit less of a nice place. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but I think it's better to be nice to people than unnecessarily nasty.

      These perverts are probably mostly married and looking for a fling and they deserve what they get.

      Ah, now we get to the crux of the matter - this sort of activity contravenes your personal morality, and so it's ok for them to be treated in this way. You have no evidence that any of these people were married - although I concede that some of them probably are. Of those, of course, some will have the explicit permission of their partner, who may even be expecting to participate. Of the ones who are cheating on their partner, fine, perhaps they did get what they deserved. The rest, however, most certainly did not, no matter how perverted you may personally find their particular sexual preferences.

    8. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by slysithesuperspy · · Score: 1

      It is interesting the responses here and on digg where anyone that said this guy should not be sued were modded down, a lot!. People should take some responsibility, for once! Yes, he did a "bad" thing but is this not a free speech issue, it is not like they were in a binding contract, or the information was stolen. Yes it was taken under false pretences, but it is effectively just some people chatting on the Internet.

    9. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by 70Bang · · Score: 1


      Maybe you don't understand how personal communication works.
      At least with written letters, if you write and send me a letter I can do what I want with it. Read it out loud, publish it online, whatever.


      It's long (sorry, I can't validate beyond twenty years first-hand) been an expectation personal email becomes public.

      Since the great rush for everyone to plug in and create their own rules, I suppose that's been tossed by the wayside now that everyone seems to think "anything goes"? It would appear it's reached the point of "Say & do everything as though it's published around the world, even if what is said is not true"? (that should be reasonably close to "The Messiah's Handbook" from Richard Bach's "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah".

      I suppose someone could claim there are copies of email lodged in servers along the way and they can be retrieved, but you don't see people doing that with the content as part of the original action, just stating it could be done afterwards as justification. Were those challenged to play "Name that Tune", I think we'd see the few claimants become tone deaf.

    10. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Southpaw018 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I would say that this has nothing to do with the internet. Sending highly private, personal information to someone you've never met, know nothing about and whose identity you can't even be sure of (as in this case!) means you're just an idiot. There's really no way around that one.

      People do this through the mail, people do this through email. Hell, con artists have tricked people into doing this since cavemen were banging each other on the heads with clubs. Whatever way it occurs, it's the same thing.

      --
      ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
    11. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Mistshadow2k4 · · Score: 1

      Internet, shminternet. This sort of thing happened before there was an internet. Ever heard of personal ads in newspapers? The only thing the internet adds to this is that it makes it easier to publish -- but it was still possible even in 1940. And the fact that the respondents did a stupid thing is hardly an excuse for violating them like this. What, you never made a stupid mistake of an embarassing nature? If you answer "no" you're either so young you shouldn't be reading at a site like /. or you're Jesus Himself. The difference is that you were probably luckier than these guys.

      --
      I dream of a better world... one in which chickens can cross roads without their motives being questioned.
    12. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I understand perfectly how personal communication works. Perhaps you have problems with "common decency" and "trust"?

      Trust? Why don't you let me borrow your car, since you think you can trust total strangers with nudie pics of yourself.

      Implied trust? No EULA, no contract, no binding trust. To send naked pictures of yourself to a stranger as an initial contact is not naive, it is stupid beyond belief.

      Nice ad hominem - so this behaviour is acceptable because the people caught out by it are ugly? Well, they must be, right? They use a personals site.

      Humor. My bad, I forgot we were on /.

      Did any of the personal emails request the dude not post the naked pictures? The dude is a bad person because he outed some perverts? Anything online should be treated as totally in public. Don't like it? Use an alias or lots of encryption. I have no problem with what they are doing, but people need to know that others can easily find out stuff you don't want online.

      I grew up with finger, and nerds never freaked out about people knowing "I am in the computer lab at 4:00 AM again". Want privacy, take the steps to ensure privacy. Sending naked pics by an inital email to a stranger is stupid, and people need to realize that.

    13. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by slysithesuperspy · · Score: 1

      Oops, I meant I think this is a free speech issue.

    14. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by bentcd · · Score: 4, Informative

      when you send me nude pics of your beautiful 300 lb naked self, you have no right to tell me what to do with them.
      In Norway, people automatically have copyright on any picture that is (mostly) of themselves. If this is also the case in the jurisdiction(s) in question, then the above is not the case.

      --
      sigs are hazardous to your health
    15. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Tim+C · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Trust? Why don't you let me borrow your car, since you think you can trust total strangers with nudie pics of yourself.

      If you can't tell the difference between those two things then I'm not sure there's any point continuing this debate, but still...

      I give everyone a default level of trust, until and unless they do something to either increase or decrease that level of trust. For what it's worth, I wouldn't send random strangers nude pictures of myself either, or give them contact details I couldn't ditch without issue (eg throwaway email address).

      Implied trust? No EULA, no contract, no binding trust.

      No, no binding trust; just an assumed level of common decency and honesty that was clearly lacking in this case.

      Humor. My bad, I forgot we were on /.

      That's the problem with a purely textual medium; humour can be very hard to spot at times, especially given the level of maturity of some people here (who would consider that a valid reason).

      The dude is a bad person because he outed some perverts? ... I have no problem with what they are doing

      You should choose your words more carefully then; pervert is rather emotive, and is almost only ever used in a negative sense.

      I grew up with finger, and nerds never freaked out about people knowing "I am in the computer lab at 4:00 AM again".

      I grew up with finger, but finger doesn't invite you to contact it under false pretences then post personal information of the sort the vast majority of people would not want published in that way to a heavily-visited website.

      No offence, but your analogies suck. I'm not even really disagreeing that these people were unwise to give out that sort of information on first contact with a complete stranger, but two wrongs don't make a right. The guy is a dick, plain and simple. If he carries on behaving in this fashion, eventually he's going to piss off the wrong person and things are going to turn very nasty. As much as these people need to learn to be a little less free with their personal info, this guy needs to learn that.

    16. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by allgood2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree that the "prank" (the word really isn't strong enough) should act as a cautionary tale for more people. But I've got to say, God, what an a-hole Jason Fortuny is. Not only was his posting of the response--possibly illegal: no you don't have the right to post private data just because it was sent to you; just like you don't have the right to use my image for sale, just because I was unlucky enough to walk in front of your camera--the guy is just being an ass about his responses. I clicked on the thread by the husband and wife, in an open marriage; and not only was he treating them with scorn, derision, and heaping helpings of unwarranted hatred; but he was encouraging others to do so as well. It was like a public stoning, and practically everyone there was saying, "well, you volunteered for it, you were going to cheat on your wife" or "you deserved it, did you really think any girl would want to be submissive". Ignoring the fact that they are throwing stones at a human being.

      I just have to say, I'm glad I don't do much work in that area of the country. Because, if I was ever asked if Mr. Fortuny should be hired, recommended, or even considered for a position; I'd have to state unequivocally, that I consider him to be untrustworthy, egotistical, uncaring, and highly likely to violate any private and or confidential data and materials, regardless of any policies he may have agreed to. He may be great at his job, but I, for one, would never recommend him.

      I imagine as an independent contractor in the web and networking business, that he's put his livelihood in jeopardy. Cause, I'm betting that as much as the arrogant responses of the youthful looking to draw blood are commenting on his efforts; individuals and companies more likely to pay for the privilege of his service will feel a great deal more hesitation--despite any agreement that they may or may not have on the morality of the responders.

      I hope that there are at least of few respondents willing to press civil charges against him (I'm not certain if any criminal charges can be brought).

    17. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I imagine as an independent contractor in the web and networking business, that he's put his livelihood in jeopardy. Cause, I'm betting that as much as the arrogant responses of the youthful looking to draw blood are commenting on his efforts; individuals and companies more likely to pay for the privilege of his service will feel a great deal more hesitation

      Oh, absolutely. Who would trust this guy with any commercial-in-confidence material knowing that he adheres to ethics, privacy and the law, based on his likelihood of being actively punished?

    18. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by gbjbaanb · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No offence, but your analogies suck. I'm not even really disagreeing that these people were unwise to give out that sort of information on first contact with a complete stranger, but two wrongs don't make a right. The guy is a dick, plain and simple.

      True.. I'd say a good analogy that might make people sit up a bit is if the ad was from a white woman looking for black men for sex, then post the replies and see what kind of civil liberties issues kick up a major furore. It pointless to speculate further though - you're right the guy is an unpleasant person, immature in his acts (it does seem like a childish prank - something adults will grow out of as they learn other people exist as entities like themselves and deserve to be treated like themselves).

      The thing I take away from this is the number of responses to the article that say he was right to do what he did - the world is a nasty place as it is, in *my* naivete, I would like to think that the online community is filled with the better, more intelligent, more sensible and decent group of society. Shows how wrong I can be sometimes.

    19. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      if you write and send me a letter I can do what I want with it.

      Just because you assert it does not make it true.

      These letters were responses to the the posting of a fraudulent offer. The person committing the fraud then published these letters without the permission of the authors.

      So besides fraud, the original poster (whom many have deemed a sociopath) has also committed extensive violations of copyright law. Each letter is a count (at least) under the Federal statutes which make copyright violation a felony.

      Yes, privately you can do with any letter what you want. Publicly is another matter.

      Just like if you decide to assert you are a submissive fem. Privately no one has (or should have) any problem with that. Publicly, if you actually are not, is another story.

    20. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Nijika · · Score: 1

      Well, he was free to speak, and now he's going to get sued into the ground by other people who have the freedom to do so under the law. A perfect comeuppance for this intellectual narcissist.

      --
      Luck favors the prepared, darling.
    21. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, you have no right to tell someone what to do with a picture you send them

      Unless you took it, in which case you are the copyright holder. They would certainly need your permission to redistribute it.

    22. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      People tend to be less wary on the 'net, though. When someone comes to your door, telling you he's from your bank to review your account data, would you believe him? If not, then why do so many people believe those mails they (allegedly) get from their bank, telling them to reply IMMEDIATELY with all their secret info or their accounts are closed?

      People simply let go all safeguards when going online. Why, I don't know, but they do.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    23. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is definitely about how the internet works!

      The Internet: where women disguise themselves as men and where men pretend to be women.

      I call it the gender blender.

    24. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by GregWebb · · Score: 4, Informative
      There are limitations to phone conversations due to wiretapping rules, but when you send me nude pics of your beautiful 300 lb naked self, you have no right to tell me what to do with them.

      Not true.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_release

      --

      Greg

      (Inside a nuclear plant)
      Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!

    25. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by StormReaver · · Score: 1

      "No, you have no right to tell someone what to do with a picture you send them...."

      First, I am not a lawyer.

      On to the reply:

      This isn't quite true. You have copy rights to any picture you take. By default, no one you send that picture to has the right to publish it. Provided the copyright owners want to claim ownership of the pictures, there are civil suits just waiting to happen. Depending on the nature of the personal information published by the prankster, there may be criminal charges to levy as well.

    26. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Chris+whatever · · Score: 1

      i totally agree with you...

      In fact i encourgae people to do pranks like this until they GET IT once and for all.

    27. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by moracity · · Score: 1

      My sentiments exactly. The story isn't about the prankster. It's about the idiots that responded. They got exactly what they deserved for sending personal information to a stranger. It's no different than the Dateline stories that were outing people on national TV. Is NBC sociopathic as well?

    28. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Skye16 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I sent money to someone I didn't even really meet on the internet. I bought Secret of Mana for the SNES on Ebay. Should he then post my personal information? What if, instead of SoM, I bought a quadruple-headed dildo, complete with ground effects, on Ebay? Is it okay then?

      Unfortunately for this dude, and any hypothetical person interested in revealing my hypothetical purchase in a hypothetical sex toy with hypothetical accoutrements, it's against the law. Ditto for the Craig's List advertisement. Whether or not it was stupid for me to buy Secret of Mana from some party I didn't know is completely moot. It would be moot if it were a sex toy or a set of monkey bars (playground equipment) or a new duvet cover. It would be moot if I were answering an advert for a local flag football league or for a roommate. A court would probably throw out a frivolous case of me suing you for exposing my need to cover my down comforter with a duvet cover because the fucking cat sheds all the fuck over it and makes it icky furry. After all, a dude owning a duvet cover, while something to possibly snicker about, is not exactly going to have an actual harmful effect on my life. But god help you if you make it impossible for employment because I engaged in conversation, in good faith, with someone advertising for others in a slave/master relationship. That could keep me from getting a job, and, as exposing that information is illegal for you in the first place, and as it probably just cost me a whole lot of money over the course of my life, just cost *you* a lot of money in lawsuit damages to make up for it.

      Personally, I hope this dude gets sued for every last cent these guys lose. And if they can make a case for pain and suffering (not too hard to see, since they may lose their marriages -- i agree that they're scumbags, but, just as it's not legal to kill all jerkface fuckers, being a scumbag doesn't automatically preclude you from protection under the law), then I hope he has to pony that up to. All in all, I hope this guy's life is ruined, just like he ruined theirs.

      What's the moral of this story? Don't be an idiot. I think we all agree that many (most?) of those responding to the advertisement were being incredibly stupid. But so was the dude busting their balls. Through multiple acts of idiocy, we're probably going to end up with a whole host of guys who just ruined their lives. I don't think it would be a stretch to say a few could commit suicide after everything collapses in on them. Or at least become raging alcoholics. How is that a benefit to us? It isn't. So in the long run, don't be an idiot. Just as a girl who dresses like a tramp, acts like a tramp, then follows a dude back to his apartment from a club and gets raped is an idiot, so to are the men who replied to this posting. But just as the dude who raped the tramp is a rapist who should be shot - repeatedly - in the face, so should the dude who "outted" these guys get kicked straight up in the balls. And in the wallet, for good measure.

    29. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by xanthines-R-yummy · · Score: 1

      If REAL bankers came to my door to analyze my financial data on a regular basis, then yeah I might open the door to a wacko in the process. But of course no one lets the banker in the door in your analogy because that's not how business is normally done. However, banks do business online like a whole mess of others. Given the sophistication of phishing, it's not a surprise that someone would make THAT mistake and lose all their money and/or dignity. It's not a case of letting all safeguards go by the wayside. It's more like poison seeping into the watershed or something. It's getting really hard to filter that crap out.

    30. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by paanta · · Score: 5, Funny
      Hell yeah. Whenever *I* send pictures of my tender bits to total strangers, I use my favorite creative commons license:

      You are free:
      * to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work after blurring all identifying features of the author or licensor.
      * to make derivative works

      Under the following conditions:
      * No Attribution. You must not attribute the work to the author or licensor.
      * Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
      * No Masturbation. No one may ever use this image as part of some sick fantasy.

    31. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by CommandNotFound · · Score: 1

      What if someone sent your information to him as a "prank"? Are you on this list? Have you checked to make sure? How many lists per day will you have to check to make sure your information isn't being published by the latest pundit-of-the-week trying to get some publicity? How can he prove that any of these people sent this information with their consent and didn't have their craiglist credentials stolen? He will probably get sued into the stone age, and I believe that he should.

    32. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Elektroschock · · Score: 1
      Well, such a leakage of personal communication to the general public could be considered an offence under data protection laws. Our real problem today is that privacy protection is insufficient in the United States.

      The European Parliament just discussed a similar case.

      With the 30 September deadline imposed by the European Court of Justice for the EU to end passenger data transfers to the US rapidly approaching, Parliament adopted a report calling on the US to ensure that it offers adequate protection of European passenger data and that sufficient safeguards are in place. It is asking the Council to negotiate an interim agreement, valid until November 2007 only, with MEPs observing the negotiations.
    33. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 1

      People simply let go all safeguards when going online. Why, I don't know, but they do.

      Probably because not enough people have been publicly exploited and humilated as an example.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    34. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by tacocat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I would disagree. I can have the same social effect if I were to do this via street fliers stapled to phone poles in the respective neighborhoods.

      The internet is different, but the people are the same. You can still meet some real jerks -- just faster and they're harder to spot because it's easier to pose on the internet.

      For all you know, I might be a hyper-intelligent shade of blue and not a carbon based life form.

    35. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by rjstanford · · Score: 4, Insightful
      And if they can make a case for pain and suffering (not too hard to see, since they may lose their marriages -- i agree that they're scumbags, but, just as it's not legal to kill all jerkface fuckers, being a scumbag doesn't automatically preclude you from protection under the law), then I hope he has to pony that up to.

      So in that case he'd have to replace the marriage? Well, I guess he could find himself on the receiving end of those 178 dominant men. "Ponying up" indeed. Think of it like truth in advertising, only after the fact. Harsh punishment, but he did say that he wanted it, right? Isn't that pretty much the logic he's using anyway?
      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
    36. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 1
      "They did not understand how the internet works? They did not publish their personal information on some website, they sent it to someone who had published an ad in a suitable forum! This has nothing to do with "how the internet works" but is all about "how people work"!"

      Bingo. This is actually quite an interesting excercise in social engineering. The internet provides the ability to conceal our identity and transfer information quickly while spreading it around a large number of people. That means you should be a lot more wary of trusting people and be careful of giving them information you wouldn't want spread. In the old days something like this might be contained to a pervert faking an ad to get pictures for himself to whack off to, these days you'll become an unwilling internet porn star and despite whatever measures you take against him, the damage done will be permanent and reoccuring as your contact info and image are now out there for the world to abuse. I believe some major lessons will be learned on both sides of this.

      --
      Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
    37. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by virg_mattes · · Score: 1

      > It's getting really hard to filter that crap out.

      Then tighten your filter. If you never, ever respond to email from a bank at all under any circumstances, then you'll never fall prey to this sort of thing. Too inconvenient? That's the risk you take, then. Online banking is certainly convenient, but it's inherently less secure.

      Virg

    38. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1
      This trust has been abused. No law has been broken, it's true, but it's a pretty reprehensible thing to do.
      ...
      but when you send me nude pics of your beautiful 300 lb naked self, you have no right to tell me what to do with them.
      ...
      No, you have no right to tell someone what to do with a picture you send them

      Actually you do. You can sue for copyright infringement if those pictures are published. I could see a very unpleasant and large lawsuit for Fortuny for illegally publishing those pictures. In this case, that would be a suitable and justified lawsuit based on copyright. (Take a look at any portrait studio. The negatives and the rights belong to the studio, not you.)

      As for the emails, if it wasn't processed, but a cut & paste in their entirety, there's another nice copyright infringement.

      If you want to argue against either, remember this - they weren't "posted", but sent to an individual, so they never were in the public domain until Fortuny published them. (The state of the internet and privacy are irrelevant here)
      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    39. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by LKM · · Score: 1
      he can't help you take back what you said on the Internet.

      Uhm... people send confidential and personal information by mail every day. So you're saying that intercepting mail or publishing mail you've received from other people is a-okay and to be expected?

      You're saying that if you impersonate somebody and manage to get personal mail that way, there's no issue with posting that information to a site because the data is "on the Internet" anyway?

      They didn't publish stuff on the web. They wrote an e-mail.

      Let's not turn the victims into the culprits.

    40. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Damek · · Score: 1

      Not even just an a-hole, Jason Fortuny is a childish a-hole. Why is this all about fem-dom sex? Because childish people seem to not understand the wide range and validity of human sexual interests. People like him are still suffering from puritan hangups. He probably thinks people who would respond to such an ad are sickos or deviants or something and deserve to be ridiculed. He's wrong, and he's just proven he's the one who needs to be ridiculed thoroughly and publicly for behaving like a little brat bully about the sexual practices of mature adults.

    41. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1
      Bingo. This is actually quite an interesting excercise in social engineering.

      Nah. If he'd merely collected and posted a summary of the data, maybe mailing participants back a note saying "fooled ya, be careful next time", then it might be an interesting exercise.

      By publically posting the data, it instead becomes a horrifying application, not an interesting exercise.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    42. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by vertinox · · Score: 1

      I sent money to someone I didn't even really meet on the internet. I bought Secret of Mana for the SNES on Ebay. Should he then post my personal information?

      Look dude. If I'm selling an SNES game on ebay and then start emailing me pictures of your cock in order to secure your bid, I think I'm going to post that information on the net somewhere.

      Seriously though, the guys in question are not only pervs they are dumb pervs.

      They are the kind of people that get caught on that stupid MSNBC show. He wasn't selling anything other than soliciting sex. They only thing these guys should be thankful for is that it was some guy playing a joke on them and not the FBI or Homeland trying to get someone arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

      Secondly, end users do not sign privacy disclosures with each other nor get applied to any HIPAA, Banks, Credit Card company, Doctor, and Lawyer confidentiality laws.

      You know those privacy agreements company have? There are only there to make the customer feel good if you happen to not be one of the afore mentioned types of businesses.

      So in truth that guy you bought the Secret of Mana can post your info all he wants as long as it doesn't appear to not be threating your life or limb or doing some type of libel or slander. (IE putting your name and address on a site that tells people to kill you like an abortion doctor).

      Other than that there are no privacy laws that protect you in this matter AFAIK (IANAL).

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    43. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by HycoWhit · · Score: 1

      Umm, eBay's own privacy policy is why they don't release the details of transactions. There is no law about releasing information regarding any type of transaction. Now if you had a third party, say an auditor looking at eBay, release the transaction data--you could have something.

    44. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by spun · · Score: 1

      Seriously though, the guys in question are not only pervs they are dumb pervs.


      You say that like it's a bad thing to be a perv. Sure, some kinds of pervs are bad, but people into BDSM are generally not the bad kind of perv.
      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    45. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Its a crime in the state where this guy posted to intentionally do anything that could reasonably be expected to cause someone embarrassment or loss. I think this qualifies, and I hope the SOB goes to jail. I think this says it all.

    46. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 1

      since cavemen were banging each other on the heads with clubs.

      Hello Sir. Me name Grogla. Me wife of big chiefy who recently die. Chiefy leave me twenty cavebear that me no have space for in this cave. Me would like to give you these bear because me know you wonderful person. All me need is your social security number and checking account number, and me transfer these bears to you posthaste. Your dear friend, Grogla.

      --
      My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
    47. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by CortoMaltese · · Score: 1
      See my other reply. I'm not saying it was okay to post the mails. He's an idiot for doing that, and he will regret it, for sure. And he too can't take back what he posted.

      However, people should be more careful about what they do online. You refer to sending "confidential and personal information by mail". Yes, everyone does that - but usually with people they know. What makes you think it's a clever idea to send pictures of your penis with your real name and company email address to some stranger? Even if you know that it's illegal of this stranger to abuse the information. That is asking for trouble, no matter how you look at it.

    48. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      "What if, instead of SoM, I bought a quadruple-headed dildo, complete with ground effects, on Ebay? Is it okay then?"

      I am very interested in your product and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

    49. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by thatguywhoiam · · Score: 1
      just like you don't have the right to use my image for sale, just because I was unlucky enough to walk in front of your camera

      Great post - I just wanted to point out, the above is not strictly true. If you are out in a public space (i.e. that old 'no reasonable expectation of privacy') then it is perfectly OK to take snaps of you and use them for whatever one likes. (At least in N.A.)

      --
      If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
    50. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by pembo13 · · Score: 1

      It may not be 'okay'. But it is surely to be expected. You have to understand that not because you don't feel that something is opkay that you shouldn't expect it. If it wasn't to be expected, you'd be giving out your bank information to the seller so they could withdraw the money themsevles...surely you do not do that. You used PayPal..so they worst they can do is publish your paypal name, address and what you bought. It is a sacrofoce for getting an item you wanted.

      --
      "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    51. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I don't know about your bank, but mine never ever sent me an E-Mail concerning account critical operations. If (not when, IF) I receive E-Mail from my bank, it's the same "don't you wanna invest" crap they sent me through snail as well.

      If something's wrong with my account, I get a call. Including the offer to call back for security reasons, and in NO case ever they will ask for security information from me. For the very simple reason that they simply GOT all that information.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    52. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      They only thing these guys should be thankful for is that it was some guy playing a joke on them and not the FBI or Homeland trying to get someone arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

      If it were, they wouldnt be in much legal trouble - just the pain in the ass of going to court and getting it thrown out on the basis of entrapment.

    53. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just have to say, I'm glad I don't do much work in that area of the country.

      Sadly, Mr Fortuny would have no trouble finding gainful employment here in Bumfuck, Texas.

    54. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by zootm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Thinking more in terms of the people who, through this "scandalous" nonsense may lose their jobs or standing within the society they are surrouded with because of ignorant disapproval of their lifestyle choices makes this more clear-cut, I feel. The married guys were (unless they're polyamorous, in which case only the previous section is relevant) clearly doing something wrong, but a lot of people were not.

      This childish "HA HA LOOK AT TEH BONDAGE FREAKS LOL" posting could mess with people's lives for no good reason, to the end of providing some ignorant, immature people on the internet a little giggle that amounts to little more than appeasing their lack of understanding of alternative sexual practices.

      So, in short, I think people are placing too much emphasis on the assholes who were cheating on their wives. What about the sexually-adventurous people who for whatever reason chose to keep their habits out of the eyes of the people they associate with daily?

      Should this be against the law, etc., is another matter altogether, but let's not forget there are perfectly innocent people having their privacy violated here, whether you believe the common man has a right to it or not.

    55. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by lawpoop · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "People simply let go all safeguards when going online. Why, I don't know, but they do."

      Your average, nuerotypical person is good at reading body language and understanding the signs of authenticity, such as clothing, vehicle, dialect, etc. However, they aren't the best readers, and their skeptical tools aren't as refined as they are for sniffing out con artists. They've been lied to and heard BS stories hundreds of times from all sorts of people all throughout their life. However, they've very rarely encountered a situation where they've needed to think critically about information they encountered in writing. They've never encountered written BS. Most people, when encountering conflicting information in text, think that they simply don't understand the text. Also, the punishments for ignoring official letters are far greater than telling a real bureaucrat who you thought was a con artist to f*ck off.

      Ever since its invention, writing is the defacto sign of authority. The very first writings were receipts for business transactions. Literate people were a rare commodity, and only the aristocracy could afford to train and employ them. The village idiot didn't have an independent paper or a blog. He just ranted out loud in the square. Anything written was official, simply by the fact that it was written. Also, we have 3 of the world's major religions based on a Holy Book that was dictated by God Himself. That lends an 'aura' of authenticity to writing.

      Unfortunately, the internet is primarily a written medium, and people tend to take anything that's written as gospel, just as they have for thousands of years.

      --
      Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
      -- Pablo Picasso
    56. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by zootm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Spot on post there. The issue as I see it isn't so much about breaking laws, or the fact that some of the people were married, but more to do with the fact that the guy in question was clearly just being a complete asshole.

      It's just immature nonsense, and the fact that so many people seem to find the action admirable in some way annoys the hell out of me. This is a high school-level prank with far more serious repercussions for people's lives, and not just for the ones who were "doing something wrong" (the married ones), at best. It's immature, it's not funny, and it just shows that the prankster has no respect for people in general. Which is summed up perfectly in the linked blog entries characterisation of the act as "sociopathic".

    57. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by kimgkimg · · Score: 0

      Well seeing as how many lives he's potentially ruined already, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up as a real-life CSI case somewhere.

    58. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1
      I don't think it would be a stretch to say a few could commit suicide after everything collapses in on them.
      Back in my day the only way to restore honor to your family is to commit seppuku. I would reccomend that to all who were involved.
      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    59. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Vinnie_333 · · Score: 2, Informative
      Sending highly private, personal information to someone you've never met, ... means you're just an idiot.

      Of course, these people were hoping to get laid. Which bypasses the brain and goes straight to other body parts.

      --

      "We shall party like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean." - HedonismBot
    60. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by zardo · · Score: 0
      So a potential employer shouldn't be able to find out that this person is a sicko who wants to dominate, and probably would use company computers for his sexual pleasure and wife swapping and what not, but the guy who reveals them should never be hired again, because.... ???? because his moral views are ignorant? Does that have anything to do with job performance? Maybe he'll fight with the domination guru in the office. I think less of someone who wants to slap a collar around some screwed up woman than some infantile guy with nothing better to do with his time than this.... actually, guys with nothing to do with their time make pretty good system administrators. Hah!

      It appears you've associated yourself with the domination crowd. I don't get you people sometimes. You're always sticking up for the trash with the privacy argument. Another post on slashdot right now about some anonymous transfer network being overwhelmingly used for trading child pornography, and you all are defending the pedo's. What gives? When are you going to come to grips with reality?

      The guy will get sued and will declare bankruptcy. I'm sure at least one of these people he screwed has an army of lawyers in one hand, and that's what he deserves, in all honesty.

    61. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by elfguy516 · · Score: 1

      The big difference in your ebay example and what Fortuny did though is kind of a major factor. These people didn't buy anything. There was no money involved and IANAL but I would think that laws concerning misleading or false advertisments would not apply. People really need to learn the difference between illegal and immoral. As I see it the man did nothing illegal, but it was still wrong.

    62. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by evil_Tak · · Score: 1

      Wtf, it's illegal to embarrass someone? Can you be prosecuted for embarrassing yourself?

    63. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by SFBwian · · Score: 1

      You forgot that you're supposed to spell your name differently every time you write it.

      -SFBwain

      --
      I'm looking to get rich. I've got steps #2 (????) and #3 (PROFIT!) planned out, but am having trouble coming up with #1.
    64. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Dirtside · · Score: 1

      Oh, please! We hyper-intelligent shades of blue know better than to omit the hyphen in "carbon-based."

      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
    65. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I have no sympathy whatever.

      Some used their work accounts, provided their real names and gave out their cellphone numbers. One looks to be a contractor for Microsoft, while another used a .mil address to reply.


      What a bunch of stupid jackasses! Work accounts? Cell numbers? And jesus but shouldn't a guy who works for Microsoft, even as a janitor, know better?

      Fortuny seems not to realize or pretends not to realize that his prank may cost people their jobs and possibly, their marriages


      Realise, or care? I wouldn't have cared; your work account is for work. Your work DOES post and even require you read their policies, don't they? You might as well say that someone's job was threatened because he informed the bosses that the employees were embezzling.

      As to the married guys I have even LESS sympathy. They simply should not be cybersexing, period.

      These morons got what they deserved. Especially the Microsoft guy.
      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    66. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Personally I think it's some of that "If it is written it must be true" deal we've been lead to believe.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    67. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Should this be against the law, etc., is another matter altogether, but let's not forget there are perfectly innocent people having their privacy violated here, whether you believe the common man has a right to it or not.

      Congress doesn't care about your privacy, the President doesn't care about your privacy, neither does AOL or Amazon.com, despite the fact that they have privacy policies.

      If they don't care why should I? And lacking a published privacty policy why should you expect privacy? It has, after all, been a few years since the 20th century.

      Now, if the guy had a stated privacy policy I'd agree with you, despite AOL and Amazon.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    68. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Look dude. If I'm selling an SNES game on ebay and then start emailing me pictures of your cock in order to secure your bid, I think I'm going to post that information on the net somewhere.

      I agree completely and actually did something similar once. After my marriage ended I signed up for one of those dating sites (waste of money).

      I contact one not bad looking, sweet sounding young thing who stated she liked older guys. She responded with attempted humiliation. I posted the whole sordid thing on one of my web sites, one that was fairly popular at the time and sent her the URL.

      Revenge was sweet.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    69. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Dirtside · · Score: 1
      So in that case he'd have to replace the marriage? Well, I guess he could find himself on the receiving end of those 178 dominant men. "Ponying up" indeed.

      The preferred term is "interspecies erotica."
      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
    70. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by zootm · · Score: 1

      Why should you? Common decency, perhaps. The government doesn't care because politicians are soulless monsters :). Companies don't care because their sole ("sociopathic", to use the word in the blog entry back again, for better or for worse) goal is to make profit. As for this guy, he was just being an immature asshole out for glory at the expense of generally innocent, trusting people.

      I'm not arguing that he was legally (or whatever) wrong to post these things, just that it was a stupid, immature prank and it just makes him look like an asshole, which he most certainly is. As I said in the first point, I'm not gonna argue about whether this should be a legal issue. That's not something I particularly care about.

    71. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because people are used to trusting their eyes over their intellect. They see 'XYZ Bank' at the top of the emails and assume that it's THEIR 'XYZ Bank' and don't consider it could be the 'XYZ Bank of the Perpetual Scammer'.

      This is the same phenomenon that allows people in fake maintenance- or delivery-man uniforms to get access into places they shouldn't.

    72. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Surt · · Score: 1

      (Take a look at any portrait studio. The negatives and the rights belong to the studio, not you.)

      This is an important bit of info that a lot of people aren't aware of. Always demand that photographers agree in advance to hand over copyright of your photos to you. Don't do business with a photographer who won't. All of the non sleazy ones will agree to this for a small fee. The really non sleazy ones will tell you that you get copyright up front, and you'll probably find their prices are higher. (The reason being that the sleazy ones are hoping you'll come begging for negatives/reprints in the future ... and once they know you're desperate they'll charge you up the #*$& for it).

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
    73. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      How would that be different from policewomen dressing up as hookers, masquerading as hookers, and then arresting guys for soliciting prostitution?

      I've been propositioned by femele cops masquerading as hookers. "Want to party?" the "hooker" says. "Sure," I say. They offer a price and I say I'm not looking for a hooker. Then the bitch pulls me over a week later and gives me a speeding ticket!

      How could anybody ever be arrested for soliciting a prostitute without entrapment or stupidity on the John's part?

      (BTW, the FBI isn't interested in prostitution. There is no federal law against prostitution, and in fact it's legal and regulated in the state of Nevada; the grandparent is obviously smoking something that IS a felony)

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    74. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Old, old quote from a magazine cartoon: "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog!"

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    75. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      > Sending highly private, personal information to someone you've never
      > met, know nothing about and whose identity you can't even be sure of
      > (as in this case!) means you're just an idiot. ...A regularly laid idiot. Now get back to cranking to pr0n and feeling a bit too much recognition when you see a Simpsons' episode with the Comic Book Guy. ...and even he at least got laid a few times, e'en tho it was Skinner's ma.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    76. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      In Norway, people automatically have copyright on any picture that is (mostly) of themselves. If this is also the case in the jurisdiction(s) in question, then the above is not the case.
      So you're saying that this guy is going to be sued for copyright violation if he posted any pictures of Norwegian Wood? Hey, maybe we could even get the RIAA confused enough to prosecute this guy... :-)

      Sorry. I couldn't resist! /me ducks.
    77. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      that doesn't excuse the guy who did this

      What aboiut TFA's author, the guy who made it available on a site that is popular enough it can't be slashdotted? Before Wired posted the story few would have known about it.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    78. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by taff^2 · · Score: 1

      I sent money to someone I didn't even really meet on the internet. I bought Secret of Mana for the SNES on Ebay. Should he then post my personal information? What if, instead of SoM, I bought a quadruple-headed dildo, complete with ground effects, on Ebay? Is it okay then?


      Okay? Jeez! Guy it would the best money you've ever spent!
      --
      Karma: Bad. (As in Good?)
    79. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      You have no evidence that any of these people were married

      Except that TFA says "Fortuny seems not to realize or pretends not to realize that his prank may cost people their jobs and possibly, their marriages". No, not proof, but we ARE discussing TFA, after all. It says right there.

      And I don't know about yours, but my bible doesn't say "thou shalt not disclose personal information".

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    80. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      True, but I've never bothered to even investigate this. I've only used professional photographers a few times, but it's definitely something to think about next time.

      Then again, don't forget that you can copy them for yourself as many times as you want, copyright or not. You just can't publish them, meaning hand them out to friends, etc. Same rules as for audio or video recordings.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    81. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by metamatic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Now, if the guy had a stated privacy policy I'd agree with you, despite AOL and Amazon.

      The little shit did have a stated privacy policy, ironically enough.

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    82. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      I give everyone a default level of trust

      You didn't grow up on that side of the tracks. Trust is like respect - it must be earned, or it's worthless. In the case of trust, misguided trust is dangerous, as the grandparent was trying to say.

      No, no binding trust; just an assumed level of common decency and honesty

      It must be nice to have never met an asshole. I assume you're a murderous, theiving asshole until you show me differently. But I haven't lived in the nicest neighborhoods all my life; in fact, the internet isn't a nice neighborhood. Once I get to know you and see you're NOT Charlie Manson I'll give you a measure of trust.

      That's the problem with a purely textual medium; humour can be very hard to spot at times

      Even in a spoken medium. A bad joke is a bad joke whether online or off, and funny is funny whether online or off. If your joke sucks you deserve to be taken seriously. When you make a joke you also have to consider your audience. A joke about Schrodinger on slashdot is funny, in People magazine it isn't. Fashion jokes aren't fashionable here though.

      two wrongs don't make a right

      No, but three lefts do.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    83. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if this were done to a LBGA member and outed just because they replied to an online ad? Would you expect no one to be up in arms over this?

    84. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by SilentChris · · Score: 1, Insightful
      no you don't have the right to post private data just because it was sent to you


      But it wasn't private. Nearly all of the people sent emails from their real addresses using their real names. None were encrypted. So you have emails coming from identifiable addresses, cleartext across the internet -- thousands of miles where anyone can read their contents (and probably did). Even if the senders didn't realize this (which they obviously didn't), you'd think at least a COUPLE would realize their employers keep track of outgoing mail.

      When someone sends their bank information and telephone number through email to Nigerian scammers, Slashdot calls them idiots. When they're requesting sexual domination we're somehow supposed to treat them differently?

      His methods were crude, but this is a wakeup call. You'd think years after the internet became mainstream people wouldn't need one, but apparently they still do.
    85. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by a+whoabot · · Score: 1

      I'm not saying I would let you borrow my car. But if I did, you would not be allowed to destroy it. You would have to return it in the condition it was when you borrowed it. There's still implications if I trust you to borrow my car.

      Same thing here. If I trust you to to recieve nude pictures and personal information of me through e-mail in order to set up a sexual relationship with you there's the implication that you do not post that information publicly on the web. Even if I should not have trusted you in the first place. Maybe they do need to realize that they should not have trusted him, that doesn't give this Jason character the right to break the implications. He will soon learn that when he is sued by at least one of these 180 people.

      Jason said that he was a woman who was interested in these responses in order to meet with these people. He lied in order to embarass them. His lies and breaking of implied trust will apparently cause monetary harm to some of these people by way of loss wages and contracts. He will be held responsible for making up for this lost money.

    86. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Surt · · Score: 1

      Indeed, though if you haven't been given the negatives, copying them is harder.

      It also means, no sharing digitized copies with family over the internet.

      This issue most often comes up with wedding photos ... the bride and groom get a package, but then decide they like a particular shot, and want to get a blow up to 11x17 or whatever, and the photographer says: $500 please (real cost <$40).

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
    87. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      but the guy who reveals them should never be hired again, because.... ???? because his moral views are ignorant? Does that have anything to do with job performance?

      Because he's shown a willingness to post online highly embarassing information given to him in confidence, so long as he finds it personally entertaining to do so, and no matter the cost to the other party. That's not the kind of discretion most companies are looking for in network and system administrators who often have complete access to confidential and private data. That usually includes access to personal email and data on the systems belonging to higher-ups, who get to make their own rules about what is allowed on company systems. He just announed to the internet that he isn't trustworthy.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    88. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by 2short · · Score: 1

      "Bingo. This is actually quite an interesting excercise in social engineering."

      It would be an "interesting exercise" if he posted a notice saying that he got all this personal information, and people should be more careful, because he could have been some sociopathic asshole and posted it all publicly. But he did actually post it all publicly, so he actually is a sociopathic asshole, and ought to get sued. (Though he'll probably get beat to a pulp instead.)

    89. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      yep, that's true. And an 11X14 is $2.99 @ Costco, decent print quality too. up to 20X30 is $9.99, plus shipping & handling.

      That should make you feel sick, it does me. And framing is another huge scam, but that's another whole topic. $3 for glass, about $4 for other materials, when bought in bulk, and about 10-20m or time, $200 for a picture like that. Ridiculous. Yet we pay it because we don't have the miter saw nor the mask cutter and we're too busy to research into what that would take to do ourselves.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    90. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Bonewalker · · Score: 1

      I am just wondering how long it will be before one these "outed" guys decides to look up Mr. Fortuny's address and pay him a visit. This is the kind of thing that would keep me from searching for fame by destroying or humiliating others...some people take it a wee bit personally when their lives are ruined and their secret fantasy's are exposed.

      Risky business, indeed.

    91. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by daveo0331 · · Score: 1

      There ARE scams like this though. Buy a used van and paint it up to look like the Publishers Clearing House van everyone's seen on TV. Drive up to people's houses, get out the balloons, TV cameras, etc. and tell them they've just won $10,000 -- but before they can accept the prize they need to write a check for $400, payable to the IRS, to pay for taxes.

      The scammer has set up a business ahead of time and named it something like International Recording Solutions.

      --
      Remember the days when Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility?
    92. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Because, if I was ever asked if Mr. Fortuny should be hired, recommended, or even considered for a position; I'd have to state unequivocally, that I consider him to be untrustworthy, egotistical, uncaring, and highly likely to violate any private and or confidential data and materials, regardless of any policies he may have agreed to. He may be great at his job, but I, for one, would never recommend him.
      He's got upper management written all over him!
    93. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by kchrist · · Score: 1
      But it wasn't private. Nearly all of the people sent emails from their real addresses using their real names. None were encrypted.

      Totally irrelevent. This Fortuny asshole could have posted his public key and requested encrypted e-mail. Does that make it any less likely that he would have published the responses to his fake ad? Whether or not the mail could have been read in transit has nothing to do with anything. It's not third parties that are the problem here, it's the guy who the communication was meant for. Encryption would have solved nothing.

    94. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by thomn8r · · Score: 1
      And if they can make a case for pain and suffering

      Wasn't that was what the original ad was for?

    95. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Abcd1234 · · Score: 1

      Actually, AFAIK, anyone living in a country that adheres to the Berne Convention automatically has rights to any photo they take.

    96. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by metlin · · Score: 1

      > He probably thinks people who would respond to such an ad are sickos or deviants or something and deserve to be ridiculed.

      It is.

      You are free to do what you want, but that does not make it right -- you are free to chain another human being, or subject them to inhuman acts, however do not perform such acts and believe that you are a normal human being.

      Please tell me how S&M or bondage or whatever it is you think is not sick or deviant is normal? Please tell me how mutilating another human being (or yourself) or performing gross acts on one another is normal in any way?

      Calling them sickos and deviants is probably an insult to a lot of other people -- folks who responded to that ad are disgusting and should be locked up in mental asylums and prisons.

      In fact, I think he is in the right -- personally, these people are the scourge of humanity, who take pleasure in someone else's pain.

    97. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by dubl-u · · Score: 1

      When someone sends their bank information and telephone number through email to Nigerian scammers, Slashdot calls them idiots. When they're requesting sexual domination we're somehow supposed to treat them differently?

      Yes, absolutely. The first person to fall for the Nigerian scam wasn't a complete idiot. People who fall for it today are complete idiots, because the scams are now poorly crafted imitations of a good con, anybody with an email address has received 50 of these, and the first three Google hits for "nigerian" are about the scam.

      Also, it's common knowledge that getting your money is a motive for being a jerk. Whereas Fortuny had no such motive here.

      His methods were crude, but this is a wakeup call. You'd think years after the internet became mainstream people wouldn't need one, but apparently they still do.

      A wakeup call that somebody might post your email on the web and make you look foolish? Of which this is the biggest incident I can recall. By that logic, Jason Fortuny is doing us a public service by warning us against... Jason Fortuny. If I ever get mugged, I will have to make sure to send the fellow a thank you note. And we all owe Duke Cunningham a debt of gratitude for showing us that congressmen are corruptible.

    98. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by LKM · · Score: 1
      What makes you think it's a clever idea to send pictures of your penis with your real name and company email address to some stranger?

      What makes you think that I think that it's a clever idea? :-)

      It's obviously not. Was it a bad idea? In this case, yeah. However, I guess that such mails are being sent by the millions. Now a few dozens were exposed. All in all, it seems to be a pretty save activity.

      Sure, people should be more careful, but blaming the victims for the crime seems kind of twisted.

    99. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by SilentChris · · Score: 1

      Legally, he has every right to post the communications. Emails are not covered under the same law as phone calls (where you need to inform the other participants the call will be recorded). They should have known what they were getting into before they emailed him (or anyone else on Craigslist).

    100. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by loraksus · · Score: 1

      Yeah, in fact, he'd get murdered by a pack of butch lesbians who carry knives.

      --
      1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
    101. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "... outweird me"

    102. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by u38cg · · Score: 1

      Hmmph. And there are still a dose of idiots who *do* believe anything told to them by some kook at the door. How do you think direct salespeople prosper?

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    103. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by bentcd · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Norway adheres to the Berne convention (or did last time I looked anyway) and if you take a picture of another person here, that person has a copyright on the picture. So does the person that took the picture, apparantly, but the person in the picture can veto any publication etc.

      In Norwegian here:
      http://lovdata.no/all/hl-19610512-002.html#45c
      In English (but unoffical I expect):
      http://www.ub.uio.no/ujur/ulovdata/lov-19610512-00 2-eng.pdf
      (para 45c)

      Of course, there is a lot of leeway for the media to use pictures that are in the public interest etc. even if the copyright holder might object, but the basic law is quite clear.

      --
      sigs are hazardous to your health
    104. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      Please tell me how mutilating another human being (or yourself) or performing gross acts on one another is normal in any way?

      Well, most boys in the US in the past few hundred years have had several inches of skin cut off their penis shortly after birth. Most girls have gone to completely normal stores where they pay to have needles shoved through their ears to create a permanent hole from which to hang ornamentation. In recent years, it's become pretty common to have even more holes created in other parts of the body, the belly button being a common site, and also frequently multiple holes around the ear. It's also quite common to pay people to jam a needle under your skin to leave little drops of colored ink suspended there for decades after.

      Pretty much every human society has mutilation and scarification of some form as completely normal and accepted practices.

      Of course, the personal ad we're talking about said nothing about any mutilation or scarification, so I'm not sure why you wanted such examples of how normal and accepted it is.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    105. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      This is the same phenomenon that allows people in fake maintenance- or delivery-man uniforms to get access into places they shouldn't.

      Yeah... don't you just love Valentine's Day? :)

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    106. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good points.

      Now, for those of you who think Jason's behavior was okay, what if the post was for "normal" behavior? What if it was an average personals ad?

      What if he then sent a couple of replies out to build trust or get more information? When you decide it's stupid to provide personal information is not fair when the person on the other end is a mean-spirited individual involved in either illegal or just tasteless behavior. You can easily build trust if you try, and then just as easily violate that trust. It might not be illegal... but it's definitely not civil. And it is not funny, either.

    107. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      didn't he get it on with Krabappel as well?

    108. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by generic-man · · Score: 2, Informative

      Your link is dead. Guess the guy knew how to opt out of the Wayback Machine (after people had used it against him, of course). Is there an archive of the Wayback Machine anywhere? :)

      --
      For more information, click here.
    109. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by SavvyPlayer · · Score: 1
      People simply let go all safeguards when going online. Why, I don't know, but they do.
      One could argue that many otherwise socially-responsible individuals also let go their moral conscience when going online. One could write this behavior off as temporary virtual suspension of disbelief...
    110. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by RM6f9 · · Score: 1

      So, wait: Dick, Jane, and Spot really existed? And they really did run?
      Whoa.

      --
      Take the 90-Day Challenge! http://rwmurker.bodybyvi.com/
    111. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, isn't Masterbation "Fair Use"?

    112. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 1

      Dammit, you saw through my scheme!

      --
      My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
    113. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by zootm · · Score: 1

      I thought this was interesting so I looked it up, found it on Google cache (hope that stays up since I'm not mirroring anything while at work:

      Privacy Policy:
      You are sending me direct contact information that is sensitive. I protect your privacy in the following ways: (1) I will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever; (2) I will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides e-mail in the regular course of business; and (3) Your information is stored behind network address translation and a software firewall.

      Obviously this is only supposed to apply to the email form on his website, though, so it's more of an irony than anything else.

    114. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by lawpoop · · Score: 1

      Yes. Your kindergarten classroom was just an illusion. ;)

      --
      Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
      -- Pablo Picasso
    115. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by metamatic · · Score: 1

      Yeah, 'cause if someone e-mailed him directly about work rather than using the form, and he posted their e-mail, they'd have no reason to be surprised or upset, right?

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    116. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by zootm · · Score: 1

      Evidently not, looking at a few of the posts in this thread ;)

    117. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by RM6f9 · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the chuckle.

      --
      Take the 90-Day Challenge! http://rwmurker.bodybyvi.com/
    118. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by aggiefalcon01 · · Score: 1
      Of course I would not send my real name, official email-address and such in response to an ad, but this has nothing to do with me being a nerd, but with knowing that there are truly stupid people out there.

      Um, don't look now, but you just proved their point for them, instead of showing it to be mistaken.
      --
      Global warming is neither science, nor politics. It is a religion.
    119. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by titzandkunt · · Score: 1


      "...And I don't know about yours, but my bible doesn't say "thou shalt not disclose personal information..."

      My Bible does say: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. [Matthew 7:120]

      Unfortunately, ol' Jason's been pulling his picture and contact details offa his business website, his myspace page, his entries on encyclopaedia dramatica & opting out of the wayback machine like there's no tomorrow. He's not very eager to have his own personal info in the open, now that his hilarious scheme has met with less than universal approval and props.

      Seems he's not so keen on parading his superior intellect around when his own shit hits his own personal fan. Typical narcissistic sociopath: They're fine when everything's peachy, but when a plan goes wrong, he goes to pieces so quickly that folk get hit by the shrapnel.

      I just wonder who he's going to blame this time? Probably another case of "momma never loved me"...

      T&K.

      --
      Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable...
    120. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Pichu0102 · · Score: 1
      For all you know, I might be a hyper-intelligent shade of blue and not a carbon based life form.

      So BSoDs are now intelligent forms of life?
    121. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      You're right, and noy just in Matthew. But that is assuming that the sorry fellow that did this would mind his own info out there.

      But again, you are right.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    122. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Actually, I agree with you. I wouldn't do it, but I would expect others to.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    123. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Hmm. I'd say he was in deep doodoo. I hope it can be enforced in court, and his victims call him on it.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    124. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Damn, my grade school teachers did me wrong again! I before E and all that.

      Thanks, I'll fix it.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    125. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Eivind · · Score: 1
      At least with written letters, if you write and send me a letter I can do what I want with it. Read it out loud, publish it online, whatever.

      This is not nessecarily true. The text of a letter, like any other written text, receives copyrigth automatically. So correct is that, by law, you can do anything to the letter that is not prevented by copyrigth-law.

      The rigths of duplication and of public performance are exclusive to the copyrigth-holder, so you can not legally do either of these things.

    126. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by Eivind · · Score: 1
      You didn't grow up on that side of the tracks. Trust is like respect - it must be earned, or it's worthless. In the case of trust, misguided trust is dangerous, as the grandparent was trying to say.

      Sure. But too little trust can be just as damaging to you as too much trust. The trick is finding the rigth level. And that *does* depend heavily on your own experiences and the particular situation.

      Trust too much, and you get screwed over. Trust too little and you'll live a lonely, bitter life, looking for thieves and murderers behind every tree.

      It must be nice to have never met an asshole.

      It's about a balance of risk. Noone is saying you should trust a random stranger in a back-alley to carefully invest the money you hand over to him in cash. But neither is it reasonable to, for example, refuse a co-workers polite request that you buy him a cup of coffee, since he forgot his cash at home today. Not even if the co-worker started the day before and you don't know him at all.

      Best case, it's the start of a friendship and contributes to improving your work-environment. Worst-case you're out the price of a cup of coffee. Thats a very reasonable risk to accept.

      I'm saying I'm *aware* that some people are assholes. In my world, most aren't though. Furthermore, I'm *willing* to let the few assholes screw me over a few times, especially on matters of no great importance to me, if that's the price I need to pay to be able to be nice to those (the large majority) which deserve being treated well.

    127. Re:It's perhaps time people understood by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Well, yes. Once you know a person and see how he or she is, you can begin to trust. It's unwarranted trust that damages.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  4. What a pathetic little asshole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Exposing people who did nothing wrong and thereby at least embarassing them if not destroying their lifes is neither witty, nor funny, it's just disgusting.

    And to do this just to get your 15 minutes of internet fame is incredibly pathetic. What an asshole.

    1. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Precisely.

      And the arrogant little wanker is not exactly hard to find. I would not be surprised to read that he ends up suffering some form of retribution over this stunt; legal, physical, or otherwise. The little asshole thought it was funny to spread the respondents' personal info over the net, but now he is working overtime trying to remove his data.

      I expect this will affect his business. Character matters, and we've gotten a good view of his. Yes, the respondents should have used better judgement, but that does not excuse his actions.

    2. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by legoburner · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yes, as good an idea as he thought it was, any company that ever googles his name now will instantly see pages associated with sex-related pranks, and see pages and pages of controversy and arguments. I read in one place that a couple of marriages are breaking apart because of his actions*, and he has been anything but anonymous in his 'prank' (his full address was available along with phone number and name on his site when he first did this and it has been reposted in quite a few places), so one wonders what will come either legally or illegally of him as a result of this.

      *Though they would probably have broken apart anyway as nobody can hide this sort of thing forever.

    3. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by masklinn · · Score: 1

      And the arrogant little wanker is not exactly hard to find.

      And never intended to be hard to find

      --
      "The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
    4. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by avenj · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe not, but does really seriously pissing off 178 "aggressive doms" seem like a smart move to you? Hmmmm...

    5. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by rbarreira · · Score: 1, Troll
      And to do this just to get your 15 minutes of internet fame is incredibly pathetic. What an asshole.

      He might as well get a punch in the face, his house burned down or worse (and the list of potential suspects is pretty long).
      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    6. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi,

      > Exposing people who did nothing wrong and thereby at least embarassing them

      So being into SM is (or is seen to be) embarrassing?

      Maybe it's because I'm European, but I'd say it really doesn't matter if the guys are into SM or not. Posting details from respondents to a regular contact ad would be the same with one exception: A lot more people would take objection.

    7. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Jaysyn · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm betting he doesn't have 178 model release forms either...

      Jaysyn

      --
      There is a war going on for your mind.
    8. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by bstempi · · Score: 1
      Exposing people who did nothing wrong and thereby at least embarassing them if not destroying their lifes is neither witty, nor funny, it's just disgusting.

      Even though the guy was an asshole, let's not neglect the stupidity of the people who replied to the post. They embarrased themselves. If they didn't want their wives to know that they were cheating on them, then perhaps they should have used some medium other than craigslist. I think that saying that the people who responded did "nothing wrong" is a bit of an over statment. (A) Their scum-bags for cheating on their current lovers, and (b) their dumbfucks for using a public medium to do it.

      BStempi

    9. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by QuoteMstr · · Score: 1

      No mod points, so "Hear hear!" instead.

    10. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Yirimyah · · Score: 1

      Have you heard of a practise known as "trolling"? It's quite well known on the internet, they tell me.

    11. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      In the US, we consider anything other than man on top, woman on bottom, face to face, under the covers, in bed, after marriage, with the lights out sex to be quite dirty.

      Certainly having google-able records of anything slightly non-mainstream could affect these guys' careers quite a bit, even though most of them are apparently single and responding to a consenting adult, you don't want to hire a "freak" or some "sick weirdo" after all.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    12. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by virg_mattes · · Score: 1

      Your argument sounds like the "blame the victim" folks who try to excuse rapists. What if even one of the respondents wasn't actually cheating on a current lover? Would that particular person be enough to damn Fortuny? How many would it take before it became wrong?

      In short, Fortuny is an asshole, and so are you. "They had it coming to them" is a disgusting cop-out.

      Virg

    13. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1
      Their scum-bags for cheating on their current lovers

      Who says everyone involved was in some sort of LTR? And according to TFA, at least one person was in an open marriage, so "cheating" is not even a possibility.

      their dumbfucks for using a public medium to do it.

      E-mail is not a public medium. They didn't post their information to the net.

      (And it's "they're scum-bags", "they are", not "their scum-bags".)

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    14. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Tweekster · · Score: 1

      Except they are not a victim they were attempting to have an affair and got busted.
          Screw them

      --
      The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
    15. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by torpedo20 · · Score: 1

      Finally, someone said it. If you ever used craiglist you know that there are sections of questionable "interests"; I guess the majority of us are mature enough not to bring them into a public eye. So, I repeat it here again: What a pathetic little asshole

    16. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      Oh please. SM consists of purposely inflicting pain on other people.

      Consensually. They weren't sending messages to random email addresses, they were responding to a message that specifically requested dominant and sadistic men because that's what the "girl" liked.

      The people responding (the sadists) are apparently quite willing to inflict pain on other weaker people. Apparently they don't find it so fun when the tables are turned.

      Why do you assume a submissive or masochist is weaker? Just because you enjoy being spanked doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you enjoy being spanked. Plenty of big strong men with successful careers let women half their size to tie them up and spank them and call them names. That's what they both like.

      How were the tables turned? These men didn't consent to being treated this way. They weren't humiliating anyone else in public or sharing the personal information of other people in public.

      People who get pleasure from hurting others ARE a "freak" or a "sick weirdo". It's not something that should be tolerated and it's rather sick that respondants are so willing to accept it as a normal fetish. It's not.

      I have a feeling you'd be very frightened to find out just how common those freakish and weird things are, my sheltered anonymous coward. Most married couples have played with some form of bondage (neckties to the bedpost, etc), sadism/masochism (spanking, biting, pinching), domination and submission (student/teacher roleplaying), or humiliation ("call me dirty names, tell me what a bad boy I am"). The Kinsey Report and subsequent studies have shown middle america is far more adventurous in the bedroom than we show publicly. As long as both people enjoy it and are adults, what does it matter?

      I mean, I don't get off on sucking toes or having girls piss on me and call me names, but if that's what keeps a couple happily in love for 50 years who the hell are you or I to say they're wrong?

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    17. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by virg_mattes · · Score: 1

      Again I mention the ones that weren't "attempting to have an affair". There have been several identified who are not married nor involved. What about them?

      So, screw you instead.

      Virg

    18. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by makomk · · Score: 1

      More interestingly, whilst IANAL I suspect the copyright for the images belongs to the people who sent them to him and he's breaking copyright law by distributing them online...

    19. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Tweekster · · Score: 1

      Dont send intimate details randomly to someone that posted an ad?

      Maybe talk to the person that posted the ad before just sending out details and private info...

      Screw them, they are idiots.

      --
      The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
    20. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by bstempi · · Score: 1
      their dumbfucks for using a public medium to do it.

      E-mail is not a public medium. They didn't post their information to the net.

      Email in itself is not a public medium...agreed. Email to an unknown recipient might as well be. They have no clue who that person is, what their (ha! this time I used the correct spelling) intentions are, or if the person is who they claim to be.

      Take for example someone picking up a hooker in a city (not that this is what is happening on line, but bear with me for a minute). Ther person sees you, yes....but they do not have a picture of you, your full name, your address, or any other way of contacting you. Sure, they could use the licesnse plate on your car (should you be using a car). The difference is that these people on the internet are handing over tons of uneeded information. You wouldn't do this real life.

      If I were to hand a unknown stranger my bank account number and routing number, I should expect it to be misused. That would be my own fault. Why are these people not expected to take the same responsibility online?

    21. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by bstempi · · Score: 1
      I never said that Fortuny wasn't wrong...all I said was that those who've been exposed need to take accountability for their actions as well.

      If I were to give out my bank acct number, passwords, etc to an untrustworth source (ie, random person, etc) then I should expect to be exploited. Sure, the person who did it is an asshole, but I should have known better and protected myself better. This isn't rocket science. People are taught in elementary school to not talk to strangers. Why in hell would I give a stranger a nude pic of myself? They might be an asshole... BStempi

    22. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1
      The difference is that these people on the internet are handing over tons of uneeded information. You wouldn't do this real life.

      Actually, people do hand over lots of unneeded information IRL, that's how con men operate. It's certainly naive and unwise, but that doesn't make the crime any less.

      Just like it's unwise for a woman to walk through a bad part of town in high heels and a short skirt and a low-cut dress and a diamond necklace; but that doesn't make her responsbile for an assault.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    23. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by bstempi · · Score: 1
      Once again, as I've said in previous posts, I never claimed that the ciminal is not to fault, or that the victim is to fault.

      To go along with your analogy, I'm simply stating that the woman who was assulted could have easily avoided the neighborhood. Walking through the bad part of town in the manor your described is just asking for it. Is it wrong to expect people to take responsibility for their well-being? Doesn't the woman have a responsibilty to not put herself in that position?

    24. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by loraksus · · Score: 1

      Yes, and in some states, possibly illegal (blow jobs, titty fucking and anal sex are still illegal in several states)
      Even in some of the more liberal states, you can bet that if any of these guys are involved in in custody suits for children, they will lose.

      --
      1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
    25. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Partly it is that there is a relatively high level of trust within the BDSM community and its generally close-knit, with clear set rules, etc. If you break them, you're ostracized and most people who are very sub/dom will not risk that - it's like vanillas being told they'd never have sex with anyone unless they move to a new city. Another thing to think of -- generally men will do things like this and women don't so these men probably felt safer than a woman would feel - and it's only increased with doms of both sex as in day-to-day life (or at least, the sexual part, obviously) no one crosses you -- its easier for most people to go along. If he'd advertised as a dom female, or even switch, probably he wouldn't have gotten photos in the same way -- its partually expected for female subs to be "displayed for" like that -- and the men would feel there was more risk if she wasn't supposedly a sub. Just a word, for those of you who have no trade in that community.

    26. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, just to note - dominate and sadists are not the same thing, while neither are mascocist and submissive. Plus, because its obviously few people on this site have any idea about this, its generally upper-middle class, sucessful professionals who are more *seriously* involved in the life style -- i.e. the people with more to lose. And attitudes like your are WHY they'll be pissed about being revealed -- what the doms were doing, or wanted to do, was definately more ethical and moral than what that asshole did do. Stuff like that is why there are both the public and private sphere - which are unfortunately being more and more intertwined.

    27. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by statusbar · · Score: 1

      how do we know that he did not just make up all these emails based on real peoples names and addresses? what he has is not proof.

      --jeffk++

      --
      ipv6 is my vpn
    28. Re:What a pathetic little asshole by AliasN · · Score: 1

      Maybe that's what he's aiming for.

  5. Legal Implications? by Alicat1194 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wouldn't this be some sort of breach of contract or communication? Since the guys who replied believed they were responding to an individual, and thus most likely consider it a private communication, would they be able to take legal action?

    --
    You can learn a lot about a person if you just take the time to inject them with sodium pentathol
    1. Re:Legal Implications? by rm999 · · Score: 5, Informative

      from tfa:

      "But was any law actually broken? Fortuny obviously misrepresented himself under false pretenses, which is itself possibly actionable, but the privacy implications beyond that are very interesting. Does emailing someone your personal information act as an implicit waiver of your right to privacy? I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell, no.

      If taken to court, he's at risk of two primary civil claims. "Intentional infliction of emotional distress," while notoriously hard to prove in court, is certainly easier here based on his own writings. The second, more relevant claim, is "public disclosure of private facts." This Findlaw article on the Washingtonienne scandal sums it up nicely:

              The disclosure must be public. The facts must be private. The plaintiff must be identified. The publication must be "highly offensive." And there must be an "absence of legitimate concern to the public" with respect to the publication.

      It certainly seems like this clearly fits the criteria for a tort claim, but I'd love to hear some legal interpretation from the law bloggers out there. Does volunteering your information in a private context somehow invalidate your privacy rights? I don't think so. (For more information, see the EFF's Bloggers' FAQ on Privacy.)"

    2. Re:Legal Implications? by headLITE · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't know about the US, but in many countries this would qualify as a misdelivered message (no difference between dead tree and electronic). As the tubologically challenged guys who responded sent their messages to a woman (or believed they were doing so), they could say the guy who published them really had no right to them because he was not the addressee.

      Regardless of this, at least for those that will have their marriage ruined by this... you probably deserve it. If you're married, don't look for adventures online.

    3. Re:Legal Implications? by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 1

      He did something deceptive, and he violates people's rights. Despite the fact I think it's criminal in Washington state, he's going to be liable for civil damages (in my opinion).

      Think of it this way. Let us say someone creates a fake business online. This fake business has the only purpose of collecting personal information as people enter it while waiting for it to open, but it never does. Perhaps a fake contest online too. If it's deceptive, they're probably going to be liable, but that's my opinion.

      By the way, on a totally unrelated note, is GMail finally open to the public now? If so, why haven't I received my e-mail notifying me that it's been open or been invited? It's been 1-2 years, hasn't it? I don't think I overlooked the e-mail.

    4. Re:Legal Implications? by Mongoose · · Score: 1

      Send me your email address and personal information, and I'll invite you. ;)

    5. Re:Legal Implications? by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 1

      I already have a GMail account from being invited from someone I trust.

    6. Re:Legal Implications? by jcr · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, there are all kinds ofpossible tort actions here, but I would think that the guy's in the greatest danger of just getting beaten to death, considering that he was advertising for BDSM types..

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    7. Re:Legal Implications? by Mongoose · · Score: 1

      It was a joke... sigh...

    8. Re:Legal Implications? by Gathers · · Score: 1

      Is this meant as a joke, or are you just venting your prejudice against "BDSM types"?

    9. Re:Legal Implications? by clickety6 · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't this be some sort of breach of contract or communication? ...and if there's any justice, the respondents should all take him to court to and the judge should force him to honour the contracts - simultaneously! ;-)

      --
      ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
    10. Re:Legal Implications? by jcr · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Is this meant as a joke, or are you just venting your prejudice against "BDSM types"?

      Get over yourself, leather-boy.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    11. Re:Legal Implications? by Teun · · Score: 1
      It was a joke... sigh...

      The "from someone I trust" was in the context of this thread quite insightful.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    12. Re:Legal Implications? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      I would say the "doms" have more legal cause to sue over the publishing of the pictures. Receipt of an image does not in any way give you the right to freely distribute it. Hell, you can't take a picture of a person on a street and publish it without their permission (or blurring the face.) Or to be precise you can, but you can get sued for it and you will lose.

      Unless he got the "doms" to sign releases-- or at the very least had a line in the ad that said any submission (no clever wordplay intended) would be his property, all rights reserved etc. etc. then he is without question reproducing their images without permission.

    13. Re:Legal Implications? by Gathers · · Score: 1

      Get over yourself, leather-boy.

      lol, I knew someone would eventually call me that if I played that Leather Goddesses of Phobos game.. ;)

      Seriously though, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I'm sorry for the "venting your prejudice" comment.
      I just don't like the implication that people into BDSM would be more prone to violence, well unconsensual violence atleast, than any other group.

    14. Re:Legal Implications? by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1
      I would think that the guy's in the greatest danger of just getting beaten to death, considering that he was advertising for BDSM types.

      Most of the "BDSM types" I know are significantly less likely to beat someone to death than a randomly selected person taken off the street. Heck, the beatee could just shout "Safeword!" or "Red!"...

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    15. Re:Legal Implications? by jcr · · Score: 1

      Seriously though, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I'm sorry for the "venting your prejudice" comment.

      No sweat. Some of my best friends are perverts. ;-)

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    16. Re:Legal Implications? by charlesnw · · Score: 1

      Yeah see. It's guys like him that don't get jokes that respond to ads like this. Cause they have no sense of humor or personality. No wonder they can't get women :)

      --
      Charles Wyble System Engineer
    17. Re:Legal Implications? by gad_zuki! · · Score: 1

      Sure, there can be many civil/tort cases from this. Its essentially public humiliation using private informtion from private people under false pretenses. Because this involves sex and bondage everyone is giggling but its the same as:

      1. Starting a fake suicide help line and then airing the phone calls on your favorite morning zoo radio show, mocking the callers, and revealing their names and phone numbers.

      2. Placing a personal ad for gays/lesbians then collecting their names, fidning where they work, and "outing" them to their boss, coworkers, and family.

      I'd like to see a tort case ruin this guy so future "hilarious" jackasses think twice before revealing this kind of information. Arguably, if he went 10 seconds out of his way to not post the email addresses and fuzzy out the faces thus preserving some level of anonimity then he would be more or less safe. Like how Comedy Central can have puppets crank calling people, some of whom are answering classified ads for fake jobs.

    18. Re:Legal Implications? by loraksus · · Score: 1

      If a prosecutor wanted to be an ass about it, add a couple dozen counts of "protect the children" laws involving posting of pornography where children can access it. Don't believe I saw a age verification and I'm pretty sure he has no 2257 records which is a federal thing. Can't see a jury siding with him, even if the jury felt bad, most jurors won't do the nullification thing.
      The question is whether there is the motivation to do so.
      Civil suits for copyright infringement (with those wonderful minimum damages) for reposting his pictures (and driving traffic to his site / getting interviews with the nyt, etc so there may be a commercial aspect here) aren't out of the question either. If the victims are willing to file the court papers, this is an open and shut case.
      He's well and trully fucked if one of those pictures turns out to be a minor.

      --
      1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
    19. Re:Legal Implications? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      This page has some facts about tort. Tort is defined as:

      Appropriation -- Use of a person's name, likeness or identity for trade or advertising purposes without consent.

      Intrusion -- A physical, electronic or mechanical intrusion into someone's private space. This is an information-gathering, not a publication, tort. The legal wrong occurs at the time of the intrusion; no publication is necessary.

      Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts -- Publication of non-newsworthy, private facts about an individual that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person (true defamation)(so intimate that outrage the public's sense of decency).

      False light -- Publication of false, highly offensive (but not necessarily defamatory) information about an individual.


      The most interesting part is this example for appropriation:

      Consent. For example, gameshows require participants to take the first step to enter contests. In Jeppson v. United TV (1978), a Utah man won on a claim of appropriation because a television station called him on the air after picking his name out of a telephone book as part of a dialing for dollars promo. He claimed the television station used his name on the air without his consent.


      For the record, the embarassing facts portion may not apply because one of its requirements is that the material must be offensive to the COMMUNITY, not the image of the victim.

      If this guy decides to try to make MONEY out of this ordeal, as he indicates here, this will definitely apply.

    20. Re:Legal Implications? by capologist · · Score: 1
      Does emailing someone your personal information act as an implicit waiver of your right to privacy? I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell, no.


      Interesting question. Would people be reacting differently if the respondents had responded by snail mail, and the prankster had then scanned and posted the mail?
  6. Responses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:Responses by arun_s · · Score: 1

      Mod parent up, and thanks for the link. The wired articles are yet to open up in my browser and the waxy link is blocked at office :(
      The responses look sad, really sad. I really feel sorry for these people. Playing a prank is alright, the least he could've done was hiding their personal info.

      --
      I can explain it for you, but I can't understand it for you.
    2. Re:Responses by Jugalator · · Score: 1

      LOL, there's someone with a microsoft.com address in there, who's married. :-p

      As well as someone on a usar.army.mil address.

      What's with people not even using gmail/hotmail/yahoo/etc? :-S

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  7. Ahhhhhhhh!!! by Mikachu · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why did he have to post all the information! I'LL NEVER WORK IN SEATTLE AGAIN :(

    Thanks a lot Jason, you jerk

    1. Re:Ahhhhhhhh!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, I thought I recognised that tattoo!

      Posting as an AC for obvious reasons...

      P.S. Oh the irony of the image based protection word: smeared

  8. Welcome to the new world by identity0 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    With all the talk about "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to hide from the government", it's only natural that people will start to snoop on each other. After all, if you haven't done anything wrong, you have no reason to hide it, right?

    It seems like the Transparent Society is coming closer all the time. I'm not sure it's a good thing, though.

    On the other hand, I'm suprised social conservative types haven't pulled more of this kind of crap before. Outing a few dozen gay men would make them hesitant to associate, and it's not like fundamentalist churches don't have lots of money and members with free time... Maybe they're afraid some of their own would be caught or something.

    1. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I'm suprised social conservative types haven't pulled more of this kind of crap before. Outing a few dozen gay men would make them hesitant to associate, and it's not like fundamentalist churches don't have lots of money and members with free time... Maybe they're afraid some of their own would be caught or something.

      Once outed, what would they have left to loose through association. Conversely, outing them would make their association stronger and their voices louder. This would be the last thing the social conservatives would want. They're bullies. They don't want to actually fight them, they only want them to cower and submit to their will out of fear of alienation.

    2. Re:Welcome to the new world by giorgiofr · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's because the don't really care?

      --
      Global warming is a cube.
    3. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On the other hand, I'm suprised social conservative types haven't pulled more of this kind of crap before.

      Social conservatives are not animals. They are people like you are. They don't do this crap for the same reason that social liberal types don't do it... namely, because it's obviously a shitty, immoral thing to do.

      Most people -- whatever their personal views may be -- do have some sense of morality. And where that fails, it's also true that most people at least have a sense of shame. Unfortunately, the internet has done a lot to erase that.

    4. Re:Welcome to the new world by fithmo · · Score: 0
      "On the other hand, I'm suprised social conservative types haven't pulled more of this kind of crap before. Outing a few dozen gay men would make them hesitant to associate..."

      What? This experiment addressed heterosexual dom/sub fans. And why would something like this stop gay men from associating? Last I checked homosexuals meet and date in the same manner as heterosexuals: by chance meeting or in the slimy singles social scene.

      I think the only people it would quell are those who are too forward with their personal and sexual information on public internet forums. That's some spilled milk I won't cry over.

      I think people should be free to have whatever sexual interests they want, I have my own deviations from the "norm", but for pete's sake don't send a naked photo to an anonymous post you silly naked pervo idiots!

    5. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Homosexuality has less potential for abuse than BDSM, though. Especially to the kind of mind that does not accept that there is such a thing as non abusive BDSM.

    6. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      It is not snooping. Snooping to me means digging into someone's private life to get dirt on them. This is exposing some pervs.

      This is like sending you a letter in the mail and saying, "please mail me some dirty pics of yourself" and you actually do it.

      If you are silly enough to give nekkid pics of yourself to a stranger, you deserve it.

      The activation energy on the internet is too low. You would never actually get real world hard copy pics and mail them real world, but clicking a digital camera and attaching it to an email takes all of 20 seconds.

      You should have no expectation of privacy on the internet. It is like a public park, just like in the David Brin story. You act a fool on IRC and someone posts the log on a web page. You send a dirty email, you should be prepared to let your boss see it.

    7. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On the other hand, I'm suprised social conservative types haven't pulled more of this kind of crap before. Outing a few dozen gay men would make them hesitant to associate, and it's not like fundamentalist churches don't have lots of money and members with free time...

      Or maybe they're not as evil as you'd like to think.

      Nah, that can't be. Your stereotypes must be correct, after all, aren't all fundamentalist churches just out to get you?

      Prick.

    8. Re:Welcome to the new world by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      Once outed, what would they have left to loose through association[?]

      Certain fluids....

    9. Re:Welcome to the new world by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      I think that might be a little unfair to the social conservative types. I don't personally feel its right to be gay nor do I think people are "born that way". I also think sites like often are used and even primarilly used to arrage socially inappropriate behavior. At the same time I don't think for a seccond that gives me any sorta license to mistreat these people in anyway.

      I agree a transparent societ is a bad thing. People doing things I don't agree with in private is none of my business. I can advise and advocate against it in public but it does me no personal harm and therfore my rights end there. Just because others have different values then I do does not require in my mind they be labeled bad. Bad is someone who hurts others. Takeing this sort stuff out of private encouters and into the public may hurt others; so privacy is importand and people are people in the end regardless and should be treated in a dignified mannor and afforded their privacy. I think the vast majority of social conservatives will agree with me on this.

      I think what the prankster did is sick. He lied to them with no intent other then to do them harm for his ammusement. Anybody capeable of doing such a thing is not someone I consider an like minded social conservative or even a Christian; I would say they are assholes. It might have been a bit foolish on the part of the people who got pranked but they did not have any reason to think they would be abused in this fashion. They responded to a personal ad in a location where personals are commonly posted. In this case there was no behavior beeing advertized out side the social norms nothing like kiddie porn or drugs where they might have expected a sting. This was simply reaching out to another person who seemed to be indicated they would like compainionship as well. That person then turned out to be someone else who used their response for abuse. Its not funny its mean.

      Beyond that it harms peoples faith in each other and the communications system. Forgery is illegal not because its a means for fraud but because it "harms societies faith in documents". Now there is no crime here as far as I know but its the same kind of damage. This is why we have such laws. I think we have lots of stupid laws on the books that have all sorts of undesireable side effects. Laws in gerneral are bad. As a libertarian I think we have far to many. We keep needing more of them though because people are to selfish or to ignorant think about their actions and determine if they are going to violate someones "rights" first.

      This is exactly how we get stuff like DMCA. You can only legisilate an action so you legislate away those most likely to do harm. There are lots of cases where I might reverse engineer a copy protection scheme an do no harm to the owners of the protected material, but because some people had to be abusive we all suffer under a crap law. Next we are going to have a yet another law governing who can talk to who on the Internet and when. Its going to runin the medium and its because of people like this prankster who insist on acting like selfish jerks instead of letting people use the thing to mind their own business; or to attempt make a constructive contribution in a public forum like I am doing here.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    10. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's silly liberals who do this crap.

      Twit.

    11. Re:Welcome to the new world by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Once outed, what would they have left to loose through association. Conversely, outing them would make their association stronger and their voices louder. This would be the last thing the social conservatives would want. They're bullies. They don't want to actually fight them, they only want them to cower and submit to their will out of fear of alienation.

      I do not particularly disagree with this however it requires only a minority of social conservatives to implement this which will have the effect of essentially committing the rest least they denounce their own which I find even less likely.

    12. Re:Welcome to the new world by EzInKy · · Score: 1


      I don't personally feel its right to be gay nor do I think people are "born that way".


      You do know that some people are born with the organs of both sexes at birth though, don't you? Usually a physician and their parents choose the gender with which they will live the rest of their lives. It only makes sense that when the wrong choice is made the child will grow up being attracted to partners who are the same sex that it was assigned which would indeed mean that there are people who are "born that way."

      --
      Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    13. Re:Welcome to the new world by virg_mattes · · Score: 1

      > Your stereotypes must be correct, after all, aren't all fundamentalist churches just out to get you?

      Flase dichotomy on your part. Firstly, it doesn't take all fundamentalist churches to do it, it just takes one. Second, He didn't say "all" in his post either. Again, it just takes a few, and social conservatives are much more likely than social liberals to be offended by BDSM.

      Next time log in, coward.

      Virg

    14. Re:Welcome to the new world by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1
      I don't personally feel its right to be gay nor do I think people are "born that way".

      "Right" to be gay? The labels "right" and "wrong" no more apply to prefering partners of the same or opposite gender, than they apply to prefering red to blue, or chocolate cake to pumpkin pie, or redheads to blondes.

      And whether people are "born that way" or shaped by environment, or some combination, sexual orientation is certainly not a choice. I never made a choice to find Sandra Bullock more attractive than Tom Cruise, it's just the way I am. Indeed if it were a choice, the only rational course would be for all of us to maximize our chances of a date by choosing to be bisexual.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    15. Re:Welcome to the new world by Mr.+Foogle · · Score: 1

      m suprised social conservative types haven't pulled more of this kind of crap before.

      Some reasons

      * "there but for the grace of God go I"

      * Social conservatives may not like the choice of X lifestyle but may feel it's not their place to out others. Not my place to judge, they think, but God's.

      * People who are healthy and well-adjusted have better things to do, like have a life.

      Just thinking aloud. Me, I may not like X lifestyle but at the end of the day I don't care who you do it with, how many, how often or what gender.

      --
      Display some adaptability.
    16. Re:Welcome to the new world by mad.frog · · Score: 1

      I don't personally feel its right to be gay nor do I think people are "born that way".

      So how old were you when you decided to be heterosexual?

    17. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think a transparent society is a bad thing, so long as it's applied equally. If it's bound to happen, let it happen to all of us.

    18. Re:Welcome to the new world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Certain fluids....
      --
      == Jez ==


      Jizz?
  9. Exchange the Genders... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Just think of what would have happened if the prank was done with a fake man soliciting female contacts which were then dumped out on the Net for all the world to see...

    Men have sat back and allowed this sickening double standard of male sexuality bad/female sexuality good stigma to permeate our current culture.

    1. Re:Exchange the Genders... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, I don't think so.

    2. Re:Exchange the Genders... by TomHandy · · Score: 1

      What double standard are you talking about? Isn't this the same society where a man who sleeps with a lot of women is a stud, but a woman who sleeps with a lot of men is a slut?

  10. Encyclopaedia Dramatica Link by Bueller_007 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here's the link to the Encyclopaedia Dramatica article in question, if anyone cares:
    http://pr0n.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/RF Jason_Craigslist_Experiment

  11. bit immature isn't it? by troll+-1 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This is making fun of people because of their sexual orientations/preferences. It's the kind of thing you'd expect of highschool students.

    1. Re:bit immature isn't it? by Lord+Aurora · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It's the kind of thing you'd expect of highschool students.

      You're right. You would expect it from high school students. I would know, as I am one myself.

      However, I also attend a class at the local community college, and if the students there are any indication, you would expect it from community college students, as well.

      Indeed, from what I gather from the conversations of my older siblings' friends, you would expect it from Ivy League university students, too.

      The military functions I've gone to tend to prove that you would expect it from thirty-something soldiers.

      I don't even need to explain how you would expect it from talk show hosts.

      And popular comedians.

      And profesional athletes.

      And actors. Actresses.

      And, of course, you would expect it from slashdot users in general.

      In the end, I'm perfectly ok with the generalization. High school students are immature. Granted. But let's not ignore the huge majority of the rest of the world, who, if technically 'mature' enough to escape being called 'immature,' must just be total faggots altogether.

      And the ironic thing is...I just used the word 'faggot' derisively. Touche.

      --
      The heavens do not fall for such a trifle.
    2. Re:bit immature isn't it? by MasterOfMagic · · Score: 1

      Speaking as someone who considers themselves inclined towards the dominant side of the dominant/submissive spectrum and who has been in several dominant/submissive based relationships, I am appaled at how these so called dominants handled themselves. While most people see a harsh dominant as someone who is constantly an asshole, there is more to it than that. While most people see a harsh dominant coming on strong in public, being degrading, or sending abusive messages with pictures of them in several states of undress, that's not what it's about. I certainly feel for the people that got hurt in this situation, but, at least partially, it's their own damn fault for acting like an asshole and pretending to be something that they're not. I suppose that's what one would expect from the Internet. To expect anything less than being made fun of by someone else on the Internet is foolhardy.

    3. Re:bit immature isn't it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed. From my experience with the BDSM community, I can envision two different responses to this kind of ad. One group of dominants, first of all, probably wouldn't even respond to such an ad, preferring to find someone who views them first & foremost as a person rather than just as an "agressive dominant". Beyond that, they would probably want to get to know the person and negotiate terms for any D/s activity that went on between them before a single item of clothing was removed.

      The other group of dominants would respond with pictures of their genitals.

      Even if this wasn't a prank...do they honestly believe a real-life woman is going to be impressed with such crass behavior?

  12. I love it when "authors"... by Darth+Liberus · · Score: 1
    ...make a psychological diagnosis without any qualifications to do so.

    Was the guy an asshole to include contact information? Yes. Whether he did it out of spite or laziness is irrelevant; it's not cool to post contact info for the world to see. Personally my punishment would be "$500 fine and think about what you done."

    Is he a sociopath? Not necesssarily. I can think of many reasons why someone would think they were doing their community a service by doing this... the reasons are wrong, but they don't indicate a callous disregard for all of humanity, just a callous disregard for a certain subset of it - and I can understand that.

    Still, posting contact information like that is Not Cool.

    --
    Beauty is just a light switch away.
  13. what's with revealing his own identity? by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    what's really remarkable about this prankster's behavior is that he has revealed his OWN personally identifying details attached to the results of his prank

    wtf!?

    so, in a way, the ad isn't a lie:

    he posted an ad for someone looking to be the submissive member in a sadomasochistic arrangement ...and if he embarasses/ ruins the marriage of the wrong kind of guy, he will receive a visit from a very sadistic type who wishes to dominate him and deliver this prankster a world of pain

    so the ad will result in a response that the "fake" poster was seeking after all when all is said and done

    we should all be so lucky in the personal ads

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:what's with revealing his own identity? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a royal dumbass. This guy is obviously not too clever, humiliating over a hundred men that have violent sadomasochistic tendencies. Wow. I hope for his sake he's smart enough disappear. I have a feeling that this story is far from over and I can't help but think this guy is doomed.

    2. Re:what's with revealing his own identity? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Maybe he pulled off the ultimate prank, tricking those people into sending him their info, revealing that info, getting all those very dom people very pissed and instead of providing his own info, he gives the name of his arch enemy as the perpetrator (hey, wouldn't be the first time he claimed he was someone he isn't), thus sending those furious people to give his rival a good hiding.

      THAT would be the ultimate prank!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:what's with revealing his own identity? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      ... or maybe he wanted what he was asking for all along?

  14. I feel for these suckers by svunt · · Score: 5, Funny

    I once had a friend on IRC ask me to read a piece of erotic fiction she'd read and provide feedback. No problem, she links me to the story, which is at an erotic literature website, which requires me to register. Little did I know that a list of their users was online, and it only took a week until my name in Google yielded its first ever result, linking me to shitty home-made wank stories. The point is, you get burned, you learn your lesson. I just feel sorry for these poor saps who didn't learn their lesson in a lower-impact fashion. Regarding the guy who did this: There's clever, and there's easy. Guess which your joke is, cocksmoker?

    1. Re:I feel for these suckers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Err, yes. I TOO have an IRC "friend" who asked me to download a file to verify the FTP to his server was working. We did indeed verify the connection and i was able to get the files. I didn't know at the time that those files contained a man and a goat in an unnatural...

      awww...i give up! My wife didn't believe me so why would any of you freaks here?

    2. Re:I feel for these suckers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I learnt this lesson and stated to be careful around 10 (or more) years ago.

      I came across a link to a website that said something like 'click here for hot chicks'. Of course I clicked on it and the front page asked me to enter my name and email address to see hot chicks. There wasn't a big problem with spam back then and porn was still mostly confined to alt.binaries.sex, so I entered my details in out of curiosity (of course).

      The next thing I know, a picture of chicks (as in baby chicken) comes up with a message saying something like "Hope you enjoy these pictures of hot chicks. Here is the list of others that share your passion for poultry", followed by my personal details and a list of personal details of other people.

      I've been careful with my details ever since.

    3. Re:I feel for these suckers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Back when I still lived in the valley and still programmed for a living, I used to smoke pot and drink with some coworkers and for laughs one night we setup a vmware sysstem to use as a honeypot and went to a newsgroup and downloaded horrendous pictures. One of them was from a post titled something like "the ugliest fucking transvestite I've ever seen". Anyway, we had redhat 5(I think it was 5) running on it, no ipchains, no patches, just right out of the box full of security holes, save we setup logging to dump to another machine. It took a few days for it to get owned, but it did. There was just something immensely hilarious about going through the logs and seeing that whoever it was gave up looking at the porn pics after about the 5th picture(there was about 20 horrific pics and they had been renamed with reasonable sounding names like 18yroldhottie). He wasn't crazy about the stories either apparently.

      I would have given anything to see the look on that face.

    4. Re:I feel for these suckers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You willingly attached personal information to a web forum?

    5. Re:I feel for these suckers by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't be too bothered about people knowing my name. It's like someone knowing your IP address, it's just an identifier. So what? There're thousands of other people with the same name as me, anyway.

    6. Re:I feel for these suckers by hab136 · · Score: 1
      I wouldn't be too bothered about people knowing my name.

      Then why hide behind a fake name, jez9999?

      It's like someone knowing your IP address, it's just an identifier. So what? There're thousands of other people with the same name as me, anyway.

      There are a lot of crazy people in the world, and pissing them off (even unintentionally) while they are in posession of your personal details is not a very safe idea.

      A name and IP is actually plenty. Many IPs reverse resolve to a hostname that gives an indication of geographic area. Certain ISPs are regional. If your name happens to be John Smith, you're probably okay. If your name is slightly more unique, and someone knows from your IP that you're in the greater Atlanta area.. well, prepare for an ass-kicking "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"-style.

    7. Re:I feel for these suckers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I came across a link to a website that said something like 'click here for hot chicks'.

      Hot chick with nice pussy!

    8. Re:I feel for these suckers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A name and IP is actually plenty. Many IPs reverse resolve to a hostname that gives an indication of geographic area. Certain ISPs are regional. If your name happens to be John Smith, you're probably okay. If your name is slightly more unique, and someone knows from your IP that you're in the greater Atlanta area.. well, prepare for an ass-kicking "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"-style.

      I have a static IP address with a SOHO style ADSL account. I opted for SOHO because I wanted a static IP. Months after I signed on with my provider, I decided to do a WHOIS against my static IP, out of curiosity. And there in the WHOIS, was my full name and residential address.

      I asked my ISP if they could replace that info with their own, which thankfully they did. Seeing my full address was a little scarey, considering what I do for a living gets people death threats (investigative). I'm ok with people knowing where I work, but where I live and where I sleep is a bit much.

  15. my thoughts by Loconut1389 · · Score: 1

    it's not libel or slander, since its true... but it is definitely socially unacceptable to post the info. I don't believe anyone should be able to sue however.

    The other thing is, there's no proof that the prankster didn't modify the emails and frame someone or mix things up in some intentional way.

    1. Re:my thoughts by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      it's not libel or slander, since its true.

      It's probaly true that these are the messages received, but he has no idea if the emails were sent by the people whose names were on them. Maybe another "prankster" was screwing with him and the supposed sender.

    2. Re:my thoughts by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What I'd love to see is someone announcing, "I sent in five responses, using contact information I ripped out of the phone book. Figuring out which men on the list are being framed is an exercise left to the readers."

      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

  16. I'm really torn on this by IICV · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I really can't make up my opinion on this case, probably because it's 12:30 am here. Anyway, on the one hand, the people who responded to this with any information that's directly traceable to them are morons, and doubly so for the ones who were stupid enough to use their friggin' work e-mail. I mean, come on! Everyone likes a bit of the old misuse of company resources now and then, but asking for sex with your work address? It's probably a good thing your genes won't spread far.

    On the other hand, though, publishing their information in a public place isn't quite kosher. Although we all know that sending someone a plaintext e-mail is almost as bad as shouting from the rooftops should anyone actually want to intercept the message, it's not quite as bad as posting pictures of your stoned self on MySpace and expecting nobody to ever find it. There is at least a little bit of expectation that this is a private sort of thing; I would be a lot happier with him if he'd just quietly notified the people who replied that they'd been scammed, and only published the details of those who became abusive.

    One thing I don't really care about is the way the 27B-6 guy is complaining about marriages being destroyed because of this. It really makes no sense; if the guy is responding to ads online and his wife doesn't know about it, there's probably something deeply troubled in the marriage and it's likely to go to divorce soon anyway. Similarly with the public lynching argument: if you are so uncomfortable with your tastes that you wouldn't like to publicize them, why are you even taking the risk of replying to something on Craig's List? Yes, this is likely to be the first time such a stunt has been publicized, but still - you'd expect people would rather keep their activities a secret to take some reasonable precautions. Like not using their damn work e-mail.

    Which actually brings up an interesting point! How many times has this stunt been pulled on Craig's List, only instead of being put on some stupid Wiki, those who responded with useful information just got blackmailed? How much would you pay so that your wife doesn't find out about your animal bondage fetish?

    1. Re:I'm really torn on this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me (male) and a female friend once posted a fake casual encounters ad on CL just to see how many responses we'd get. The ad was full of complete gibberish (we described having a fetish for "Swan Cramming"), and outside of being 26/w4m, there was really no substance to it at all. We still got about 60 replies in the first day, including one from my boss, sent during work hours, from a real-name address (admittedly, it was pretty cute and articulate). That one we left alone, but there were a few replies that were just a picture of a cock and a phone number, and later that night we got drunk and prank called them at 3 AM.

      The thrill of this kind of thing wears off pretty quickly and you just get sad for humanity and realize that the internet is just a bunch of lonely guys at work sending pictures of their cocks to each other.

    2. Re:I'm really torn on this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      that the internet is just a bunch of lonely guys at work sending pictures of their cocks to each other.

      Thanks. Sounds a lot more interesting than "a series of tubes".
    3. Re:I'm really torn on this by arivanov · · Score: 1
      • Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.
        -- Robert A. Heinlein

      Frankly, they got whatever they deserved. And if the guy who did it posted his own real info he will too.

      Now, everybody keeps speaking how stupid the guy is for posting his real info along with that. Are all people who are commenting on it sure that these are the real contact details of a really existing Jason Fortuny. In fact if he exists, are they sure that it was him who posted this? What proof if any is that this is not a vile double-cross and this was not posted by someone pretending to be Jason Fortuny (or with contact details of another person)?

      --
      Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
      http://www.sigsegv.cx/
    4. Re:I'm really torn on this by Miniluv · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm actually willing to believe Jason Fortuny does in fact exist. His behavior sends strong signals that he really did post all of this with his own info, and as the enormity of the potential consequences of what he did begin to dawn on him he's feverishly redacting his info off his websites. As if it wasn't mirrored all over the web by the time he had this lightbulb moment.

      I found it truly amusing that someone sought to exploit people's inherent belief in the anonymity of the internet while clinging to that same belief himself.

    5. Re:I'm really torn on this by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      I really can't make up my opinion on this case, probably because it's 12:30 am here.

      I can make up my mind. Though the respondents are morons, they did nothing illegal. Posting false ads in an attempt to mine personal information and then repeat that private information publicly for personal gain does sound illegal. It's not hard to figure out who I side with. The morons may get what they deserve, but someone shouldn't take perverse joy out of using illegal means to hurt them. He's definately more sick than anyone that responded to the ad.

  17. They deserve it by Plutonite · · Score: 1

    at least the pricks who were cheating on their wives do. Sure, he was immature as anything (where do these people get all the time?) but I don't think he violated anyones privacy.

    Rule #1 : When you post your most intimate information, in photographic form, from your work address to a sex freak on the internet - you don't have any privacy anymore.

    1. Re:They deserve it by Pacifist+Brawler · · Score: 1

      Rule #2: Don't do it if you can't accept the results of getting caught.

      --
      IANA*
    2. Re:They deserve it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      These people are adults trying to communicate with other adults for things both consent to.

      It's so easy to be on your high horse, but the fact is, you should not be. These people, even the ones who were adulterous, do not deserve this level of outrage. They will have to deal with this for the next 70 years. As though they committed murder!

      Any employer who googles these people ten years from now will see this.

      Worse, most of these people do not evince anything implying they are married. They aren't using their employer's email either.

      Some of these guys are committing minor offenses, but most aren't doing anything wrong at all.

      They will be punished for this forever. Many attempting to get their pictures and names removed, explaining they weren't dishonoring a spouse or anything like that, are subjected to even further ridicule.

      Lastly, the criminal who did this exclaims repeatedly that he did this to them with the explicit intent to cause them pain and suffering. He succeeded. Why buy into that? Why endorse it? Why defend something that has harmed many because a few deserved something bad, but nothing nearly this bad? Because you are a total creep?

      Of course.

    3. Re:They deserve it by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      When you say, "They deserve it," what you really mean is, "I believe they deserve it." You may believe it strongly. You may be able to come up with all sorts of valid reasons for that belief. Beliefs are fine.

      The guy who pulled this vile stunt went beyond that, by deciding that he had the right to act on his beliefs, to carry out the sentence he believed these poor saps deserved.

      His victims behaved stupidly. Nobody is disputing that. But there's too much stupidity in the world to make stupidity alone a punishable offense.

      There are lots of people in this discussion who sound like they would be thrilled if Jason Fortuny was discovered bludgeoned to death in a back alley somewhere. I'm probably one of them. But the difference between believing he deserves such treatment, and actually giving him such treatment, is the foundation of a society based on the rule of law.

      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

    4. Re:They deserve it by taff^2 · · Score: 1

      His victims behaved stupidly. Nobody is disputing that. But there's too much stupidity in the world to make stupidity alone a punishable offense.


      Damn right, and besides Bush is too powerful now for it to work.
      --
      Karma: Bad. (As in Good?)
    5. Re:They deserve it by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      But if I'm on a high horse and being totally unreasonable, why fear from what an employer might think when he sees this? Why will they deal with this if they only committed minor crimes? Is the rest of society riding my high horse? If consenting adults can do anything they want and be in your good books, then why worry about them?

      If you are right, no harm will come to them of this, and the creep who did it will look bad alone.
      If you are wrong, then they are objectively wrong in the eye of society, and I am right that they deserve it.

      There really is no third option.

    6. Re:They deserve it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Society = you????
      I think it's okay what they're doing - I know a lot of people who are fine with it.

      Not to mention, doing something just because this ambigious *society* is okay with it means you better not
      -sleep with your girlfriend/boyfriend - a lot of society doens't agreed with that
      - live with them before marriage - a lot of society doesn't agree with that
      - use birth control - quite a few people don't agree with that
      - do science using stem cells -quite a few people don't agree with that
      - have/be with someone who has . . . an abortion - quite a few people don't agree with that
      -down load music
      - run red lights
      -teach evoluation (in quite a few places)
      - teach psycology (at least until about the mid-70s it was quite taboo)
      -research sexual psycology, sexual deviance, sex . . . anything really.

      I'd imagine you've said/done/will do things you don't want your boss to find out about - or potential boss - either that or you might as well be jesus and even then your message would get you fired (company: give everything to the poor and love my neighbor?!? You're fired!!)

      What you suffer from is called "fair world syndrom" - it goes along with "blame the victim".

    7. Re:They deserve it by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      Yes you are quite right. I don't usually do anything I would be ashamed of showing the world. That doesn't make me Jesus or Muhammad, it just makes me a normal person who doesn't send pics of his dick to a whore from his work address.

      And what are we supposed to do now, protect these creeps from the world at large? Let me tell you one thing: the internet is not a very private place to be. Some information is announced to be private (and you can sue if it is made public) while most info is just lying around on publicly accessible/easily hackable boxes. If you want to do something you know you will be ashamed of, do it in private. Don't document and send it around the world.

      I am against what the guy did on principle, but I am quite happy it happened. And that fact that you are an Anonymous Coward makes me very uncomfortable. Are you ashamed of your views, hiding from this terrible, unjust society?

    8. Re:They deserve it by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      The guy who pulled this vile stunt went beyond that, by deciding that he had the right to act on his beliefs, to carry out the sentence he believed these poor saps deserved.

      But wait..isn't the "sentence" what the society will give them in terms of shame, rejection ..etc? He did not commit a crime, whereas they arguably did.

      And yes, as you shockingly discovered, when I say they deserve it I mean that I (the author of my own words) believe they deserve it. You on the other hand, do not believe they deserve it, because that's what you wrote. Fascinating isn't it?

      Now you say his "victims" (thats a funny word for 6'4" guys posting pics of their genitals to a whore) were stupid. You're wrong, you believe they were just stupid, and you believe any publicity is unwarranted (because it is punishment?). But that's just what you believe. I believe differently.

      We could do this all night.

    9. Re:They deserve it by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 1

      You've chosen to utterly miss my point. My point isn't that different people in different places believe different things and omigod isn't that amazing. My point is that society can only work if we get off our collective high horses, and accept the fact that we don't have the right to control everyone else's behavior. For some reason, Mr. Fortuny thinks people involved in BDSM need to be outed to their friends, family, co-workers, etc., so that... I'm not entirely clear what the benefit is supposed to be. But barring strong evidence that their private behavior is causing serious harm to the rest of us, it's not up to him to police the private lives of consenting adults.

      What, precisely, was the crime that the victims (a word you choose to put scare quotes around, even though many of them will undoubtedly have their lives ruined by this) committed? Where is the law against BDSM? Does Oregon have a law criminalizing adultery, and if so how many decades has it been since someone was successfully prosecuted under it?

      On the other hand, it's very likely that the guy who exposed them did commit a crime, and will get sued. While the aggregate results of the survey might have been newsworthy, the contact information of the individuals isn't. Morally, this isn't far from outing a list of gay folk you collected off a message board somewhere.

      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

    10. Re:They deserve it by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      But that is not my concern at all. He simply made information they sent available to the public (which should sort of taken for granted when you send things on the internet). If you see this as punishment, then you are immediately assuming everybody agrees with me and is riding my "high horse", whereas if you are right then society in general shouldn't be a problem here.

      As much as I believe in hiding people's undiscovered errors, I also think those freaks deserved what they got from their wives and employers. I wouldn't do this myself, but I can't blame the guy either. The man who published the info did not control the views of society in general. He does not dictate what the world thinks. If the world thought the way you do, there would be no problem would there(with publishing the info)?

      But the world doesn't, and that's why you feel so strongly about what he did. If it "ruined their lives" that people know about them then either

      a) Society is right and they deserve it
      or
      b) Society in general is wrong and they don't.

      I pick (a).

    11. Re:They deserve it by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 1

      So, if an individual who has authority over you (a boss, or some government flunkie) discovers something about your personal life that he disagrees with, and uses that authority to make your life difficult, then somehow this means that all of society has agreed that you deserve punishment? What if your boss fired you for being a Presbyterian? Or for voting Republican?

      It doesn't take all of society agreeing that something is bad. All it takes is one arrogant bastard who thinks ill of some aspect of your life, who feels that he has the right to punish you for it.

      But I forgot, the people you're talking about aren't harmless, socially acceptable things like Presbyterians and Republicans. They're freaks. And we have the right and obligation to humiliate and censure people who are really different from us.

      This line you're spouting is no different from the "you don't need privacy if you're not doing anything wrong" canard. Both are nonsense, because they both assume that society has a monolithic opinion about right and wrong, illegal and legal, and that people are only embarassed about the things they believe to be wrong. How hard is it to grasp the concept of, "I feel I'm behaving in a morally appropriate way, but there are others who disagree, and I'm more comfortable with them not knowing it?"

      Or, let me put it a different way: imagine that your wife/girlfriend/whatever was on a nationally televised interview. All your friends and family have tuned in to see it. The interviewer started asking probing questions about your sex life, and she answers all of them as comprehensively as she can. There is probably a lot of stuff there you don't feel guilty about having done, but you very much didn't want it known to the rest of the world. Especially to your boss, who considers half of what you've done 'sick and perverted.'

      Finally, you cannot yet say that you think these people 'deserved what they got,' because for most of them the other shoe is still waiting to drop. Some are still wondering if she's going to write back. What if X's wife decides to try out the bondage thing, Y's wife divorces him, and Z's wife puts two bullets in the back of his skull? Did they each get what they deserved? What if Y ended up on the list because his neighbor was playing a stupid practical joke on him? While you may not particularly feel sorry for what happens to any given victim, you can't say they 'deserve it' unless you believe the outcome is fair, and that requires that the outcomes bear some proportionality to the offense.

      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

    12. Re:They deserve it by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      You are actually correct: feeling sorry for someone who has posted photos of his member to an online sex freak, all from work, is a very difficult thing for me to do. The more subtle things like respecting privacy rights suddenly lose their meaning when you enter this kind of territory.

      Privacy and even hiding the "sins" of those who have supposedly done something wrong is a wonderful idea, but I cannot help but feel grim satisfaction when people who should be ashamed of themselves are exposed. If a man's secrets with his wife are told, everybody would find this disgusting and it would only make him uncomfortable. This is where privacy matters. Meanwhile, in this situation, nobody feels sorry for the bastards cheating on their wives, and the rest of the idiots using their work email addresses for this kind of purpose need to learn from their stupidity.

      Your analogy with online logs is completely wrong, too. This situation is more like having your logs published if you download from a server hosting pirated files, as opposed to your complete set of activities.

      Finally, this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. This guy did not defame anyone, or break any contract. He is simly publishing facts that they were stupid enough to send. Online prostitution/sex is a dirty business, and like I said before, the internet is not the most private of places. If you're doing something you know will more probably than not seen as disgusting/shameful by most bosses/wives/friends/etc then don't do it with this degree of tarzan-ness, and for Gates' sake don't send pics of your dick from your work account.

  18. THANKS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Try not to post links that have the word SEX in it on the front page. Or at least warn people. Most just click without reading becuase they actually TRUST ./'s judgement with these things.

  19. Perfect IIED case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is an example of the very rare Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress case that can actually win.

    Depends on the jury, but this guy is absolutely liable.

    Not for libel (I don't even know why people would suggest that).

    I'd say IANAL, but I am.

    1. Re:Perfect IIED case by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

      This is an example of the very rare Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress case that can actually win.

      Depends on the jury, but this guy is absolutely liable.

      Not for libel (I don't even know why people would suggest that).

      I'd say IANAL, but I am.


      Since he posted pictures; would he not also be open to a copyright claim? That would probably be more clear cut than one based on reposting an email. While the liability may be small, fighting several hundred cases could get expensive and be more damaging than the actual damages; especially if they are filed in different locations.

      Just curious.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    2. Re:Perfect IIED case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had a protracted argument with a lawyer on rf's LJ. She was insisting that no part of rfjason's actions were actionable as "unlawful harassment." I pointed out an instance wherein there was an exchange between rf and one of the men in the "experiment" (subsequently deleted) that I believed met the terms of the statute I quoted. She never responded. Another lawyer, later, privately offered the opinion that some of rfjason's actions (not the intial CL or encyclopedia dramatica posts, but subsequent actions) could be ordered ceased by a judge under a petition for an order for protection. In Washington state, unlawful harassment is defined as follows: (1) "Unlawful harassment" means a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which seriously alarms, annoys, harasses, or is detrimental to such person, and which serves no legitimate or lawful purpose. The course of conduct shall be such as would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and shall actually cause substantial emotional distress to the petitioner, or, when the course of conduct would cause a reasonable parent to fear for the well-being of their child. (2) "Course of conduct" means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. "Course of conduct" includes, in addition to any other form of communication, contact, or conduct, the sending of an electronic communication. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of "course of conduct." http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?Cite=10.14 .020 Our conversation can be found in this thread of the "Craigslist Experiment": http://rfjason.livejournal.com/410835.html?thread= 7669715#t7669715

  20. Would definitely be illegal in other countries by jopet · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Many European countries have laws that specially protect any form of private communication: it is a severe offense to read private communication not addressed to you and it is a severe offense to publish private communication without the written consent of the author. Violating these laws would result in severe penalties, including prison terms of several years. That is how it should be.

    Blame Australian citizens for not having their politicians come up with similar reasonable laws. Maybe they are too busy to shit their pants from evil alien immigrants?

    1. Re:Would definitely be illegal in other countries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no contract here. Nothing was exchanged of any value. The parties sending the email did not get any 'consideration' to manifest any contract. Therefore, there is no implication or agreement to hold to of any kind.

      This is a case of intent to inflict emotional distress. It's a criminal case. There are civil damages, but they should be handled after the conviction, and there isn't any money there anyway.

  21. How would he like it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder how Jason Fortuny would like all off his personal details he ever let loose on the internet to be published in a high profile manor for all to see?

    He could have made his point without exposing people's private information (assuming he had a point beyond embarassing these poor individuals). Some states allow companies to fire people for any reason. I wonder how many people Jason will be responsible for being fired just because he thought this was fun.

    1. Re:How would he like it? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 1

      Some states allow companies to fire people for any reason.

      No, there are no states that allow companies to fire people for any reason. Firings must always have cause. An inappropriate firing is justification for a lucrative wrongful termination lawsuit, in any state.

    2. Re:How would he like it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not true.

      California has "at will" employment. That means, as long as you don't fire someone for one of the reasons on the (relatively short) list of specifically identified discriminatory reasons, you don't even have to GIVE a reason for firing an employee.

    3. Re:How would he like it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      'At will' employment is not the same as 'impunity-free firing'. As you said, people cannot be fired for any reason, but only those reasons not protected by the law (which is actually further reaching than your post would lead one to believe).

    4. Re:How would he like it? by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      i take it you have never been employed

      there are MANY "at will" states where any reason or no reason, so long as the reason, if it exists, isn't an illegal reason (race, sex, age, disability etc.)

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    5. Re:How would he like it? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 1

      I suggest you re-read my post in a modern browser. I use the italics tag to emphasize the word 'any' in my post because it is important that that word be understood as the focal point of my post.

      I re-iterate. There are no states that allow firing for ANY reason. (I used capital letters there to indicate emphasis, this should work on your browser.)

      But since you already understand the limitations of at-will employment, I don't think I need to go over it again.

    6. Re:How would he like it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, Washington State is an AT WILL state. Employers can fire you any time for any reason. However, if their reason happens to be something that could be considered discriminatory, they can get in trouble.

    7. Re:How would he like it? by Mr.+Hankey · · Score: 1

      Whether or not he likes it, I'd be willing to bet Google has a bit on him. It probably has something on most people. What I suspect he should be most worried about though is his whois info, apparently he doesn't mind if these people have his home address. I certainly wouldn't want to give out this information in association with a prank.

      --
      GPL: Free as in will
    8. Re:How would he like it? by Mongoose · · Score: 1

      I guess you never worked for an 'at will empolyer', which means they don't even have to tell you the reason you're being fired. It can and does happen in normal contracts too. They can simply say 'your lifestyle hurts the company image, and therefore will hurt our profits'. I don't think you see christian book stores allowing empolyees into demonic worship for this reason. It also helps to be a privately held company.

    9. Re:How would he like it? by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      i was replying to your incorrect statement

      Firings must always have cause.

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    10. Re:How would he like it? by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 1

      published in a high profile manor for all to see??

      What, like the Playboy Mansion?

      --
      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
    11. Re:How would he like it? by rahvin112 · · Score: 1

      What dope you been smoking? Half the states in the union are at will employment. That means you can be fired for ANY reason and you don't have to be told WHY you are being fired.

  22. Same as the old world by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Let's take this a step further and apply it to an already existing situation where a monopoly on information is threatened. The recording industry used to have a virtual monopoly on distribution. With the massive rise in internet availability and the adequate bandwidth to shuttle all the bits, they are facing a crisis of rampant piracy.

    But is it really that bad? For the consumer, it has opened up new doors to media access. Now the average music consumer is no longer beholden to the record companies for their fix. Instead they can go online and download anything they want immediately, quickly, and privately. They just hop on a network and the media is there for consumption. However, this presents a problem for the record companies who have a vested interest in not letting this data out of their control.

    The problem for the record companies is that if they want people to access the data, it requires that they either trust their customers or they lock down the data so that customers can't use the data freely. Is this so unlike the need to keep personal information private?

    So what we have here in the CL prank is people scrambling over themselves to demand that private information be kept private, but these same people would have you believe that other entities (like record companies) should be forced to adapt to a changing information landscape where any information is easily sought and accessed and spread. The double standard is horrendous.

    1. Re:Same as the old world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congrats, you live up to your username.

      Problem is: the RIAA's music isn't private. They sell it in stores, they even outright pay to have it broadcast unencrypted on the radio.

      This isn't about technology either. You could just as easily done this in any newspaper with a personals section. Threre have been newspapers in one form or another for thousands of years. (China had government-produced news sheets called tipao; they were first circulated among officials during the Han dynasty in about 202 B.C. to A.D. 221)

  23. Did you get your Internet connection yesterday...? by Joce640k · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Wouldn't this be some sort of breach of contract or communication?


    Huh? They sent naked pictures of themselves to an unknown person on the Internet...(!)


    You have heard of the Internet, right? It's famous for publishing things that people don't want other people to see.


    The only people who'll be "staggared" by this are tiny minded newbies who have no idea of how the world works...

    (...and lawyers who are offering to sue the person responsible, but they're only pretending to be "staggared" so they can get at the money)

    --
    No sig today...
  24. The Internet was built on "socially unacceptable". by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    Make a list of all the reasons you and your friends got your Internet connections. How many of them are "socially unacceptable"...?

    --
    No sig today...
  25. "No strings" sex? by Pacifist+Brawler · · Score: 1

    Free knowledge makes people behave, but baiting people to misbehave is pushing it. It's one thing to publish records who did certain things the way Chicago does, but this is going a little farther. I mean, there's a difference between offering "no strings attached sex" with a noose attached and looking for the people accepting those offers and busting them.

    --
    IANA*
  26. These men forgot a very important internet rule. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Never ever assume because she says shes a girl, that she is one. Photos or not.

    I mean really, have these guys ever heard of to good to be true?

    These men have shown and lack of common sense and they got what they deserved.

    On a side note, after reading what some of these guys sent this "girl" submissive or not, their disgusting human beings and deserve far more than this.

    As for the guy who pulled this whole thing off. Wow, how hard was that shit to do? Did he do something new and innovative that none of us could have? No. He shot fish in a barrel and we're now talking about him, giving him exactly what he wanted.

    I sure hope he's soaking up his fifteen minutes of fame, because I have the feeling this guy will be found dead in an ally somewhere. Perhaps after being anally raped.

  27. Just because you're stupid... by RShizzle · · Score: 1

    doesn't mean you lose your rights. Your rights to privacy or anything else. What Fortuny did was clearly malicious, illegal, and sociopathic.

    It doesn't matter that the people who responded were foolish. That's a red herring. That doesn't make what was done any more acceptable.

    1. Re:Just because you're stupid... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      doesn't mean you lose your rights.


      except in Texas
  28. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Alicat1194 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Huh? They sent naked pictures of themselves to an unknown person on the Internet...(!)

    You have heard of the Internet, right? It's famous for publishing things that people don't want other people to see.

    The only people who'll be "staggared" by this are tiny minded newbies who have no idea of how the world works...

    (...and lawyers who are offering to sue the person responsible, but they're only pretending to be "staggared" so they can get at the money)

    Just because it's the internet, and the people who replied were at the very least, foolish, doesn't mean that the law doesn't still apply.

    (And just a friendly, grammar-nazi tip, it's "staggered", not "staggared" )

    --
    You can learn a lot about a person if you just take the time to inject them with sodium pentathol
  29. I sometimes want to do the same thing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As an experiment I set up a series of myspace profiles.. fake profiles of women of various ages and looks.. including teenagers. And just waited for the messages to come in. Literally thousands of cock photos, offers of money, sex, rape, vacations.. It is really amazing that so many men think it is ok to do this, (especially to underage girls) and think that they are anonymous. Most of them I could figure out exactly who they were, their names, schools, location, family members, etc.. and if I wanted to mess with their lives I could forward the messages they sent me, or I could post them publicly. Some of these guys really deserve it. But for now I just plan to keep collecting data.

  30. Trollin trollin trollin by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 2, Informative

    Rawhide! Seriously though, this guy was just trolling, a well honed art here on /. In any case he appears to be an attention whore with personal issues, this hit fark a while back, and apparently on his myspace profile he describes himself as a "Ferris Beuller", and tells all the little people not to feel bad that they can't be him. Theres nothing deep here, no hidden agenda, no implications for the wider society, just a sad little man. I wonder will they sue him? Now that would be ironic - hey man, didn't you know? The internet isn't anonymous!

    1. Re:Trollin trollin trollin by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 4, Interesting

      FTFA:

      September 10: Jason Fortuny modified his homepage to remove all references to his professional life: portfolio, resume, and references to past clients are all gone. (Compare to the older versions on the Internet Archive.) It also looks like he's been scrubbing his personal contact information from his Livejournal comments and homepage. For example, this link from my post originally went to a comment with his contact information, but it's been removed entirely. (Strangely, he didn't remove his home address and phone number from this entry.)

      Bwaahahah, nice one Ferris. Pwn3d.

    2. Re:Trollin trollin trollin by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Exactly. He doesn't think /his/ friends and colleagues should be harassed as a result of his actions. Those lamers and their families and colleagues, hell, they're fair game, apparently. Gotta love double standards.

      Has there been any verification of his address/phone number (not to suggest anyone try anything against him, but I wouldn't be surprised if his "home phone number" is a voicemail service where he's just going to post verbal threats to his LJ, and if his "home address" is a maildrop).

    3. Re:Trollin trollin trollin by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't be surprised if his "home phone number" is a voicemail service where he's just going to post verbal threats to his LJ, and if his "home address" is a maildrop

      Nope, I would wager this dipshit put up his real life details. The phrase "durr" springs to mind.

  31. Hope he has his passport ready by AaronLawrence · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Whether or not it is illegal or ethical, some of those guys are going to want to damage him any way they can. If he's lucky, none of them will lose their jobs or marriages.

    Secondly, it's alarming to see the division in the responders: a HUGE percentage who think that it's OK or even cool, for various reasons. These people are themselves somewhat sociopathic. Some of them are obviously kids, but others are not, and those are scary.

    "They were married" - well, a few of them were. What about the other 150?
    "These guys are cruising for sex" - not a crime. Not even morally wrong for many people.
    "They used work addresses" - only a few of them.
    "They responded to a public posting" - but by private email.
    "Email is not private" - but you still can't post other people's private information in public without their permission. Yes, there really are laws about that. No, the "internet" doesn't make it different. Yes, there are ethical and social reasons as well.

    --
    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
    1. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by umghhh · · Score: 1

      When I read it first time I thought it was just a publicy stunt. I still do but then maybe I am mistaken. I cannot simply belive that somebody may be stupid enough to risk prosecution for abuse of privacy.

      Those that think it is funny should better consider how much would they laugh if information about their (as boring or exciting as it may be) sex life were released to public. Just because the concerned guys are wankers does not make their rights less important. Next time it may be you, who is laughing now, who will suffer and we all will be there laughing our heads off.

    2. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by slysithesuperspy · · Score: 1

      I think it was completely unethical and immoral. But I think peoples disagreement comes from their definition of free speech. I think that there might as well be no restrictions on free speech, but the way people can get information, for example stealing it, would be a prosecutable crime (maybe in the same way some people do not view blackmail as a crime as it gives the victim a chance). However, other people may think this is theft, under false pretenses, if you will. This is akin to walking around town in drag, getting peoples names, numbers and pictures of their dicks (WTF?) and then telling other people about it. Therefore I _think_ these people should just act more responsible (hey and the guy who started it too).

    3. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by gatzke · · Score: 1
      "Email is not private" - but you still can't post other people's private information in public without their permission. Yes, there really are laws about that. No, the "internet" doesn't make it different. Yes, there are ethical and social reasons as well.


      Where did you get this? Is there some law I don't know about? If this were true, the paparazzi would be out of business.

      You can't publish untrue stuff (libel?) but I think it is totally legal (in the US) to publish a private communication like a letter or email. You can't wiretap phone conversations, but this is all email, like a letter sent in the real world.

      As they told me when I first started using this internets thing, when you hit send you no longer own that email, watch what you say. The recipient owns it and can do whatever they want...

    4. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

      Free Speech applies to political speech. It is not an applicable principle in this case. It's possible that the perpetrator of this stunt could face fraud charges actually for how he went about getting the information.

    5. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by slysithesuperspy · · Score: 1

      It maybe the case most laws are about that, I don't know. But I was thinking about peoples own opinions on free speech. Some may be absolutist, others may think there should be restrictions on speech e.g. encouragement of terrorism.

      As I understand it they did not have any binding contract they were literally just speaking to people on the Internet, like they might anywhere else.

    6. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by Jussi+K.+Kojootti · · Score: 1
      Where did you get this? Is there some law I don't know about? If this were true, the paparazzi would be out of business.

      In most civilized countries there are two different concepts that are relevant here:

      * Right to privacy (people who are famous because of their own choosing, like rock stars, often have less right to privacy -- this keeps the paparazzi in business)
      * Right to secrecy of correspondence (this covers everyone, and usually covers e-mail without any special laws)

      In short: Yes, I do believe there are laws you don't know about.
    7. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by Jussi+K.+Kojootti · · Score: 1

      Whoops. Now that I checked my dictionary, I see that the word I keep using (secrecy of correspondence) doesn't mean what I thought it means... I meant to refer to the concept of implied confidentiality in private correspondance (I have no idea if there is a word for it in english).

    8. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by gatzke · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I actually found some stuff on disclosure of private fact.

      http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Press/faqs.asp x?id=14038&#q14038

      Not sure if outing someone or posting their fetish would violate a criminal law, but it apparently makes you liable in civil court, unless you can show the information to be newsworthy.

      Pervs outed for going after 14 year old girls shown on 20/20 (US news TV show) would probably be newsworthy, as they are breaking the law.

      Actually not so sure on this case now. The story is now newsworthy, but the individuals that had private information published may not be so newsworthy individually. Also, not so sure if this is "highly offensive to a reasonable person." So you like to spank little girls? Sick, but not highly offensive to most people with dead morals thanks to years of MTV.

    9. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IAALBNIYJ. The story is newsworthy ex post facto. From what I can see, none of the victims of this hoax were, in and of themselves, newsworthy before the hoax. Consequently I think that a court would consider this an unjustified violation of privacy. Assuming it were to go to court.

      I'm not entirely convinced that there have been criminal violations but, like almost everyone here, I don't know the whole story.

    10. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by SilentChris · · Score: 1
      "Email is not private" - but you still can't post other people's private information in public without their permission.


      If that was true, the guys from Pirate Bay would've been in trouble a long time ago from posting all the email they got from media companies. Or that guy who posted his entire coorespondance with the "author" of CherryOS.

      People who send email have to come to grips with the fact that it is NOT private communication. It can and will be transferred over hundreds or thousands of miles of landlines, unencrypted. If it's cleartext all the way across the country, what's the difference if it's posted when it gets to its destination?

      People who want privacy should be smart: encrypt their emails, use a fake email address and verify who you're writing to before you do so. These people weren't smart, and are getting lampooned for their idiocy. There's no law against making fun of stupid people.
    11. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      This is a bit of a technicality, but any work you create of any type is owned by you (copyright) - be it a text or an image. This could be stretched as a copyright case, as he did not receive permission to reprint the "content." Furthermore, he was reasonably certain (by nature of the "prank") that those people would deny him permission if he had asked to reprint the responses and photos publicly. He also denied explicit requests from the copyright holders to remove the infringing material from the website, and he has documented both their request and his denial.

      It may be debatable what the financial incentive is (though publicity in itself has financial ramifications), but ED does presumably receive ad revenue from their yahoo ads, which makes it relevent.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    12. Re:Hope he has his passport ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think it's sociopathic to strengthen the race by weeding out the stupid...

  32. Well... by Psychotria · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I see lots of comments like "it's the internet" and "what a bunch of suckers". Although, personally, I'd never respond to something like the story indicates, I feel that the person who released info on the respondants is, indeed, a sociopath. If he was NOT a sociopath, then he'd have some empathy for those who responded; ignoring, or having no, empathy IS (basically) sociopathic behaviour. I hope he gets sued... or better, goes to prison. And to label the whole activity as an "experiment" is ludicrous.

    1. Re:Well... by pembo13 · · Score: 1

      welcome to the internet...enjoy your stay.

      --
      "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    2. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I personally have known Jason for years. He is a VERY caring individual. I myself am a liberal woman with high ethics and values and I consider him to be a trustworthy dear friend; whose life is officially screwed because of an experiment gone bad. He has expressed guilt, remorse and such and not because of this coming back to piss in his face, but because he is a human being who feels and attempts to understand the hurt which he has caused or triggered. I fear to state my name due to all of you haters out there. But believe me this man loves! He's a sweetie and a beautiful person who loves his kitty and his friends with the most extreme loyalty and kindness possible. He's not a psycho or a sociopath. Everyone make mistakes. All you haters want is to see his pain in public, that's not justice that's revenge. We all know revenge is wrong. Just because he's not putting his pain out there for your satisfaction doesn't mean that he is an unfeeling SOB. Give the guy a break he has gotten his karma back in his face already. All of you who were hurt by his actions, I truly feel for you and I hope that you will find it in your hearts to forgive or just walk away with lessons learned. I'm sure if Jason could rewrite history he would have done it. But let's face it there's nothing he can do about that which is already done. What do you haters want, a public crucifixion? You haters are no better than what he's done; you've joined him in his lowest moment. Stop casting stones.

    3. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also went to school with Jason and hung out with him daily at one point. Although I'm not going to necessarily disagree with what was just written, I just ask people to think about this one aspect: The truth shall set you free. The reason for these people getting mad is that they got caught red-handed doing something scandalous. Should Jason be punished for exposing this scandalous behavior? Absolutely not. I have told him myself that I think he is kinda ballsy for taking on this fight, and I can't say I would have the energy myself, but like any freedom fighter, I applaud his efforts. I think the fact that these cheaters got caught is POETIC JUSTICE!!! If you don't want to get caught, don't cheat! If you don't want to be in the relationship you are in, then get out before you cowardly lie to your spouse while having some fun on the side. This cheating is the really stupid and antisocial behavior. Jason's quest is for the truth, and for Karmic and Poetic justice, and while I'm sure he does get a kick out of it, he should. I know I do.

      These people's lives haven't been ruined, they have been set free from the lies they have been trying to keep a secret. They obviously aren't happy with their situations and need to s*** or get off the pot. THEY have the issue, Jason is just the messenger, don't shoot the messenger! Seriously, don't shoot him! :)

      Thanks for listening. :)

    4. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're an asbolute fucking moron. Where's your proof that they're all cheaters?

      Stupid cunt.

  33. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If nothing else, it's against the TOS of Craigslist.
    Something in there about not disclosing personal information without prior consent.

  34. Now we know why Vista is delayed... by i_like_spam · · Score: 1

    Jerry C. is spending too much time on CL!

  35. BrooWaha LA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BrooWaha LA has a story about the prank too.. Seems like this Fortuny guy is gonna be famous!

  36. I hate this guy by rm999 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I really hate this guy. I don't know much about him, but I hope he spends some time in jail. I feel this way after reading about this guy who contacted him:

    http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/RFJ ason_CL_Experiment
    search for Part I: Email conversation with Jerry
    also look at parts ii and iii

    He has no empathy, and he is clearly trying to humiliate these people. Given the large number of people he angered (whose lives may be ruined because of it) and his very public profile, I am guessing he is going to have to go into hiding soon. In addition to a lack of empathy, he has a lack of common sense.

    1. Re:I hate this guy by rm999 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In case it's taken down:

      The Saga of Jerry and "Wife"

      * Official thread

      Jerry has already contacted me by e-mail, demanding I remove all traces of him from my post. This appears to be an anonymous reply from him in my LJ: http://rfjason.livejournal.com/410835.html?thread= 7629011#t7629011

      Jerry claims he has an open marriage. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

      Edit: Update. Jerry and his "wife" contacted me on AIM
      Part I: Email conversation with Jerry

      From Jerry@emailaddress.com
      > You will remove the pictures of me from your stupid craigslist experiment.
      > My wife and I have an open relationship, don\'t believe me? Contact her and
      > ask her. But you will remove me, you have no right to post this kind of crap
      > without first knowing the full details. Here is the bullshit i want you to
      > remove: http://rfjason.livejournal.com/410835.html?thread= 7600851..t7600851

      From Jason
      Why should I?

      From Jerry@emailaddress.com
      Because I would appreciate it, because my wife and I have an open relationship
      and I would never "cheat" on her. Because we play with others to enhance our
      own relationship. Because she is fully aware of what goes on. And again
      because I'd appreciate it.
      I don't want to fight this out with you, I understand why you're doing
      this - to husbands that actually cheat, however, I wouldn't do that - my wife
      and I are fully participating swingers, now please remove the thread.

      From Jason
      Well, if anything, this should help you meet MORE people.

      From Jerry@emailaddress.com
      And it's not the way I want it done. So you have no intentions of removing it
      then? That's fine, I'll ignore it and move on with my life.

      From Jason
      Wait, I thought you were going to sue me?

      From Jerry@emailaddress.com
      I'll look into all my options, and if I choose legal recourse, it
      wouldn't be a
      lawsuit. It would be a criminal case, if that didn't work, then I imagine I'd
      have to settle for a civil suit. But either way, this is the last time I
      communicate with you. I have nothing more to say - by even responding in the
      first place I gave you what you want, and that was foolish of me.

      Part II: IM Conversation with Jerry

      [10:29] JrITadmin69: Just the man I was looking for.
      [10:30] RFJason: Hi Jerry. I just replied to your e-mail.
      [10:30] JrITadmin69: and i replied to yours
      [10:30] JrITadmin69: Look, I understand what you're trying to do with your experiment.
      [10:31] JrITadmin69: And I don't take offense, other then that you didn't attempt to get the whole story, and jumped to conclusions.
      [10:31] RFJason: I didn't jump to any conclusions.
      [10:31] JrITadmin69: And I learned my lesson as well, don't include my face anymore, assuming my wife and i decide to continue with our lifestyle.
      [10:31] JrITadmin69: Sure you did, you assumed I was cheating on my

    2. Re:I hate this guy by Durzel · · Score: 1

      I agree with this.

      I had a measure of sympathy for him before I delved into his blog because I figured it was the sort of thing that any number of people could do and not fully realise the legal implications of their actions.

      Reading through his blog though it's clear he is neither contrite or apologetic, and has even linked to several of the sites that have been discussing him (a number of which pointed out the black-and-white violation of privacy Laws involved) like it's some kind of "hall of fame". He is genuinely completely uninformed as to the legal implications of what he's done, or he thinks people quoting Law statutes is some kind of "comedy response". Either way his site and the circlejerk of replies on his blog suggests to me that he is someone who thinks that his attempt to create the next Internet meme somehow indemnifies him against legal action.

      It doesn't, and he's gonna find that out pretty soon.

    3. Re:I hate this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      personally it's the most disgusting thing i've read in a long time -- he's gloating, he doesn't care, he wants his fame, he wants to hurt people and he taunts taunts taunts like an internet forum poster. and not about stupid shit, about people's lives. roleplay, swinging, and using other people's names in email addresses are common, but he doesn't even consider that and if it were an experiment to a) count responses it wouldnt require a post. and b) every government/edu research experiment requires informed consent...this is nasty, not nasty like the sukagee syphillis study (they left black men untreated for 30+ years to see what would happen). personally i hope he never finds work again because people create sites pointing out his complete lack of moral or ethical fiber.

    4. Re:I hate this guy by -noefordeg- · · Score: 1

      If something like that happened to me, I would simply kill him, take pictures and post them on www.ogrish.com. And never regret it.

    5. Re:I hate this guy by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      I had a measure of sympathy for him before I delved into his blog because I figured it was the sort of thing that any number of people could do and not fully realise the legal implications of their actions.

      Yeah, when I first heard about this a couple days ago, I thought it was a case of some guy pulling a prank and just not thinking it through, basically being just as ignorant and foolish and impetuous as the ones who responded.

      But damn, I read his followup comments and realized the guy knew exactly what he was doing the whole time, he just doesn't give a shit about ruining other people's lives for a moment of amusement. Legal consequences or not, I hate to say at this point he pretty much deserves whatever vengeance he brought upon himself. He could have easily defused it all much sooner than this but he's so intent on being the class clown and impressing his LiveJournal friends that I wonder if he can really comprehend not everybody is content to strike back with snarky comments on LJ.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    6. Re:I hate this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      If something like that happened to me, I would simply kill him, take pictures and post them on www.ogrish.com. And never regret it.


      Man, if I could I'd buy you a pint of whatever you're drinking nowadays. That's about the train of thought I had with respect to this twit.
      Then again, soliciting sex on the net isn't my bag.. but if it were! ;)

      I wonder how many folks on the net realize there are people who will do them physical harm?

      Just remember kids, some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them.
    7. Re:I hate this guy by z0idberg · · Score: 1
      He could have easily defused it all much sooner than this but he's so intent on being the class clown and impressing his LiveJournal friends that I wonder if he can really comprehend not everybody is content to strike back with snarky comments on LJ.


      Agreed. If you choose 178 people at random from the US population what are the chances that you get a least one lawyer? pretty high I think.

      I don't think he has to worry about the people emailing him askng to take their shit down, he has to worry about the ones he hasnt heard from as they are are too busy filing lawsuits.
    8. Re:I hate this guy by Tweekster · · Score: 1

      People MIGHT have grounds for a civil case, it will be tough because which of these people want more publicity. It will damn near impossible for a criminal case, because what law did he break? criminal laws not civil.

      --
      The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
    9. Re:I hate this guy by graywolf001 · · Score: 1
      Agreed. If you choose 178 people at random from the US population what are the chances that you get a least one lawyer? pretty high I think.

      Yeah, but if you choose 178 people at random who would send nudie pics of themselves to complete strangers , then the likelyhood of one of them being a laywer is pretty slim.
      Well, of being one that is any good anyway.
    10. Re:I hate this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow. This prank could have been "funny" to a certain crowd, no doubt. But after reading that, I think this guy has definitely crossed the line. I hope he gets sued into oblivion and serves jail time.

    11. Re:I hate this guy by johansalk · · Score: 1

      I agree. I wholeheartedly hate this guy.

    12. Re:I hate this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd say that the chances of him finding someone living in his general area are much higher. Combine that with the fact that they are aggressive domi's (very very pissed off aggressive domi's) and I'd wager he gets the ever living crap beaten out of him in some dark alley before the week is out. Would serve him right too.

    13. Re:I hate this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yeah, but if you choose 178 people at random who would send nudie pics of themselves to complete strangers , then the likelyhood of one of them being a laywer is pretty slim.
      Well, of being one that is any good anyway.


      Yes, but at least ONE of them being really good friends with a lawyer is damn high.
    14. Re:I hate this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The thread and comments were removed (mysteriously) after I informed a lawyer (after a lengthy back and forth in which she went insane because she could focus on nothing but rf's original posts) of how this particular exchange could be actionable as "unlawful harassment" under Washington State law. Read our exchange here:

      http://rfjason.livejournal.com/410835.html?thread= 7669715#t7669715

  37. Damn, the jig is up! by Gerocrack · · Score: 1

    I've been making flamebait posts to /. for months, then secretly posting the responses elsewhere! Now I have to find a new game...

  38. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Schraegstrichpunkt · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's a spelling-nazi tip, dummy!

    Your friend, the Accuracy-Nazi

  39. Is it really him? by TheLink · · Score: 1

    Because who will really want to "be friends" with "Jason Fortuny" after this?

    This is a breach of trust.

    Who would ever want to be his significant other? You might get embarassing videos or pics of you posted on the net "just because".

    His co-workers better be careful around him. He might make your laugh/fart/sneeze etc a downloadable ringtone or something and make fun of you just because he thought it was cool.

    So if it's really him, I think it was a bad move for him too.

    --
    1. Re:Is it really him? by Fengpost · · Score: 1

      "Who will really want to "be friends" with "Jason Fortuny" after this?" would be the least of his worries. Aside from the legal issues, I wonder how many people are tracking him down right now? How soon before he faces physical violence? Remember he did ask for DOM! He may be socipathic, but there are worst animals out there!

      --
      The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity....Calvin
  40. Legal matter, does not matter... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Legal or illegal becomes moot when there is no way to enforce a law. Either because it is simply not applicable (because the other person is somewhere at the end of the world with very different national law), or it is unenforcable (because the other person is somewhere at the end of the world and the authorities there have better things to do than searching for someone's dick).

    Legal action against someone on the net... I'd rather put my money in a DDoS farm. It's way more efficient.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Legal matter, does not matter... by rm999 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Too bad he very clearly documented what he did and who he is. He didn't try hiding anything about himself. The fact that it was on the net won't protect him from court.

  41. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Alicat1194 · · Score: 1

    :P~~

    --
    You can learn a lot about a person if you just take the time to inject them with sodium pentathol
  42. FYI by TheLink · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He used to say in his website: http://web.archive.org/web/20050211124330/rfjason. com/contact/
    Privacy Policy:
    You are sending me direct contact information that is sensitive. I protect your privacy in the following ways:
    (1) I will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever;
    (2) I will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides e-mail in the regular course of business; and
    (3) Your information is stored behind network address translation and a software firewall.

    But now he doesn't. ;)

    --
    1. Re:FYI by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 1

      He also talks about how he knows network engineering and security on his resume. I wouldn't hire someone who felt that NAT was an acceptable form of security...

    2. Re:FYI by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      How in the fuck did this get modded up? You're linking to a page on his personal website which contains a web form to contact him. Craigslist is not rfjason.com!

  43. He's screwed by Durzel · · Score: 1

    Irrespective of the tenuous justifications for posting individuals responses, photographs and other personally identifiable information the bottom line as the Wired blog touches on is that Jason has clearly broken privacy Laws, and there isn't really much grey area in what he's done either.

    IANAL but if there had been a public interest in sharing this information then he *might* have got away with it the same way that tabloid newspapers do, but even then he would require a legal *team* analysing his every word stated and what every sentence may or may not be construed as implying. Sticking your fingers in your ears and screaming "omg the Internet = free information and freedom of speech!" won't hold up in Court.

    Part of me is sympathetic because its the sort of prank that any number might think up and execute without forethought of the possible legal ramifications. People wrongfully assume that because the Internet makes anyone a journalist for little/no money that somehow this absolves them from any kind of libel or slander Laws. This sometimes leads people to doing or saying things that they would never consider (or at least have an infrastructure in place that would stop it from happening - e.g. editor, etc) if they were publishing the information in one of the regular media forms - newspaper, radio or television.

    Whilst IANAL I do know categorically that Jason's actions in publishing all of these peoples' personal information, irrespective of whatever justification he or others believe to be behind it (e.g. some are married, etc), will lead to legal action that he is sure to lose.

  44. Clam down everyone! by bky1701 · · Score: 1

    I think I speak for most people here when I say: if I seen the ad, I would have sent in some furry yiff as my "image" along with a lot of bogus info. I would bet 90% of those emails are just SPAM...

  45. RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by bmo · · Score: 0

    http://www.tuckermax.com/archives/SFX5C3.pdf

    It's amusing reading, but it's apropos to this.

    Whatever lawsuit that will be brought up will be dismissed on its face. No criminal laws were broken, and the words and pictures are those of their owners. Libel and slander depend upon falsehoods. Since there were no falsehoods, and the names were not "anonymized", then there is no tort, either.

    All the indignation will come to naught but indignation and RFJason will continue to laugh. Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean that you can get compensated for it. If you send naked pictures of your junk to random email addresses for anonymous sex, then you have more problems than other people exposing you.

    --
    BMO

    1. Re:RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by jcr · · Score: 3, Informative

      Since there were no falsehoods, and the names were not "anonymized", then there is no tort, either.

      Want to bet?

      Ever hear of "willful infliction of emotional distress"?

      There are an awful lot of tort theories to choose from, and any decent lawyer could shred that punk in court.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    2. Re:RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bollocks, lots of laws got broken. For example, you stated that "the words and pictures are those of their owners". Exactly. Jason was not the copyright owner of those works, and had no permission to publish them. (If you want to play by RIAA rules, that's what, $125,000 offence each, so well over $20 million that Jason would be facing to pay.)

    3. Re:RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      That situation is completely different. In that case, Guy A was suing Guy B because Guy B ran a web forum where Guys C posted disparaging comments about Guy A. In this case, on the other hand, Guys A (will be) suing Guy B because Guy B solicited responses under false pretenses, Guys A responded in good faith, and with some expectation of privacy (given that the responses were via email, and not on a forum), and then Guy B posted them on the Internet for all to see.

      Do you see how the situations are different?

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    4. Re:RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by dvNull · · Score: 1
      Since there were no falsehoods,


      Actually this entire drama is based on a falsehood, i.e the ad which was posted. In essence what he has done is run a phishing scam, except that in this case his reward is not monetary, its his perverse enjoyment in harassing other people.

      So yea, he can be sued.
    5. Re:RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by P3NIS_CLEAVER · · Score: 0

      Civil law doesn't require a 'without a doubt' belief by the jury, just a reasonable belief. I think he will get his ass handed to him in court.

      --
      Please sign petition to restore sanity to our banking system!!!

      http://financialpetition.org/
    6. Re:RFJason gets off scot free. And here's why. by michaelcrook · · Score: 1

      Actually, I beg to differ. These people, essentially, "brought it on themselves." There is no expectation of privacy on a site like CL. That said, I run the website http://www.craigslist-perverts.org/ and I have exposed men like this over and over..they never learn. Stupid is as stupid does, and my site happily exploits their stupidity for entertainment. I also contact wives and employers.

  46. Sociopath is the word by file-exists-p · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In his responses, the guy is arguing with a kind of rethoric that completely ignores the importance of social image, social relations, and more globally social existence. Because those concepts are alien to him, he can not grasp how much harm he has caused.

    Hopefully he will be sued. Maybe he will still do not understand what he did wrong, but he at least will understand that he did something wrong that he should not do again.

    1. Re:Sociopath is the word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In your response, you are arguing with the kind of rhetoric that completely supposes an importance to social image, social relations, and more globally, a "social existence". Because these concepts are blindly a part of you, you can not grasp their irrelevance and the good of his act.

      Hopefully, strongly organised society will eventually collapse. Maybe you will not understand what is wrong with it or why his act is great, but at least you will expect that someone will do it again.

      If you are too embarrassed to have others know you do something, do not do it. If you will do it anyway, stop being embarrassed about it.

    2. Re:Sociopath is the word by file-exists-p · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you are too embarrassed to have others know you do something, do not do it. If you will do it anyway, stop being embarrassed about it.

      Why ? Where does this axiom come from ? Who decided it is better for the universe, or more "right" not to have secrets ?

      You realize that this statement is your own idea of "how the world should be" ? It is orthogonal to what the vast majority of people think, and wanting to impose it like this guy did is pure fascism.

    3. Re:Sociopath is the word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the person who posted this will not get sued. The person whoose contact info was posted by him will get sued. What a spectacular way of ruining someone's life.

    4. Re:Sociopath is the word by Anthony+Boyd · · Score: 1

      I wish I had mod points for you.

    5. Re:Sociopath is the word by SilentChris · · Score: 1
      In his responses, the guy is arguing with a kind of rethoric that completely ignores the importance of social image, social relations, and more globally social existence.


      Perhaps the people involved should understand "the importance of social image, social relations, and more globally social existence" before sending sexual requests thousands of miles across the internet unencrypted. What they did was akin to shouting out "I'll do you, babe" on a crowded street corner, or handing someone a note in class saying "I'll have sex with you" without ever folding it up.

      Email is NOT the same as regular mail. It's NOT closed up in a nice envelope cross country. It's cleartext from end to end and completely visable.

      When someone sends their bank account information and telephone number to a Nigerian scammer through email, Slashdot calls them idiots. How is asking for sexual favors using the exact same methods any different?
    6. Re:Sociopath is the word by file-exists-p · · Score: 1

      If I post that I am shocked some guy stabbed another one in the back and does not understand what it is bad, you will object that the victim was walking at night in a shitty neighborhood and should have known that this may happen ?

      You should suggest this line of defence to Fortuny, the judge may like the "but Sir, they were big idiots! They should have known there are sociopath like me in the world!" argument.

    7. Re:Sociopath is the word by SilentChris · · Score: 1

      Whether or not he's a sociopath has no relevance. One person should not be sued for the collective idiocy of hundreds.

      He did nothing illegal. Do you think the argument "I didn't know my unencrypted email from my workplace email address would be readable across the internet" would stand in court? "Not knowing" is not a defense. Playing the idiot doesn't work either.

      Using your example, these people were whipping their wallets out and flashing the cash right in front of the mugger with the knife. Does that give the mugger a right to rob them? No. Were they idiots without common sense? Yes. Could they have perhaps better protected themselves by recognizing they were in a seedy part of town (it was Craigslist's sex area for crying out out)? Yes. Would it have been better to keep their wallets in their pockets (what most people do in those kinds of societal situations)? Absolutely.

      If you're going to brand him a sociopath, you may as well brand everyone involved, because clearly no one was thinking how this would affect their reputations.

    8. Re:Sociopath is the word by generic-man · · Score: 1

      This guy accepted e-mail sent directly to his address and decided to post the contents to mock the people who sent the messages. By posting all the details of this "experiment" on-line he clearly has every intention of naming and shaming the people who contacted him.

      If this guy were a radio DJ and he played voice mail messages from personals-ad respondents on the air with phone numbers and real names included, he would be just as screwed. Same thing if he took letters sent by unsuspecting "victims" of his ad and published them in a newspaper column.

      If this whole episode ends up in court, perhaps it will set a precedent about whether cleartext e-mail sent between two parties can be construed to have any notion of privacy. After all, phone calls and letters can be considered "private" even if there is no encryption on either end of the conversation.

      --
      For more information, click here.
    9. Re:Sociopath is the word by Estanislao+Mart�nez · · Score: 1
      If you are too embarrassed to have others know you do something, do not do it. If you will do it anyway, stop being embarrassed about it.

      That's a really uninsightful thing to say. The power to selectively disclose or withhold information about yourself from others is crucial to your ability to play various social roles, because you have no control over which information about yourself may wrongly discredit you in the eyes of which other people. Being unembarrassed about doing something that most people object to can be good for your personal psychological state, but that will not protect you when somebody, because of it, say, denies you a job you are perfectly qualified to do.

      And please don't start with some individualistic bullshit about how none of this matters as long as you feel good about yourself, because being denied major oportunities for reasons that should be irrelevant can be a pretty crushing experience, and you should never overestimate your ability to come emotionally unscathed out of such situations.

    10. Re:Sociopath is the word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mostly I find it sound advice for preserving your mental well-being. You can preclude a lot of stress if you refrain from doing stuff that will embarrass yourself or if you simply refuse to be embarrassed by it.

      Having secrets thrust upon you is hard. When you create them yourself, though, you should either prepare for its revelation to others or do a better job of protecting it? I do not assert that having secrets is less "right". I am making feeble attempts at protecting my identity by posting as an AC right now.

      If something embarrasses you and you keep doing it, it is like wanting to eat your cake and have it too. You want to be able to do it, but you do not want others to find out, yet doing it is an invitation for discovery. I am not sure if the vast majority disagree with that proverb, and I think it directly applies. As well, being able to be truthful and honest about yourself and your activities to people without malicious intent is probably a good thing.

    11. Re:Sociopath is the word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "And please don't start with some individualistic bullshit" < cute.

      So, to be straight, your argument is essentially the following:

      • You value
        the ability to play various social roles
      • which depends upon
        control over the disclosure and retention of personal information
      • because
        the alleged reality of your person might discredit you in the opinions of some others
      • and this would
        impair your ability to fulfill the aforementioned social roles.

      And as an example,

      • when applying for a job for which you are qualified,
      • you may be rejected on the basis of personal actions technically irrelevant to the position
      • because many people may object to those personal actions.

      And that,

      • while refusing to be embarrassed by unpopular actions you opt to do,
      • you might feel better about yourself,
      • this is "bullshit" because
      • the discrimination this invites can be crushing and difficult to cope with

      To be unfair, I congratulate you on arguing the point that homosexuals should just pretend to be straight and be embarrassed in secret about who they are. The optimal situation is clearly for judicious disclosure of who they are so that they might better fulfil their social roles without risking being discredited before some people. And because being yourself can be crushing and difficult to cope with, doing so is "bullshit".

      I do not believe you are actually arguing that principle, but I think your argument covers it.

      I notice you assign value to the ability to perform social roles, and in particular ones that might be incompatible with details about your own person (as you state the need to withhold information). You seem to assign value to the approval of (perhaps random) third parties. In particular, you place more value in appearing desirable to an employer for the purpose of receiving employment over actually being what that employer desires (no matter how bigoted they may be), and to appearing desirable to a populous despite personally participating in unpopular actions. (If they reject who you are, how important can their approval be?) As well, you seem conservative with emotions and reluctant to risk being unpopular. As well, you seem to suppose that preserving a secret is not impossible. While I am sure many (if not the vast majority) of secrets are reasonably well-kept until all concerned are dead, I think people should never expect that their secrets are completely safe, and that they should make some preparation for their revelation.

      I suppose you are arguing in favour of prudence, and that the approval of those who might hate or object to who you are is more desirable than your personal pride or dignity. Well, secrets are difficult to keep. Several people have their names and their intent to actually cheat on their wives posted in a very public forum now. Perhaps the prudent thing would have been to be what people, including their wives, expected from them. Instead, they want to eat their cake and have it too. Perhaps that is more reasonable than I find?

      (I hope I have not misrepresented your argument - I do not want to be accused of setting up a straw man. Your response is anticipated and will be appreciated)

    12. Re:Sociopath is the word by file-exists-p · · Score: 1

      So to summarize your argument: he is not a sociopath because they are big idiots ?

  47. What's so wrong about sexuality? by slaida1 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Why should anyone lose their job or marriage over this?

    Because you/we haven't separated church from sexuality and it bites your ass in every turn. Imagine how we could live if sexuality was considered mundane everyday need like need to eat or rest? Why can't we? Because we are sick in our heads and church is to blame.

    Don't hate the players, hate the rules and those who made the rules. Hate those who play by the rules, hate those who are too weak to go against the rules.

    Hate yourself for being shamed to show your reproductive organs publicly while not having any trouble showing your digestive hole publicly.

    Hate yourself for being so helpless.

    Future generations hopefully will laugh at us being so clumsy with our own mental processes that even adults believe in invisible imaginary friends and are incapable to shake off early learned preconceptions. I, for one, am disappointed at how immature we humans still are in terms of self control.

    --
    Preserve old classics: copy your collection onto all hard drives.
  48. Wow, one word: egregious by MrPerfekt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At first, I was on the side of the guy that posted all the info. "It's their fault they gave their information out before knowing who they were giving it to.", I thought. Then I realized that despite how bizarre and fucked up I may find the S&M fetish, there are probably a thing or two I like that'd gross out other people and would I like that information broadcast? Probably not.

    This also brings up a good point about meeting people with particular "interests" online. Say I like feet. I don't. But say I did and I want to find people with the same interest as mine. The Internet is probably where I'd turn. It's not like you can go to Starbucks and start randomly asking people. Now, this guy finds foot fetishes objectionable and outs me. I'm not doing anything illegal but I'm sure my employer would look differently at me for knowing despite having an obligation to not do that. It's all about impressions and what you know about someone. You can't forget something like that. That's why people keep those things to themselves.

    So long story, short. I read what this guy posted. I read what the submissions were. I read how this guy is acting after the fact. He's his own moral sheriff apparently. Which is pretty lame considering there's alot of terrorists running about out there doing the same thing only instead of humiliation, they prefer death. So, it all goes back to: yes, you have a right to do something (and in this case, maybe not even then) but that doesn't mean you _should_ do it.

    What I think about what these people like to say to their sexual partners is irrelevant and it should be irrelevant to you to. If you feel otherwise, then you're just trying to play an authority figure and "stick it" to these people.

    Treat people like you'd want to be treated. This guy is just a douche bag.

    --
    I just wasted your mod points! HA!
    1. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by pjrc · · Score: 1
      Treat people like you'd want to be treated.

      Actaully, in the context of S/M (or "BDSM" to use the more modern term), better advise might be to treat people like they'd want to be treated.

      This guy is just a douche bag.

      Still very true.

    2. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Stalyn · · Score: 1

      I'm not doing anything illegal but I'm sure my employer would look differently at me for knowing despite having an obligation to not do that. It's all about impressions and what you know about someone. You can't forget something like that. That's why people keep those things to themselves.

      Isn't that the real issue at hand though? That people can be discriminated against over their sexual preferences. If such a state of affairs didn't exist the whole premise of this guy's prank would be moot. Look at the other end of the spectrum, Gay people can not openly join the military and can not get married. Really what happened here is no different except in the degree of discrimination.

      --
      The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
    3. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Itchy+Rich · · Score: 1

      So, it all goes back to: yes, you have a right to do something (and in this case, maybe not even then) but that doesn't mean you _should_ do it.

      I completely agree, and am fairly sure he acted illegally. He doesn't own the copyright on that text, or the images within them, so I doubt he can have acted legally by publishing them. Even if he'd taken the photos himself he'd still need a model release form. That's not even opening the "can of worms" that is privacy.

      Sadly the publicity involved in taking this to court would probably reduce the chance of legal action.

    4. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by jrldh2 · · Score: 1

      Don't be so sure your employer would look differently at you just because you have a xyz fetish. If I was you employer, I could not care less what you do in your sex life. I'd guess that most employers (or supervisors) would get a chuckle out of your revelations but that's it. This of course assumes legal conduct between adult people and not some children sex or rape.

    5. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      At first, I was on the side of the guy that posted all the info. "It's their fault they gave their information out before knowing who they were giving it to.",

      No, it's not. You are not allowed to publish private communications without the permission of both parties, nor are you allowed to publish private information without permission - period. There are laws about this - and just because it happened 'on the internet' doesn't change that.
    6. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by jafac · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's much worse than just "liking feet".

      BDSM "kinks" can be very personal.

      Imagine if he had posted an ad for a MALE submissive, looking for a dominant. Could you imaging being outed as a male submissive to your basketball buddies? That's something someone could never live down.

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    7. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a military member in the Air Force, you can join if you are gay but there is the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. The whole gay people in the military controversy is actually justified. Would you want to bunk up with a gay male knowing his sexual preferences? It will make the mission fall apart due to harassment, and probably physical abuse on that person. It's also why they don't want women in combat. Men get very protective in a hostile enviroment when women are involved, it sidetracks them. However, I don't discriminate against gay people at all. I respect them and think they should be able to get married.....this all might sound like an oxymoron but don't mean it that way.

    8. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by RomulusNR · · Score: 1

      Reading the comments rfjason's various fora, it's clear he certainly has a sizeable like-minded "fuck the weird" and "humiliate the different" following, one which rivals that of Tom Leykis, Bill O'Reilly, Morton Downey Jr., Jerry Springer, et al.

      People like to say that Seattle is just like high school. Jason Fortuny proves them right. He's LiveJournal's very own shock jock.

      --
      Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
    9. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Abcd1234 · · Score: 1

      Would you want to bunk up with a gay male knowing his sexual preferences?

      Sure, why not? What, are you worried he's going to sneak up and buttfuck your when you aren't looking?

    10. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >This also brings up a good point about meeting people with
      >particular "interests" online. Say I like feet. I don't.
      >But say I did and I want to find people with the same interest
      >as mine. The Internet is probably where I'd turn.

      I have been active in my local BDSM community for about a decade now. A large number of people (if not most) who have entered the scene in the past 5 or 6 years have found one or more partners online. It is the main way that BDSM folks first make contact with their local communities. Even those with decades of experience tend to turn to Internet when trying to meet new people. You will find the same sort of thing with many other sexual minorities.

      Why? Because it is very hard to locate other people with the same sexual fetishes. For every one person who participates in local community events there are thousands who do not, for any number of reasons. You are far, far more likely to find compatible partners if you include the Internet in your search. This holds true for both men AND women.

      Assuming that this really was a post that was taken from another part of Craigslist, and not something that was made up as part of the deception...

      Many of the comments floating around various message boards refer to these "sick" men and express doubt that any woman would write a post like that. That indicates a lack of understanding of the realities of the BDSM subculture. The description of the type of dominant the anonymous submissive woman is looking for would be read very differently by a man with experience in the BDSM world than by one who knows little about it. For example, if you look at the original ad, you will see that the "real" poster (if she ever existed) indicated that she has a safeword. That single sentence statement carries a lot of meaning to BDSM folks. Among other things, it indicates that there are limits to what she is willing to do, that she wants to discuss those limits before any "play" takes place, that any "play" must be consensual, and that she expects the other person to abide by those limits.

      If I were reading that ad in another forum (on a BDSM personals board, for example), what I would take away from it is a description of the type of BDSM fantasy play she enjoys. She may enjoy a relationship with a dominant who acts arrogant and cruel, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she wants the man to truly be an arrogant and cruel person. She may want him to ACT that way when they meet, but through mutual consent - she probably does not want him to be a person who would do truly cruel things that go beyond the boundaries she has set. These are things you find out through further, private discussion and negotiation.

      None of what she mentions is unusual in the BDSM world - at least half the submissives (male or female) that I know would get off on the acts she describes. Some of those things sound much worse than they really are. For example, last weekend my girlfriend/submissive and I had fun with a rod made of extruded carbon fiber, clothespins, a biology lab probe, a dental pick, a lighter, a homemade cattle prod, and a quack medical device invented in the early part of the 20th century that emits arcs of electricity. Sounds horrible, but it wasn't - it actually felt good to her because I know how and when to use those instruments to build endorphin rushes and ecstatic altered states. Lay it all out on a table - or describe it in a personal ad - and most people would run for the door. Those who are in the lifestyle know what sensations the devices can be used to produce, though, and would read the ad very differently.

      Craigslist is not a good place for that sort of thing, though. There are specialty personals sites and mesaage boards that are designed for that sort of thing.

      It is still dangerous for BDSM folks to be "outed" - in some ways, it rivals the risks that homosexuals faced 30 years ago. Some have jobs and life situations that allow them to be more out than others, but som

    11. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, he's:

      a) envious about the frequently empty bunk because the out gay bunkmate is off getting a lot of sex

      b) jealous of the men who are getting lots of sex with his bunkmate

      c) secretly wishing he was one of them, if only his gay bunkmate could read his mind

    12. Re:Wow, one word: egregious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If looking for a dominant woman:

      "Wow, dude, you mean you can get laid by being submissive? By creative women dressed up in leather who take charge of the process of getting you off?"

      If looking for a dominant man:

      "Wow, dude, suck my dick!"

      I don't see many downsides here, assuming the basketball teammates are reasonably fit, attractive and hung.

      Live it up!

  49. Is there a lawyer in the house? by kahei · · Score: 1



    Clearly the guy's a smug asshole who has done an unknown but perhaps considerable amount of damage to a bunch of random BDSM people (and there are a great many quiet, sensitive, intelligent people in that community, to say nothing of a great many shy wannabees in whom I think we can all see something of ourselves). However, I can't figure out whether it's actually illegal and I am quite curious... does anyone know?

    --
    Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
  50. Missing? by Omestes · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Odd thing, the full Encyclopeida Dramatica site is down, and even more strange is that the Wikipedia article for it is deleted and protected, along with the talk page, and there is no explanation, it has been down since august. Does anyone have any idea why this is?

    Did it get slashdotted, or purposely removed? Also whats up with the Wikipedia page. I would like to at least know what the Encyclopedia Dramatica is, the only source I could really find was from Urban Dictionary, which really isn't the best source of anything.

    --
    A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
    1. Re:Missing? by yppiz · · Score: 1

      The article was deleted for the reasons discussed here:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Votes_for_d eletion/Encyclopedia_Dramatica

      --Pat

    2. Re:Missing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So is it me or is the Wikipedia article for this just strange? I always throught that WP aspired to a high level of ____(damnit, insert world here - refers to high standards etc). This just seems like another mechanism for this jerk to publish his little experiment.

      OTOH, people should know better. Really, think of it as a Darwinian process. Stupid people don't get to have sex with their wives/partners, and hence, it stops stoopid people reproducing...really its win/win/win.

      ciao.
      cx

    3. Re:Missing? by DerekLyons · · Score: 0, Troll
      Odd thing, the full Encyclopeida Dramatica site is down, and even more strange is that the Wikipedia article for it is deleted and protected, along with the talk page, and there is no explanation, it has been down since august. Does anyone have any idea why this is?

      Wikipedia now has a policy whereby articles can be deleted from the Wikipedia without explanation.
       
       
      Did it get slashdotted, or purposely removed? Also whats up with the Wikipedia page. I would like to at least know what the Encyclopedia Dramatica is, the only source I could really find was from Urban Dictionary, which really isn't the best source of anything.

       
      Read WikiTruth for an eye opening account of how the Wikipedia really works.
    4. Re:Missing? by mpontes · · Score: 2, Informative
      No, ED was proposed for deletion several times. Here's the right one.

      Long short story, ED has a few articles making fun of Wikipedia. One of them was about MONGO, so he decided to use one of his puppets and list the ED article on Wikipedia for deletion. Since lots of wikipedians can't stand satire when they're the target of it, many voted delete. Now, if you're familiar with Wikipedia and look at the AfD, it's obvious that it should have been closed as "No consensus" instead of "Delete", but the admin decided to ignore the votes and get away with his bias. So much for democracy, huh?

      It's sad, but not even Wikipedia is free from censorship. If the majority of the Wikipedians don't like or agree with something, it WILL get deleted. All it takes is putting up an AfD and writing "Delete per WP:CNEIAMUP" (Wikipedia: Completely Non-Existant, Irrelevant And Made Up Policy). Being a wikibot is all about linking to WP: policies, make up interpretations for them and pretend they apply to the current article. And of course, you also need double-standards for all those "Shitty Webcomic with 10 hits per day", because webcomics rock!

      It's denying information to people "just because". They're not even saving space by deleting the article, the history is still saved. That AfD was just a childish "Ha-ha, we don't like you so we're going to deny information to anyone that happens to be interested in Encyclopedia Dramatica!". Jimbo Wales said, "Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing.". He should have added "As long as we like that subject."

      --
      Bored? Browse Slashdot with a +6 modifier for Troll comme
    5. Re:Missing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you an idiot? One reply above you has already linked to the Deletion thread - all quite transparent, really. You tin-foil hat WikiTruthers are something else.

    6. Re:Missing? by Omestes · · Score: 1

      I found the AfD page after posting, and it was kind of sad. The main proponents of deletion seemed to have a serious, and unconcealed bias against the site for personal reasons, yet got born out. As much as I really do like the theory behind Wikipedia, the more I know about it, the more it seems a flawed implication of the idea, perhaps it has to be, perhaps there is no ideal solution. But this is such an OBVIOUS and blantant case of pure vindictivness wining over, it seems... to through the whole plausability of the project in doubt. Might be slightly over-reacting, granted, but it isn't quite as isolated as it seems (reading the article on Ayn Rand shows how NPOV is arbitrary, for example).

      --
      A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
    7. Re:Missing? by Pink+Tinkletini · · Score: 1

      None of those reasons seems to stand up to scrutiny. Maybe when those comments were written in 2004, but not anymore. If Wikipedia's still keeping the article off the site, it would have to seem out of pure pettiness (as others have stated in this thread).

    8. Re:Missing? by Pink+Tinkletini · · Score: 1

      Huh. I just found the article's second and third nominations for deletion. It does indeed look like Wikipedia's removed it permanently--you can't even recreate the article--purely out of spite. And my inclination to contribute to Wikipedia dwindles even further.

  51. Experement? Where? by Zadaz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What's the hypothesis, and what was he trying to prove?

    Since he doesn't mention this on his wiki, I'll draw a conclusion:
    He's an idiot that thought it would be fun to prank some people he thought were deviants.

    I agree that people need a wake up call to get to not blindly trust anyone with an email address, but this is just preying on the weak. People looking for a hookup on the Internet? They should be rewarded for putting it out there not raked over the coals as perverts.

  52. It's simple by malahoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Don't say anything to a perfect stranger that you wouldn't say in front of your mom.

    --


    If you're not wasted, the day is.
    1. Re:It's simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about that drunk guy who tried to piss on the stairs up to my flat?

  53. What an idiot by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The simple fact he posted personal information like that will be his undoing. It being a prank or experiment is one thing, but when he violated people's privacy, he went too far. He could have somehow censored a lot of the stuff he was sent, still proving that he received the material though.

    There's one thing though. If he's a heterosexual male, you have to feel sorry for the fact he saw the genitalia of other men.

    As for those (stupid) people who gave out their personal information, at least their doing one thing good. Proving that it's a bad idea to give out such personal information. Always be cautious.

    Does craigslist have any sort of policy against what has happened? Didn't any of the men put any disclaimer in the e-mails they sent to not share out their personal information? (I know when I contact certain sites, I ask not to be added to any mailing list inside the message, but of course, that's a different thing entirely.)

    1. Re:What an idiot by mrchaotica · · Score: 4, Funny
      There's one thing though. If he's a heterosexual male, you have to feel sorry for the fact he saw the genitalia of other men.

      No you don't. Not at all, in fact. Why? because he asked for it!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    2. Re:What an idiot by mckayc · · Score: 1

      Furthermore, who cares if he saw another man's penis. OMG! OMG! A penis!!! And it's not his!!! How horrifying!

      What's so bad about seeing another man's penis if you're heterosexual?

    3. Re:What an idiot by CTachyon · · Score: 1

      ... There's one thing though. If he's a heterosexual male, you have to feel sorry for the fact he saw the genitalia of other men. ...

      Eh, not really. I'm a gay male, and I'm not exactly quaking at the idea that someone's going to wave a picture of female genitalia in my face. Hell, a good chunk of the Internet makes good money doing that, so I can hardly avoid it. I just shrug, grunt an apathetic "meh", and move on.

      Similarly, at least one of my good friends -- who I unfortunately haven't seen in a bit over a year, due to a job-related parting of ways -- is quite straight (sadly for me) but wasn't the least bit squeamish about seeing e.g. gay porn bloopers, or even mainstream straight porn for that matter.

      --
      Range Voting: preference intensity matters
    4. Re:What an idiot by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      If he's a heterosexual male, you have to feel sorry for the fact he saw the genitalia of other men.

      Um, yeah. This totally explains why all doctors are bisexual.

    5. Re:What an idiot by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 1

      It was meant to be more humourous.

  54. Sociopathy and Hypocrisy = Bad Karma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    Fortuny is not only a narsissistic sociopath, but a hypocrite; the two are commonly found together. Surely, Fortuny, like all of ous, hold personal secrets that we don't want others - or most others - to know. Would he be willing to 'expose' his personal secrets in a way that caused him personal embarrassment, or caused pain to others that he didn't intend? I doubt it.

    Fortuny's karma will be the fact that his reputation for committing his sociopathic and shameful actions will be ON EVERY INTERNET SEARCH ENGINE for the rest of his life; every time someone does a search on his name - i.e. potential employers, friends, lovers, neighbors, etc.

    Fortuny is far more troubled than any of the people he outed, that's for sure.

    What's really ironic is that people Fortuny knows well - possibly even close friends or relatives - no doubt harbor, and may even act on some of the fetishes that his victims were pursuing. S&M is not what most people prefer, but it's not exactly uncommon. What an irony!!

  55. All I can say is.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OWNED.

  56. How funny... by Shads · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... now he's yanking information that was on his site, design portfolio stuff, etc... silly man, doesn't he know about the wayback machine? :)

    http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://rfjason.com

    --
    Shadus
    1. Re:How funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it's awesome how he's super-smart too. It takes him mere hours to learn things that all you dummys here would need weeks to learn. Plus, he's equal to at least three +2 Slashdotters. I suggest you purchase his new book, "How I'm Better Than You, and Why You'll Never Be as Cool as Me - The Craigslist Chronicles"

      Reprinted with permission of Jason Fortuny's "Internet Rights!"

      Jason Fortuny Kirkland, WA. RFJason@RFJason.com 425-443-1573

      Summary
      Over ten years experience in graphic design, network administration, and customer service.
      It's like getting three employees for the price of one. Or, one that does 3 times the work of one employee, who's 1/3rd as likely to post company secrets on Craigslist, Livejournal, or my own awesome site RFJason.com!

      Tech Skills
      Software: Windows NT/2000 Server (IIS, SQL, Exchange, DNS, ISA, Terminal), Windows 95/98/ME, Office 2000/XP, Adobe and Quark products for graphic design (Pagemaker Rulz!), Siebel CRM w/telephony, Goldmine, and Cobra commander's EAS. I use Powerpoint for memos.
      Hardware: Servers, PCs and laptops, IDE and SCSI drives and hot-swap arrays, DDS / DAT tape backup, Cisco routers, T-1 lines, Ethernet, hubs, switches, and 802.11a/big wireless. Totally into X-box, and surfing Craigslist on company time.
      Technology: HTML 2, JavaScript, ASP 3, PHP 4, MS Basic
      I can learn new technology in a matter of hours instead of weeks like other technical people. Because I have an understanding of things you can't even comprehend. So you should hire me, because you're an idiot that needs someone like me to hold your hand, give you advise on Craigslist ads, and perhaps the best way to hire me.

      Experience

      Note: RSM and CI are owned and operated by the same president. Which might be my gramma, but I can't say, since she made me sign a NDA.

      2001 - 2002 Level 1 Customer Service, ProBusiness in Bothell, WA.
      Went on sabbatical from RSM for six months to enrich customer service experience, and take a class on MySpace. At ProBusiness, responsible for identifying customer issues, providing answers, ensuring issue resolution, and logging call details. I mostly swept floors at the food court, but made sure people got their ketchup packets, and I eavesdropped everybody's cell calls!
      Received eight times the average number of customer compliments as any other employee, as long as we were talking about my great hair! (See eavesdropping above)

      2000 - 2003
      Lead Graphic Designer / Network Administrator / Technical Support, Rubber Stamp Management, Inc. in Browns Point, WA.
      Produced and maintained all websites, spam trojans, web banner ads, weatherbug installs, short-run advertising material, company logos and spyware. Built and maintained all company servers out of Salvation Army XTs and a awesome Dell I got from my mom . Single point of contact for technical issues (we only had one phone). I got paid like 7.50 an hour, because they knew my secret Holy Trinity move - I'm 3 employees in one!. Developed cost-reduced method for letterhead and business card printing, and embezzled the extra money for Pokemon cards.
      Maintained 49% uptime for all servers, except the Linux one. Couldn't get the sound to work.

      1997 - 1999
      Assistant Graphic Designer/ Assistant Network Administrator / Level 3 Technical Support, Corporate Intelligence in Browns Point, WA.
      Produced all websites, web banner ads, spam, logo keychains, advertising material and 3-ring binders. Maintained all company servers when I wasn't cheecking Craigslist. Responsible for all technical support contact, 'Did you try rebooting?' Responsible for day-to-day operations, network security, backup, and disaster prevention, like when Slashdot links to my insightful blog that I totally had back then, because I was doing it! Responsible for all aspects of website service. Invented AOL and Increased service outages by 80%. (ok, just the outage part LOLOL!!11!)
      Established a graphic design edge over all competitors that made us "the

    2. Re:How funny... by NMerriam · · Score: 1
      take a class on MySpace


      WTF? This guy spent six months taking a class on MySpace and put it in his resume? That's like saying you took off a year after high school to learn your multiplication tables.
      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    3. Re:How funny... by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      It's kind of obvious that his whole resume etc. is a joke.

      My guess is the whole identity is a sham too.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    4. Re:How funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Take a look at his "privacy policy" on the contact page. I'd totally trust this guy not to divulge any private communications!


      Privacy Policy:
      You are sending me direct contact information that is sensitive. I protect your privacy in the following ways: (1) I will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever; (2) I will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides e-mail in the regular course of business; and (3) Your information is stored behind network address translation and a software firewall.


    5. Re:How funny... by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      It's kind of obvious that his whole resume etc. is a joke.

      Thanks for the heads up, you can tell I really didn't care enough about this jackhole to read past the first line. :)

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    6. Re:How funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The parent post is "creatively" embellishing RFJason's resume as the parent is one of the "victims".

      cmontyburns78@msn.com

      fuck the long message. want the cock or no, hon?

    7. Re:How funny... by generic-man · · Score: 1

      Apparently he does. Most of the Wayback Machine links that you and others have posted in this discussion don't work any more. He must have directed the Internet Archive to delete his site's archives.

      --
      For more information, click here.
  57. Re:Way to go guy... by hkmwbz · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Actually, it took a sociopath to publish these things.

    What's wrong with being a "pervert"? As long as you aren't hurting anyone, it should be fine. Does one lose one's rights just because one's secuality does not match yours?

    --
    Clever signature text goes here.
  58. Swan Cramming by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 3, Funny

    There's nothing more erotic than the feeling of the laryngeal muscles of a swan flapping wildly against your forearm as you slowly push a handful of oats into its belly. Once the bird faints from exhaustion and the muscles go slack, the sensation of limpness and the smooth, slippery bile-coated esophagus are akin to the finest silk pulled gently across the naked back. Imagine, if you will, the pleasure in consuming the regurgitated oats that spew from the fowl's beak and licking the dewy eyeballs of the near-death bird.

    Now to click the Post Anon box to keep my identity a secret.

    1. Re:Swan Cramming by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      LOL, BAG. You had me at hello.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    2. Re:Swan Cramming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You had me at "Dicks fuck assholes."

  59. So THAT explains it! by BeeBeard · · Score: 3, Funny

    So THAT's why I never got a reply! My self esteem was taking a pretty big hit there, what with my sending pictures of my erect penis to a complete stranger (which is a perfectly reasonable and intelligent thing to do, by the way), and then not getting back a reply. I'm just glad we live in a world where you can do such a thing with absolutely no repercussions, ever.

    1. Re:So THAT explains it! by LarsWestergren · · Score: 5, Insightful

      My self esteem was taking a pretty big hit there, what with my sending pictures of my erect penis to a complete stranger (which is a perfectly reasonable and intelligent thing to do, by the way), and then not getting back a reply. I'm just glad we live in a world where you can do such a thing with absolutely no repercussions, ever.

      Yes, it is just awful that consenting adults can get away with things in their private life that you don't approve of. Let's put a stop to that.

      --

      Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die

  60. Here's the asshole's contact info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Jason Fortuny
    320 10th St
    Kirkland, WA 98033
    (425) 443-1573
    RFJason@RFJason.com

    1. Re:Here's the asshole's contact info by Spurion · · Score: 1

      I'd be tempted to leave a message at this number ... but for all I know, it's the number of someone unrelated whom you just happen not to like :)

      --
      Any sufficiently self-referential snowcloned .sig is indistinguishable from nonsense.
    2. Re:Here's the asshole's contact info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's from his blog but I'm suspicious of that entry because it seems to be the only place left on his blog or website with his info. If he's been scrubbing his contact info since the prank, then why did he leave this? Maybe he just forgot it, or maybe it was wrong in the first place. Or maybe it's the number of someone he doesn't like!

      Here's the contact info for his domain registration, which was last changed in June.

      Jason Fortuny
      726 Kirkland Cir, Apt C203
      Kirkland, WA 98033
      (425)576-5417
      RFJason@Hotmail.com

      The phone number is disconnected. The address has appeared in other comments.

  61. Make the Punishment fit the Crime by giafly · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ...and add this scumbag to the Sex Offenders Register. The reported facts (which may be partial or incorrect) suggest criminal charges of soliciting and indecent exposure.

    --
    Reduce, reuse, cycle
    1. Re:Make the Punishment fit the Crime by reflector · · Score: 1

      good thing you're not a judge - sounds like you have a grudge and you'd try to stretch the laws to find some way to punish someone whose actions you don't agree with.

      sex offender registries should be for rapists and child molesters, not for someone pissing people off on the internet.

      indecent exposure? hardly, the guy never exposed himself.

      soliciting? soliciting a hooker is a crime in most places, soliciting sex is not.

      nothing you said makes any sense, really.

  62. Jesus by justin_speers · · Score: 1

    I just have to weigh in. This is the most incredibly depressing, immature stunt I have ever seen in my life. This man doesn't care about anyone in the world, he just wants his fifteen minutes and he isn't afraid to stomp all over everyone else to get it. Honestly, I hope someone seeks some non-violent revenge out on him. If only I weren't an atheist--I'd love to sleep better at night knowing this guy had to look forward to an eternity in hell. What is he, a middle-schooler? He reminds me of the people who ride by in cars screaming "fag!" at pedestrians. He's a coward and an idiot. He should be tarred and feathered and never work again. I hope companies google his name before hiring him in the future. What a sad, pathetic little idiot.

    1. Re:Jesus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can you wish this to anyone?
      Eternity is a long time. Maybe 1000 years in Hell would be enough? Or 100'000'000'000 years? Or (10^1000)^1000 years? Still nothing next to eternity.

  63. Classic by P0lyh34) · · Score: 0, Troll

    Thats fucking classic :D Anybody that doesn't find it funny, is probably looking for a dom woman and owns their own gimp mask.

    --
    -Polyhead-
  64. Makes you and him about equal, then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Makes you and him about equal, then. Do you see the irony? Do you know what irony means? Yes, that's a good boy. Wikipedia is your friend.

    1. Re:Makes you and him about equal, then by walnutmon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually, posting his info as an AC makes him much smarter.

      Eye for an eye, I suppose.

      Really, the problem with what he did was that it had no point. It was just an attempt to embarrass people, and give their identity out to others. There is nothing comming out of this other than hassles for him in his life. I don't know how he could not have seen that comming.

      --
      You take it, I don't want it...
    2. Re:Makes you and him about equal, then by Shads · · Score: 1

      Not quite, he got the information right off the guys website not under false pretexts in something presumed to be confidential. Shrug.

      --
      Shadus
  65. Ilegal because of copyright...? by Catmeat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    IANA(copyright)L . But don't all those men automatically have copyright over those emails and all the pictures of their bits? It's probably stretching the definition*, but those surely count as 'creative works'.

    Therefore, isn't republishing them without permission a copyright violation?

    *Opportunity left open for silly puns in follow-up comments.

    1. Re:Ilegal because of copyright...? by dvNull · · Score: 1

      Maybe the pictures but not the email. Besides copyrighting emails would open up another can of worms, namely whistleblowers who could then be sued for copyright infringement.

      If anything, he might be sued for harassment.

    2. Re:Ilegal because of copyright...? by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 1

      Maybe the pictures but not the email.

      Why not?

      Besides copyrighting emails would open up another can of worms, namely whistleblowers who could then be sued for copyright infringement.

      Which is why laws are/should be in place specifically to protect necessary disclosures in the context of legitimate whistle-blowing.

      --
      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
    3. Re:Ilegal because of copyright...? by localroger · · Score: 1
      Bingo! You are exactly 100% right. Although a lot of people seem to be highly resistant to believing it, the content of your mail does not belong to the person you send it to, it remains yours. However, copyright violation is a civil not criminal complaint, and there's really no standard for compensation other than the income derived, e.g. if Mr. Fortuny had made a shitload of money from the traffic generated to his site then the claimants could easily sue him for that and very easily win.

      However, I'm quite sure the violated parties would rather Mr. Fortuny spend some time in the PMITA hotel, and for that they'll have to look to the privacy violation aspect, which is also highly illegal and has criminal as well as civil implications.

      --
      Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
    4. Re:Ilegal because of copyright...? by vidarh · · Score: 1

      Wrong. Willfull copright infringement is a criminal offense in the US, with up to 5 years imprisonment and up to $250.000 in fines. Additionally, an infringer may be held liable under civil law for statutory damages of up to $150.000. This is a result of the No Electronic Theft Act, passed in 1997

    5. Re:Ilegal because of copyright...? by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 1

      >Bingo! You are exactly 100% right. Although a lot of people seem to be highly resistant to believing it, the content of your mail does not belong to the person you send it to, it remains yours.

      A letter from someone to you is yours to do with as you please. Get a legal threat? You can post it on your website. Get a letter from a celebrity? You can sell it to a collector.

      Social norms on the Internet are different. It's so easy to publish something that anyone who sends direct email is doing so hoping to keep things more private. But that's an issue of courtesy, not law, unless you've got a privacy obligation for some other reason (NDA with business associate, HIPAA, etc.).

    6. Re:Ilegal because of copyright...? by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      Um, right. So if you send an e-mail to me, I need to call you first to verify that I have permission to read it? What if I need to forward it to a relevant person that I work with? Oh shit, my friend is looking over my shoulder! Don't sue me!

      Oh, and Mel Gibson will be happy, he can just sue everyone that repeats what he said during the DUI incident.

      Yay for slashdot logic.

  66. Shitty poetry by Zork+the+Almighty · · Score: 1

    Here's some of his shitty poetry, care of the wayback machine:

    ocean's cold
    rfjason

    Closing up shop in a world of endless wonder
    All those rides sent your mind asunder
    I always thought you'd win the days last light
    I'm sorry that I was right

    Never fear the machine's darkness
    Even the roaring would leave you helpless
    I always knew you'd bring back someone
    To remind me of all that I had done

    Oh, ocean's cold

    They never told you to watch out ever
    Thrilled with the ride that they had never
    Ridden through all it's twists and turns
    The ticket dries and burns

    Oh, ocean's cold
    Do you feel it now, the ocean's cold

    You'd never know it sneaking up on you
    The permanance of what you go through
    I always thought you'd win the burning rays
    I'm sorry that you saw these days

    Oh no, ocean's cold
    Oh I feel it now, the ocean's cold

    --

    In Soviet America the banks rob you!
  67. on the internet, everybody knows you're a dog. by klang · · Score: 1

    A guy posing as a girl on the Internet? Well, it's a considerable chance. Have that in mind if you try to pick up "women" on the net.

    Also have in mind what you send unencrypted to unknown receivers.

    Furthermore, just because people send you stuff, it doesn't mean that you should go public with it.

    Stupid for sending, yes. Stupid for resending as a batch (with your own fucking private information attached), hell yes.

  68. Living up to your name... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The record industry want the public to have their information. They know the only way to get you to buy the product is if you listen to it. They also don't want to just market to one small segment: they want ALL the public to hear their product. They just want to make sure they pay for a permanent copy (and, oddly enough, now, for a non-permanent rental).

    In this case, the respondees never wanted the public to know, just the ones who were looking for a dom (if the info had been spread aroung the submissive community as leads for a possible master/mistress, I suspect there wouldn't've been an outcry).

    So your analogy was a bad one.

    1. Re:Living up to your name... by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 1

      Within the melee of distributing their information to 'legitimate consumers', the record companies and the victims of this prank are equivalent. They wish to disseminate their information to as many legitimate consumers as possible while also wishing to keep that data out of the hands of any not deemed to be legitimate.

      So the double standard still holds. It may be a false dichotomy to say that we must choose between a truly open society (all music is free and your personal information is too) and a closed, secretive society (where you pay to consume music and your private habits are protected from prying eyes), however where is the line to be drawn? Harm can not be the sole criteria. Is not the record company and by extension the musicians represented by them harmed by the free dissemination of their product? So what should the sole criteria be?

    2. Re:Living up to your name... by virg_mattes · · Score: 1

      Let me toss in a few flaws in your analogy to demonstrate why these two things aren't equivalent, and you can take it from there if you're still somehow confused about why there needs not be a "sole criterion" for such things.

      1.) The spread of a musician's music to those who have not paid for it is unlikely to do serious and lasting harm to his reputation. People aren't going to stop inviting him to parties or throw rocks in his window because someone pirated his music.

      2.) Having his music pirated is rather unlikely to affect his chances for future employment or association. Nobody is going to turn him down for a job because his music is being distributed illegally.

      3.) It's unlikely that his personal relationships (like his marriage) will be adversely affected by people pirating his music.

      Also a point is that there are a number of restrictions on the paid distribution of music that don't match in your analogy at all. For example, format shifting is a big bone of contention in music distribution that has no real match in the distributing of personal information.

      Still, the crux of the matter is that your analogy is bad because these respondents didn't want their information distributed widely. Said another way, it's unlikely they'd be willing to give it up to anyone who "paid" them, no matter who it was.

      So, your username is still accurate.

      Virg

  69. Poets are shitty by walnutmon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Poets Are Shitty
    A Haiku by Walnut mon

    Poets are shitty,
    Pretentious and retarded,
    Poets are so gay,

    --
    You take it, I don't want it...
  70. He lives in my apartment complex! by Mori+Chu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My girlfriend and I live in the same apartment complex as this Jason jerk in Kirkland, WA (a suburb of Seattle). He posted his address on a web site before taking it down. The only problem is that he didn't publish which apartment number he was in. There are only 4 apartments in our unit; he's in one of the upstairs pair.

    So now I'm worried that some of these furious men will come after him and will instead throw their rocks through my windows, or worse. I feel like my well-being has been potentially endangered by this guy. What should I do? Part of me feels like shouting his address (WITH apartment number) from the Internet rooftops. Part of me wants to post a sign on our door that says "sociopath A-hole Jason upstairs, not here." Maybe I should even alert the police. Any ideas?

    1. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Shads · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'd notify the police the person has received death threats and ask what they suggest... nah, i wouldn't. I'd get one of those nice name plates and post it by door with my first initial and last name. eg: B.Smith. That way yer not responsible if he gets killed, and people who show up know its not his apartment.

      --
      Shadus
    2. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shout it! Start right here.

    3. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He sounds like a guy who would switch plates on you.

    4. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by slightlyspacey · · Score: 2, Funny

      So now I'm worried that some of these furious men will come after him and will instead throw their rocks through my windows, or worse. I feel like my well-being has been potentially endangered by this guy. What should I do?

      Might I humbly suggest this as a potential solution?

    5. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Per+Wigren · · Score: 4, Funny

      Or maybe this... :)

      --
      My other account has a 3-digit UID.
    6. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by MadAhab · · Score: 1

      That's a practical response. You needn't - and shouldn't - stoop to his level by exposing information that might subject him to harm. But you surely want to protect yourself. You might let the landlord know as well - his/her property may be in danger and he/she might wish to put up a security camera.

      --
      Expanding a vast wasteland since 1996.
    7. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does it happen to be this address. Please confirm. Thanks :)

      Jason Fortuny
      726 Kirkland Cir
      Apt C203
      Kirkland, WA
      98033, US
      (425)576-5417

    8. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about posting it on Craigslist?

    9. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by neo · · Score: 1

      Step 1: Invest in giant arrow signs.
      Step 2: Point upstairs.
      Step 3. Move.

    10. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Turns out his apartment number is listed in his domain's registration record.

    11. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      good ol' whois!

      RFJason
      Jason Fortuny
      726 Kirkland Cir
      Apt C203
      Kirkland, WA
      98033, US
      (425)5765417
      (425)5765417
      RFJason@Hotmail.com

    12. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Part of me wants to post a sign on our door that says "sociopath A-hole Jason upstairs, not here."

      Why not? It's public information he apparently disclosed publically. Too bad! :-)

      No, I wouldn't be that mean. But I might be bold enough to knock on the Jason guy's door and ask him nicely if it was okay to put up a more polite sign saying "This isn't Jason's apartment. If you are looking for him, he's upstairs in room ##", for the amusement of listening to him explain why this *wouldn't* be okay. On the other hand, if he says "Yes, it's fine", then you have a free hand to do what you want :-)

    13. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Call the cops and tell them he's got a web site that runs afoul of the child online protection act with all the porn images and no age check.....

    14. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      This is the best troll I've seen in a long time. Congrats.

    15. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by GlacierDragon · · Score: 1

      Seriously, in a case like this you can notify the police about your neighbor's death threats (if they don't know already) and just your general concern that someone is going to come looking for him and get you instead and a) ask them for their advice b) request additional patrols in your area until it blows over.

      Notifying the landlord is probably also a good idea depending on the landlord. It *is* their property that is now at risk and if it's a company rather than an individual they may have a security firm they employ that can patrol your area. (Or they may even evict the guy...)

      --
      http://glacierdragon.smugmug.com - Check out my photos. No need to buy, even though I do need the money!
    16. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm tough choice:
      1) Lose security deposit
      2) Risk one nut job one dark night confusing you or your g/f for the other bloke and get badly hurt or worse. And even it they don't confuse you with the idiot upstairs you could easily get caught up in something you don't want to (like a fire for example).

      Not for $10,000 would I live in your apartment. Money can be made by, arms, legs and g/f's are not. Good luck.

    17. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by code4life · · Score: 1

      do what is in your best interest. you really don't owe anything to this guy. then again, posting anything on your front door may be misconstrued by some angry perons looking for vengeance... maybe post his full address on the all the nearby street posts? :D

    18. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I were you I'd just go get some buddies and go kick the shit out of him for being such a cunt.

    19. Re:He lives in my apartment complex! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why the hell should you go through all of this effort to protect your jackass neighbor? Jason went through all the effort to get himself into this mess, he should take care of this himself. If it were me i'd put up the sign welcoming visitors to me and my girlfriend's place with our names clearly printed and a photo identifying us.

      This guy's photo is already online along with his address including apartment number and I am sure that they have already communicated this to all others who have been targeted by this reckless behaviour so I don't think you have to worry about your girlfriend or yourself unless you look very similar.

      Just in case, you should key his car (write Jason on it?), from the very front to the very back including the lights, and deep. This way, the others know which car to destroy.

      PS: Responded to the wrong comment earlier

  71. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by rjstanford · · Score: 1

    Why is it more embarrassing to send these emails to the general public than some completely random member of the general public?

    Possibly because nobody actually just wrote up a sexually-explicit post and sent it to mailto:random(). They sent it to someone who, under false pretenses, was luring them into the open. Were they stupid? Sure. But there's a huge difference between responding to a request for information from an individual and broadcasting your response to the known world.

    --
    You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
  72. It's this simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I retain rights to republish any email addressed to me, if you disagree then don't fucking send me email.

  73. Maybe all this is fake, and this is a experiment? by file-exists-p · · Score: 1

    Actually, what would be nice would be that he faked the whole thing, and those people who supposedly responded are fake. As an experiment about respect of private life, and what people thing is right or wrong on the internet. This would be nice.

  74. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like "fancy a date"?

    Is that why you don't get out much? Or are you saying that you do ask your mum for dates?

    Deviant.

  75. bad title by dJOEK · · Score: 1


    'Poser pwns pervs, posts pictures'

    --
    Exercise caution when modding this message up: the author acts like a jerk when his karma is excellent.
  76. What's the problem? by rinkjustice · · Score: 1

    The men who sent lude photos of themselves to a perfect stranger they've never even seen shouldn't have a problem if a few thousand other perfect strangers see them.

    They let their passions override their common sence and this is the result. Good or bad, life has a 'funny' way of giving people what they deserve.

    1. Re:What's the problem? by Nijika · · Score: 1
      "Good or bad, life has a 'funny' way of giving people what they deserve."

      Ah, the Just World Theory... Yes, indeed.

      --
      Luck favors the prepared, darling.
    2. Re:What's the problem? by rinkjustice · · Score: 1

      No, it's aptly called cause and consequence, but some people wish not to believe this, because then they would need to study the implications of their decisions and be responsible for the outcomes of their actions.

    3. Re:What's the problem? by rbarreira · · Score: 1

      So if you ever get drunk and show your penis to a really hot girl you didn't know, you automatically deserve to be ridiculed on every newspaper and internet site?

      --

      The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
    4. Re:What's the problem? by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's called ignorance. We here on slashdot may all be internet-savvy enough to know the full implications of putting anything in electronic format, but the majority of people out there using computers really do take for granted that email is somewhat private. It just wouldn't occur to most people that some sociopath on the other end who they've never harmed is deliberately baiting them solely to fuck up their lives for no other reason than it amuses him momentarily.

      I'm sure a lot of people will be more careful now that they've heard this story, but these guys will wind up paying a pretty high price for their lack of imagination in how widely and quickly things like this can be spread all over.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    5. Re:What's the problem? by Nijika · · Score: 1

      Cause and consequence does not mean that any type of balance will be settled. You imply that they should "deserve" to be exposed, which is not true, and is not a matter of cause and concequence. The action itself can be seen as cause and concequence, but deserving of public exposure these people were not. And that's why the douchebag that pulled this off is going to get sued into the dirt, because the law (at least in America) has accounted for this type of crap.

      --
      Luck favors the prepared, darling.
  77. just incase anyone wants to SAY HI to this guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Registrant:
            RFJason
            726 Kirkland Cir
            Apt C203
            Kirkland, WA 98033
            United States of America

            Registrar: DomainPeople Inc.

            Domain Name: rfjason.com
                    Created on .............Wed Oct 18 23:23:23 2000
                    Expires on .............Thu Oct 19 02:45:15 2006
                    Record last updated on .Sun Jun 26 16:38:53 2005

            Administrative Contact:
                    RFJason
                    Jason Fortuny
                    726 Kirkland Cir
                    Apt C203
                    Kirkland, WA
                    98033, US
                      (425)5765417
                      (425)5765417
                    RFJason@Hotmail.com

            Technical Contact:
                    RFJason
                    Jason Fortuny
                    726 Kirkland Cir
                    Apt C203
                    Kirkland, WA
                    98033, US
                      (425)5765417
                      (425)5765417
                    RFJason@Hotmail.com

            Domain servers in listed order:
                    ns0.xname.org 195.20.105.149
                    ns1.xname.org

    (rfjason.com)

    1. Re:just incase anyone wants to SAY HI to this guy by freedom_india · · Score: 1
      Thanks a LOT buddy.

      Just subscribed him to a few **helpful** websites that promise to enlarge.....

      Oh and since his number is NOT on DoNotCall list, thought i would help some telemarketers too....

      Ciao Jason!

      --
      "Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
    2. Re:just incase anyone wants to SAY HI to this guy by Sal+Zeta · · Score: 1

      Just a sec...Are you REALLY sure that it's him?

      After all, considering he actually did, wouldn't be too unresonable to think he is just using the identity of one of his neighbours.

      Maybe now he's just having fun at the show of the real Jason Fortuny being kicked to death.

  78. Obviously a sadist eliminating other sadists by mattr · · Score: 1

    Fortuny clearly is a narccisistic sadist. Since he posted an ad to out sadists inhabiting what he interprets as an environment intersecting or congruent to his own territory, effectively he has removed or "demoted" his "competition", in a twisted simian or serial killer like sense.

    He imagines that this feat proves his superiority and that it will net him rewards, so he can "get the girl" or be showered with praise etc. Though it would make more sense if he is seeking a male masochist, since he could just wait for the guys he outed to contact him for a date. Since Fortuny seem to be spectacularly oblivious to consequences I could believe that, which is why I expect him to get a severe physical beating from someone real soon now.

    Looking forward to hearing the follow up on whether he gets sued, "demoted" or otherwise fried for this since the last thing we need is copycats. I thought programmers were kind of altruistic but I can't tell if this is an evil one or just that the bar has gotten lowered so far that it attracts nasty pieces of work like Fortuny. (somehow I find it hard to imagine that is his real name).

  79. Under that reading of "acceptance" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jason can become someone's bitch and there has been no law broken, because he'd requested such treatment.

  80. Talking of funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  81. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Why is it more embarrassing to send these emails to the general public than some completely random member of the general public?

    Presumably you'd have no problem with your wife writing a tell-all expose on your most depraved sexual fantasies and other pillowtalk without your knowledge or consent?

  82. trusting or gullible? by speculatrix · · Score: 1
    there's a book called "Join Me", a true very interesting and amusing story of people responding to an anonymous advert. it is surprising how trusting people were, but also it showed there were a relatively small number of nutters around. The website is at join me

    see the book at amazon

  83. why report this on Slashdot? by jjustus · · Score: 1

    Why is this act of vandalism being reported on Slashdot? The guy who did this is clearly disturbed, publicity is what he is seeking, and publicity will serve to do further damage to the people involved.

  84. His resume is fucking hilarious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    http://web.archive.org/web/20050223012842/rfjason. com/resume/?page=resumecomplete Sites: http://rubberstampmanagement.com/Default.htm Jason Fortuny Kirkland, WA. RFJason@RFJason.com 425-443-1573 "It's like getting three employees for the price of one." "I can learn new technology in a matter of hours instead of weeks like other technical people." "Went on sabbatical from RSM for six months to enrich customer service experience." "Developed cost-reduced method for letterhead and business card printing."

  85. Two points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
    "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say on the Internet can and will be used against you."

    What I love about /.'ers is the giant screamfest you guys put out over the government and business abusing private information gained through nefarious means but soon as the masses do it ... it's ok. Hypocritical IMO. Which brings me to my second point ...

    You have the right to speak to an attorney, but he can't help you take back what you said on the Internet. Nobody can

    Ok we all know the information cannot be taken back. That's nice. But how do we know these people that responded are really those people's photographs and backgrounds? Physical possession does not equal authentication.

    What would the author have to gain from "outing" some of these people? Remember that question about who gains you guys always ask of government? Perhaps you should apply it here. I'm not saying all of them are part of some grand fake. But one of the people "outed" was the husband of a community moderator that the prankster was banned from. And a moderator from Encyclopedia Dramatica took joy in telling the wife moderator what had happened. That seems a little too coincidental.

    Let's also talk about the provenance of all this. Why is that thousands of people on the net automatically assume that the information provided to them out of nowhere is true? You guys should check out the Encyclopedia Dramatica history. That's an awful lot of people working on an article that supposedly came from one person. It's also a lot of people with an axe to grind against certain people. It's not like the after-analysis of the raw information is objective.

    Lastly, but oh so aftmostly, let us talk of the prankster himself. This story was linked too yesterday on MeFi. Some of the people on that thread found some embarrasing material on the prankster as well. Like bad poetry and so on. Guess what? He took them down after people started linking too it. So not only do you have a guy who gets a kick out of publishing people's private information but he's against his own being published as well.

    1. Re:Two points by CortoMaltese · · Score: 1

      I would like to point out that I never said I thought it was okay for this guy to do this. I think he also should have realized he can't take back what he just did. It's out there, and he can't do anything about it. Everyone knows now he's a jerk, but that'll be the least of his concerns when all these people he screwed start suing him. And he'll be lucky if they merely sue him. This has potential for a Darwin Award.

    2. Re:Two points by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Nobody is saying what this guy did was ok. What they're/I'm saying is that only an idiot would send private info to a stranger (who in this case is apparently also an idiot).

      My name? Yeah, you can have that. Address? Sorry. Ten years ago yeah, but we have Google Earth now. Call phone? Are you crazy????

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    3. Re:Two points by 2short · · Score: 1

      "My name? Yeah, you can have that. Address? Sorry. Ten years ago yeah, but we have Google Earth now. Call phone? Are you crazy????"

      Are you sure you want to be so critical of others letting their personal info get out there, Mr Steve McGrew, of 398 Rue Keroack, St-Bruno-De-Montarville, Quebec? Perhaps I should call you at 1-450-441-5458 to discuss it? I suppose I could stop by, but it looks like your neighbor has a nicer pool.

    4. Re:Two points by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      You have the wrong Steve McGrew. I'm not a Canadian, never even visited there. In 1998 when a Sreve McGrew emailed me with "look at my neato web site" and even in 1998 there were six different folks with my name. There are likely dozens on line by now.

      Most prople confuse me with the "white trash world" guy in Colorado. I'm not him, either.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    5. Re:Two points by 2short · · Score: 1

      Kind of weird to give everyone who reads your slashdot posts a link to some other guys web site just because he has the same name, but OK. I was just trying to be a smartass in any case.

      I still argue your contention that the victims were to blame here. They ought to have been more cautious, but that doesn't justify the illegal assholery inflicted upon them.

    6. Re:Two points by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Well, the victims weren't to blame, but they weren't very smart. And actually, if someone dug hard enough they could figure out which McGrew I am, just because I've posted a lot of stuff on the internet. But I don't expect anybody to look that hard.

      Of course, maybe I'm as dumb as this guy's victims? How would I know? Most morons I've bene acquainted with think they're Einsteins.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  86. You don't understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He did it for the lulz.

  87. Still funny when google does it? by ztransform · · Score: 2, Interesting

    .. because it has happened (see this link).

    The truth is a LOT of personal information of ours is stored in computers. Some of it is benign. Some of it is kinky. Some of it could put our financial, social, and medical lives at risk!

    In this circumstance we are talking about someone who divulged information of a sexual nature - but google can do this too by matching gmail address cookies with search phrases.. scary!

  88. A blatant display of intolerance by northwind · · Score: 1

    It is one thing to catch pedofiles snaring their prey, but these people hasn't done anything wrong. Neither have they set out to any malicious endevour.
    They merely have a specific taste in sex, much like people who likes blondes, or ... black females.
    To act like this person is to feed the very same monster which has killed so many people and maimed even more.
    Shame on him - this is not a harmless prank

  89. Re:What a moron. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hi Jerry! Took you long enough, I thought for sure you'd have first post!

  90. copyright violation? by cdn-programmer · · Score: 0, Troll

    I find this funny. Personally I think there ought to be more accountability and while these jerks were baited there is no doubt that had this been a real "oppotunity" many of them would be out cheating on their spouses and possibly bringing home a serious infection such as AIDS.

    As for the copyright violations - that is a tough one. The copyright to an email and a jpeg rests with the author. However this was published and in such a fashion that it might actually be public domain. In the USA one must register the copyright prior to publishing and if this is not done the copyright becomes imperfect and as such enters limbo. (IANAL but I have researched this).

    The thing is that if one of these jerks wishes to challenge him then it will be via a civil suit. Any evidence submitted will become public (by default) and I am sure the press will cover the story. The identity of the plaintiff and the defendant will become public knowledge.

    Unless the guy wishes to become a porn star he may not want the exposure so to speak.

    The way I see it is that its THEIR OWN DAMN FAULT and I suspect a court will see it this way.

    I want the popcorn stand. This should be fun to watch.

    One thing this does actually expose is that on many dating sites the female profiles are bogus - over 90% in some cases. Most women would die of embarassment before posting anything and certainly before posting anything their mother or daughter might see.

    Being single and finding a partner can be very tough. A lot of dating sites have been defrauding the public in an attempt to exploit this. Then we have of course a lot of married preditory men poising as singles so they can cheat on their wives. Pretty sad - but if these jerks at least are exposed then I say good.

    This having been said - one site that seems legit is www.plentyoffish.com

    ------------

    I sometimes wonder if our society will change so that a score sheet from prior spouses and girl friends / boy friends will become available. In "The sociopath next door" it is suggested that more than 20% of the population simply doesn't give a S**T about anyone other than themselves.

    I wonder how many women would like to know if the guy they are dating abused his previous GF?

    There are a lot of nice honest guys out there - but there seems to be a preference on the part of many women to pick the dangerous types. Then they look to find a nice guy to raise their brood. Giving a heads up might level the playing feild a bit.

    1. Re:copyright violation? by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As for the copyright violations - that is a tough one. The copyright to an email and a jpeg rests with the author. However this was published and in such a fashion that it might actually be public domain.

      How on earth does sending a private mail constitute publication?

      In the USA one must register the copyright prior to publishing and if this is not done the copyright becomes imperfect and as such enters limbo. (IANAL but I have researched this).

      I'd like to see your research, then, because AFAIK that hasn't been the situation in the US for many years now, and never was the situation in some jurisdictions.

      --
      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
    2. Re:copyright violation? by cdn-programmer · · Score: 1

      Its a legal term. You'll have to ask a lawyer why this is the case.

      Copyright and patent law has different meanings to words that the rest of us who speak the English language. For instance if you design a dress and wear it to a party then you have "published" the design.

      I think this would be the case in any public disclosure. As for a private disclosure - I'll have to check that. I think if one were to invite guests to a private party then this would still be considered "publishing". However if one were to answer the door because a delivery person rang the doorbell while wearing said dress - then this might not be publishing - I don't know.

      ----------

      Funny - the reply gets modded up as the main post gets modded "Troll". Seems the moderation around here is about as bad as normal. Ugghhh!

    3. Re:copyright violation? by NMerriam · · Score: 2, Informative

      As for the copyright violations - that is a tough one. The copyright to an email and a jpeg rests with the author. However this was published and in such a fashion that it might actually be public domain. In the USA one must register the copyright prior to publishing and if this is not done the copyright becomes imperfect and as such enters limbo. (IANAL but I have researched this).

      The US hasn't required registration for Copyright since 1976 (though it has advantages in damages awarded). And there is no such thing as "releasing it in such a fashion that it might be public domain" -- authors have to make any transfer of rights and ownership explicitly, there is no such thing as implicit transfer of copyright under current US or international law (most major countries are signatories of the Berne Convention).

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    4. Re:copyright violation? by vidarh · · Score: 1
      As for the copyright violations - that is a tough one. The copyright to an email and a jpeg rests with the author. However this was published and in such a fashion that it might actually be public domain. In the USA one must register the copyright prior to publishing and if this is not done the copyright becomes imperfect and as such enters limbo. (IANAL but I have researched this).

      Research some more. Registration is not required in any country that have ratified the Berne convention on copyright, which includes the US. In the US registering copyright is required in some cases if you want to pursue an infringement case, but the registration can be done when you decide to go to court - it doesn't need to have been registered on or before publication.

  91. Let's recap by Stalyn · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Using copyright to apply DRM to media: Bad

    Using copyright to sue someone who tricked you into posing nude: Good

    *Looks at url bar* Yeah that's about right.

    --
    The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
    1. Re:Let's recap by AaronLawrence · · Score: 1

      Using copyright to apply DRM to media

      This statement makes no sense.

      Using copyright to sue someone who tricked you into posing nude

      Hm, this statement doesn't make any sense either. I don't think anyone would use copyright in their action, it would be about privacy and infliction of emotional distress.

      I think you're stretching this beyond sensibility.

      You should also try to bear in mind that Slashdot has several different people on it.

      --
      For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
    2. Re:Let's recap by TheNumberless · · Score: 1

      Let's rephrase this in a manner that is less profoundly stupid:

      Using DRM to enforce restrictions beyond those which are provided for by copyright: Bad

      Using copyright law to seek justice against someone who lied to you, manipulated you, and violated your privacy: Good

      Does this make a little more sense?

  92. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The quantity of dribble in your picture is anadequate. For that level of scorn you need at least three, viz. :P~~~

    Love,
    The Emoticon Nazi

  93. Teaching a lesson. by C10H14N2 · · Score: 1

    Makes about as much sense as walking up to someone on the street and shooting them in the back, then laughing and pointing at them for not being more careful because, you know, there are crazy people out there who will do bad things to you.

    Uh, yeah... apparently.

    Frankly, he should be put on the sex offenders list. That'd learn 'im.

    1. Re:Teaching a lesson. by Don853 · · Score: 1

      So I should have the same assumption of personal risk walking outside at night as I should sending nude pictures of myself with detailed contact information to someone I don't know over the 'net? Sure, the guy is an asshole. But I have a hard time feeling very sorry for people looking outside their marriage for a tryst. You can't get caught cheating if you don't do it.

    2. Re:Teaching a lesson. by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1
      But I have a hard time feeling very sorry for people looking outside their marriage for a tryst. You can't get caught cheating if you don't do it.

      Not all respondants were married. And at least one was in an open marriage, wherein looking outside the marriage for a tryst is not cheating but is a specifically agreed up option.

      And there is a large difference between being caught in a marital infidelity, and being publically exposed for the sort of minority sexual practices that can get you ostracized, fired, or beaten up in some communities.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    3. Re:Teaching a lesson. by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Makes about as much sense as walking up to someone on the street and shooting them in the back, then laughing and pointing at them for not being more careful because, you know, there are crazy people out there who will do bad things to you.

      There are places where no sane person would dare walk after dark, especially wearing white skin.

      There are also places where no sane person would hand out nudie pics of himself.

      Caution: there are jerks on the internet!

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  94. Somewhere around 4% of the population by Colin+Smith · · Score: 1

    Are sociopaths or psychopaths, on average, so if you fuck over around 150 people, there will be on average something like 6 of them who would quite happily take revenge literally without any consideration of the consequences and without conscience.

    RFJason is making the same mistake his victims made, he thinks he's somewhat anonymous, but there's no such thing, especially if he's used an identity for quite a while. Someone will find out where he lives, who his friends are. That's karma for you.

    --
    Deleted
    1. Re:Somewhere around 4% of the population by cocotoni · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Somewhere around 4% of the population Are sociopaths or psychopaths, on average, so if you fuck over around 150 people, there will be on average something like 6 of them who would quite happily take revenge literally without any consideration of the consequences and without conscience.
      Unfortunately, the situation is much worse for him than 6 psychos. In fact there is now an open season on Jason. With 150 guys with a motive to harm him, there are also other 10'000 male psychopaths of Seattle (4%). They don't have the motive, but they don't need it (they are psychopaths). What they have is the list of 150 other people that will be prime suspects before anyone even thinks of widening the scope of the suspects.

      I really hope that no one bent on killing picks this up.

  95. Is it this one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    726 Kirkland Cir Apt C-203
    Kirkland, WA 98033

    ---
    I would be worried, that's from wayback...and I'm internet savy and have used CAS for kinky stuff. But then again i live in SF and know lots of poly types. someone else might be extremely pissed.

    ---
    the dude used to run an SM website too. fuckin asshole.

    1. Re:Is it this one? by halivar · · Score: 0, Troll

      Umm... so, you've decided "to hell with the moral high-ground?"

      You're just as bad as he is now. Congrats.

    2. Re:Is it this one? by crabpeople · · Score: 1

      Once someone has broken the moral trust, you are free to hold them to their new self imposed morality -- or lack there of.
      Fuck this guy.

      --
      I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
    3. Re:Is it this one? by TWooster · · Score: 1

      Might I add:

      whois rfjason.com:

      Registrant:
      RFJason
      726 Kirkland Cir
      Apt C203
      Kirkland, WA 98033
      United States of America

      Registrar: DomainPeople Inc.

      Domain Name: rfjason.com
      Created on .............Wed Oct 18 23:23:23 2000
      Expires on .............Thu Oct 19 02:45:15 2006
      Record last updated on .Sun Jun 26 16:38:53 2005

      Administrative Contact:
      RFJason
      Jason Fortuny
      726 Kirkland Cir
      Apt C203
      Kirkland, WA
      98033, US
      (425)5765417
      (425)5765417
      RFJason@Hotmail.com

      Technical Contact:
      RFJason
      Jason Fortuny
      726 Kirkland Cir
      Apt C203
      Kirkland, WA
      98033, US
      (425)5765417
      (425)5765417
      RFJason@Hotmail.com

      That's not precisely private information, and additionally, I second the other response to your post. Fuck this guy. Additionally, for the copy-cat, cosmicjohn, who lives in Portland (my home town), and whom I will personally spit on if I ever see him walking down the street, this is his livejournal:

      http://cosmicjohn.livejournal.com/

      Very sparse information on this piece of human feces, but he's also a Wikipedia editor, though it doesn't look like he does much:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jogabbeyjr

      Fuck both of these guys.

  96. What an asshole by CharonX · · Score: 1

    Ok, maybe those guys were a bit naive to send personally indentifiable information of such delicate nature to a Craiglist entry.
    BUT
    they never assumed that somebody would just post it on the internet. He probably destroyed several marriages, cost a job or two and ruined the lives of several of the respondents. For what? I think he deserves whatever he's got coming to him - be it a lawsuit or a real good beating (probably some of both).

    --
    +++ MELON MELON MELON +++ Out of Cheese Error +++ redo from start +++
  97. Good plan for identity theft by gutnor · · Score: 1

    I just wonder if the guy was really so dumb... After he did nothing to avoid "ends up suffering some form of retribution over this stunt". He should know very well what could happen since after all he used the same kind of information building his stunt.

    So I start to wonder, if the guy provided real personal information. Or if the guy didn't provide the real information but of somebody he didn't like. Just imagine you hate one of your coworker. You just need little : build a little trick like this one and say you are your coworker.

  98. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are no such things as Grammar, Spelling, and Emoticon Nazis!

    -- Your friendly neighbourhood Nazi Nazi

  99. The real problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The real problem here is that so many people are getting upset about the apparent existence of people who are into sm. That one can't be overt about his/her sexual desires without having to fear sanctions from society.
    I personally don't give a shit if my employer or my employee are gay, sm, whatever. (Of course, if those desires include or lead to hurting other people against their will, that's another story, that needs to be taken care of by the police.) And I am convinced that this is the way everybody should feel if we want to live in a world thats worth living in.

  100. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    anadequate

    Spelling Nazi -- SMASH!!!

  101. Good luck on that job search by jridley · · Score: 1

    It'll be interesting when this guy starts looking for a job. I think it's pretty standard practice to google someone's name when you're interviewing them for a job these days. This guy is going to have this prank as hit numbers 1 through 100 for the rest of his life. Anyone reading about this is going to run like hell; he obviously can't be trusted with private information. I certainly wouldn't hire him; every company that hires professionals at some time or another expects their employees to keep certain information confidential.

    1. Re:Good luck on that job search by jridley · · Score: 1

      OK, I just re-read TFA. Whoa, this guy's a web developer? If he's freelance, how does he figure he's ever going to get another contract? If he's permanently employed, he'd better hope he's got a position he likes now and isn't working in an at-will employment state.

  102. Stupidity is it's own reward. by 9mind · · Score: 1

    If you are stupid enough to send out information to random individual over the internet, you deserve what you get. I just wish someone would do this with child pornogrpahers... but wait, they are hard to catch because unlike these idiots... they aren't stupid!

  103. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by cloudmaster · · Score: 1

    Presumably most people know )and trust) their wife a little better than some random person who posted an ad on cragislist?

    The point is that these people sent their information to someone they don't know *at all*, which is roughly similar to just posting it on their web page for all to see.

    Personally, I wonder why the're doing things that they're emberrased by to begin with. Seems like it might be useful to seek phsychiatric help such that they can either accept themselves for what they are, or change to reflect what they want to be. It can't be fun living a life where you're perpetually ashamed of yourself...

  104. Link not work safe!!! by porkThreeWays · · Score: 2, Informative

    I found out the hard way =(

    --
    If an officer ever threatens to taze you, say you have a pacemaker.
  105. An opportunity for profit by UncleMark · · Score: 1

    This fool could learn a few valuable lessons by spending a day or three in the company of a strict Dom. He wouldn't be able to sit for a few days to post an apology but I'm sure it would be worth the wait. And think of the cash that could be generated by selling the videos from his "training sessions".

    ---
    If you're going to do it, do it like you mean it.

  106. You did it wrong by ari_j · · Score: 4, Funny

    You're supposed to say you're an extremely wealthy, young medical doctor who is a cross between Brad Pitt and Doogie Hawser who makes $950,000 a year developing cures for third-world orphans. Then you get naked pictures of foolish but beautiful young women instead of lonesome, horny Slashdotters.

    1. Re:You did it wrong by Makzu · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to mention that you're composed entirely of a space-age alloy of chocolate and shopping.

  107. No sympathy by punkr0x · · Score: 1
    I think this guy has too much free time on his hands, but hey...


    If you have something to hide, don't put it on the internet! Yes, that includes emailing random people on craigslist!
    Simple enough.

  108. Terms of Use by Adm.Wiggin · · Score: 2, Informative

    Has anyone actually read Craigslist's Terms Of Use? ContentWatch (Internet Filter) blocks it, because the language is so explicit. IIRC, the whole personals section is a violation of those terms.

    http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html


    Also, under the do-not-post-under-any-surcumstances section (7 - "CONDUCT"), we find anything:
    i) that is false, deceptive, misleading, deceitful, misinformative, or constitutes "bait and switch";


    Sounds like this guy's in for a real surprise, especially if craigslist chooses to prosecute. I don't claim to know the full extent of the law, but I do know that they could nail him good for that one. That's what the Terms of Use are for.

  109. we regret to inform by stinky+wizzleteats · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dear Jason Fortuny,

    We regret to inform you that your services as network administrator will no longer be required. The job of any IT professional confers a tremendous amount of trust that important business or personal data will not be disclosed to third parties for any reason, including sociopathic self aggrandizing glee. Recent highly publicized events have caused us to question your ability to operate within that relationship of trust with any business. We must reluctantly conclude that you certainly cannot do so in our organization.

    Please gather your personal items and report for an exit interview in HR at 9:00 AM.

    Sincerely,
    Bernard Shifman

    1. Re:we regret to inform by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      ...

      A network administrator being allowed to gather his belongings and report himself to an exit interview?

      The first time most admins get a whiff that their there trouble is when the security guards show up to guarentee he'll not touch a company item till he leaves the building.

    2. Re:we regret to inform by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 1

      Plus isn't he a contractor? I just laugh when I hear such things...."we gotta talk" - "you've gotta work this weekend".

      Great thing about contracting - I don't "gotta" do shit. If we come to a mutual agreement to do something - then I'll go to the wall for you. I'll pound any tetris playing 9-5 hack's workflow into their boots with a jackhammer. I'll rape puppies for a deadline. But "gotta" don't rate shit.

      And I enjoyed typing that. Oh so enjoyed it. Where's my smokes?

  110. Heh, the ad response from a Microsoftie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jerry Cummings (ABM)

    v-jecumm@microsoft.com

    NSA meeting, and if we hit things off well, may turn into a safe and ongoing NSA friendship. This of course is if you like what we give each other lol I'm married and looking to fill the needs not being done at home. So if you're still reading, look at my picture, and think about it Me: 5'11" 160 lbs Hazel green eyes Blond hair Medium build Chat me: j_at_ms Yahoo Thanks Jerry Cell # (206) 793-9107

  111. Re:Way to go guy... by nmaster64 · · Score: 1

    Well, technically, there's nothing wrong with being a pervert. I'm not going to claim to not be one to an extent myself.

    However, it's more the display of stupidity than perversion that I'm condemning these people for. Anyone who gave away their real information to someone who they have no idea their real identity because they couldn't keep it in their pants...no, I refuse to feel sorry for those idiots.

    Although somehow I doubt very much REAL information was exchanged in this mess.

  112. Isn't that link valid only for media reporting? by rbarreira · · Score: 1

    Isn't that link valid only for media reporting? Does posting the same things on the internet count as reporting in media? Is this law applicable in this case? I have no idea...

    --

    The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
  113. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by NMerriam · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Personally, I wonder why the're doing things that they're emberrased by to begin with. Seems like it might be useful to seek phsychiatric help such that they can either accept themselves for what they are, or change to reflect what they want to be. It can't be fun living a life where you're perpetually ashamed of yourself.

    Then again, perhaps they are perfectly comfortable and confident of themselves, but recognize that most of society disagrees with their ideas of what is proper sexual behavior for consenting adults.

    It's one thing to be completely open about unusual sexual practices with friends and family, quite another to have them available on Google for future employers to misinterpret when they don't know what you are really like, and they have a mistaken stereotype of what someone with your interests will be like personally and professionally.

    --
    Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
  114. Re:Way to go guy... by hkmwbz · · Score: 1
    Being stupid doesn't mean that one doesn't have any right.

    You don't even have to feel sorry for them. I certainly don't. But what this guy did was sociopathic to say the least.

    --
    Clever signature text goes here.
  115. What comes around... by moxley · · Score: 1

    I predict that one way or another this guy is going to regret doing this.

    He's assuming that people are going to be too ashamed of their sexuality or of having sent information to someone who turned out to be scamming to pursue this civically or criminally; and my guess is that he is right about that most people.

    - however, there are plenty of people in the world who have no problem with what they do and who they are and have no problem with doing whatever it takes to make this guy pay. Whether it's a criminal case, a civil case, or more base methods of returning the screw.

    The post of the thread where he is going back and forth with the guy who is asking him to remove the personal information shows his arrogance, and, AFAIAC his ignorance as well.

    There is always somebody tougher, there is always somebody smarter, and there is always someone with nothing to lose - he obviously hasn't learned that yet.

    Also, as a previous post mentioned there is also the possibility that this will hurt him professionally at some point.

  116. In a word? by CrazedWalrus · · Score: 1

    Is NBC sociopathic as well?

    Yes.

  117. CL's Terms of Service...hope they go after him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    "You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content: ...
    g) that impersonates any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a
    craigslist employee, or falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your
    affiliation with a person or entity (this provision does not apply to Content
    that constitutes lawful non-deceptive parody of public figures.);

    h) that includes personal or identifying information about another person
    without that person's explicit consent;

    i) that is false, deceptive, misleading, deceitful, misinformative, or
    constitutes "bait and switch"; ...
    Additionally, you agree not to:

    s) "stalk" or otherwise harass anyone;

    t) collect personal data about other users for commercial or unlawful
    purposes; ...
    You understand and agree that, because damages are often difficult to quantify,
    if it becomes necessary for craigslist to pursue legal action to enforce the
    TOU, you will be liable to pay craigslist the following amounts as liquidated

    damages, which you accept as reasonable estimates of craigslists' damages for
    the specified breaches of the TOU:

    a. If you post a message that (1) impersonates any person or entity; (2)
    falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or
    entity; or (3) that includes personal or identifying information about
    another person without that person's explicit consent, you agree to pay
    craigslist one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each such message. ...
    f. If you aggregate, display, copy, duplicate, reproduce, or otherwise
    exploit for any purpose any Content (except for your own Content) in
    violation of the TOU without craigslist's express written permission,
    you agree to pay craigslist three thousand dollars ($3,000) for each day
    on which you engage in such conduct."

  118. Consequences.. by lionchild · · Score: 1

    There's been several comments about legal action; perhaps rightly so. But, the question I ask myself is: With a list of people such as he's exposed, what are the chances that someone will skip the courts all together, and go find the author for a 'personal chat,' or perhaps something more grave?

    I think my instict for self-preservation is a bit stronger than that.

    --
    Awk! Pieces of eight. Pieces of eight. Pieces of seven... ERROR: General Protection Fault. [Paroty Error.]
  119. what is acceptable, blaming victims etc. by beaverfever · · Score: 1

    "Prank yes, sociopathic possibly"

    Many of the posts I have read here discuss the men who responded to the ad and what they should have/have not expected. Perhaps Fortuny is getting off lightly in these comments because a man posing as a woman on the internet is one of the oldest clichés going, and it no longer surprises anyone. Fortuny posed as a submissive woman. If he did this on the street or a nightclub, more people would suggest he has a personal problem. What makes this deceitful behaviour acceptable on the internet?

    Perhaps some people believe that the internet is an inherently deceitful environment, and rationalise that everyone should be aware of that, and therefore victims have nobody to blame but themselves. If such an inherently deceitful environment were the case, then again the problem would be the deceit itself, not the victims' gullibility.

    "The more people understand that giving away personal information in an insecure environment is actually deeply stupid, the better for us all in the long term."

    The problem here isn't giving away information, but someone fraudulently gathering the information and believing they are free to do with it as they wish. In many cases of deceit, it is too easy to blame the victims, but they are just that: victims. Would you accept the rape of a woman because it teaches society a lesson about walking down dark alleys at night?

    (Having mentioned deceit and privacy, I expect that someone may point out that some of the victim's were married, which makes them deceitful. Their behaviour is not an issue here, it is the behaviour of Fortuny that is on the table. Exposing philanderers, weirdos or losers does not excuse Fortuny's actions, and it is not up to Fortuny to decide what kind of punishment they are to receive.)

  120. Prankster's life = destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't wait to read about what people do to the original "prankster".

    I wish I still lived in Seattle so I could directly participate in the karma exchange with some of my own 'pranks'.

  121. Criminal 2257 Violations 5 years Jail + $25k fine by quadszilla · · Score: 3, Interesting
    As someone who works in the adult space, I can tell you that what Jason Fortuny did was a violation of 18 U.S.C. 2257: Under a federal law, 18 U.S.C. 2257, producers and publishers of a "visual depiction of an actual human being engaged in actual sexually explicit conduct" are required to keep records showing the ages of the models.
    (B), "sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated-- (i) sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; (ii) bestiality; (iii) masturbation; (iv) sadistic or masochistic abuse; or (v) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;
    While it was designed to stop child pornography, you are required to keep records for everyone whose sexually explicit photos you publish. If you don't, 2257 calls for prison terms up to 5 years and $25k for a single offence. If one of those photos were mine, I would be contacting the Seattle FBI office today for enforcement.
  122. re: Nothing to be "torn" about, IMHO.... by King_TJ · · Score: 1

    Craigslist represents itself as a digital equivalent of the "classifieds" section of a local newspaper, in many ways. Sensible or not (and I think the more techno-savvy among us would clearly leans towards "not"), the public uses Craigslists under an initial assumption that it's roughly as "reputable" a place as the classifieds from the newspapers.

    (After all, it makes a big deal out of the self-policing nature of the system, where anyone can "flag" a post for one of several reasons, and a few "flags" immediately result in the message being pulled. That tends to give people some comfort, despite realizing all messages posted are anonymous.)

    Anyone who collects up private information of others and proceeds to repost it someplace is misusing the information he/she was provided with and is breaking the law. That seems pretty clear. The rest of the arguments are irrelevant here.

    If you "ask for sex using your work email address", you might be an idiot, but you're no less protected under the same laws that protect you when you do it under any other email address, only to find the person you communicated with was acting under false pretenses and reposted your personal info for the world to see.

    It's his work's problem to reprimand him or terminate his employment for his misuse of company email. It's not the job of some guy on Craigslist to assist in making it happen!

  123. People responded?! Big yawn. by Zixia · · Score: 1

    How is this even an 'experiment'? It's not like he's sailing uncharted waters, trying to find out if the BDSM scene is active or not. Of course it is, people do it all the time. It's asinine that he did such a thing, and to call it an 'experiment' or a 'prank' is absurd.

    This, if it happened, is a more interesting experiment, and didn't expose anyone's information.

  124. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by LKM · · Score: 1
    The point is that these people sent their information to someone they don't know *at all*, which is roughly similar to just posting it on their web page for all to see.

    Uhm... I see a little problem with your logic there. You need to replace "roughly similar" with "totally different."

  125. Don't fret. by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 1

    The guy posts to Encyclopedia Dramatica. Only the lowest dregs of "lol internet" bother to do that.
    Most other people really are a bit more considerate.

    --
    THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
  126. Odds on a messy ending by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anyone have a link to a betting pool on when this guy will be beat to death?

  127. ...And a career change to HR by woodsrunner · · Score: 1

    I agree with you. The thing that angers me the most is that he is hiding behind the cloak of reason that it was a 'scientific experiment'. It was no more a legitimate experiment than the Tuskegee Experiment.

    And yes, I hope he has his passport and bags packed. After all, the ad was seeking sexual sadists. But maybe that is what he was looking for.

    One hears so much about people not being hired for posting a picture of themselves drunk on mySpace... how is he going to explain this in an interview? Thanks to Google, he probably won't be getting too many interviews to be a network administrator anymore. He should probably consider a career move to HR.. this sort of action would be looked on admirably in that field. ;-)

  128. For all of you that say this is OK.... by MisterEGecko · · Score: 1

    How about:

    1.) You apply for a job via e-mail while still at your current job.
    2.) The prospective company takes your resume, contact information, and put it in a very public place and call attention to your current employer.
    3.) They claim it's OK because it was immoral for you to be seeking new employment; also, you e-mailed them, so you have no right to expect privacy.

    That's complete bull-crap and you all know it. The same applies here. It is a violation of privacy and decent human behaviour. This man is not a crusader, he is a sadist.

    -- Mr

    --
    Snarfle.
  129. Lame by austinpoet · · Score: 1

    I've seen good pranks, but the arrogance of the dude (in his writings on his blogsite) just makes this not as funny.

    I should have known when there was early mention of things posted on to Livejournhell

  130. There goes his next career as a sociologist by smchris · · Score: 1

    Blatently "unethical". But bless his heart, now that he's done it there's nothing stopping a sociologist from talking about it anecdotally. :) Even getting close to a subject by fraud and retaining the subject's anonymity can be unethical. Google the classic controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys' Tearoom Trade for historical background.

  131. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by gomoX · · Score: 1

    Just because it sounds like a childish prank it doesn't mean you can't get sued over it.
    Star Wars kid got a settlement with his "friends" for an undisclosed amount. And they were kids. And it was a video of stupid dancing.

    These are a lot of grown persons, nude, with full contact data. He *will* get his ass kicked either in court or on the street.

    --
    My english is sow-sow. Sowhat?
  132. Ooops... about his personal info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative


    Ooops, his info just happened to fall out of no where?

    Jason Fortuny 726 Kirkland Cir Apt C203 Kirkland, WA 98033, US (425)576-5417

    E-mail: rfjason@hotmail.com, rfjason@livejournal.com

    AOL IM: RFJason

    ICQ UIN: 126276821

    Yahoo! ID: RFJason

    MSN Username: RFJason

    Possible IP: 24.19.185.8

    Actually there may be a lawsuit. I contacted my lawyer and sent him the link. He said that there is the definite possibility for legal action both civil and criminal. But also that it could fall into federal crimes category.

    Hopefully a law firm in Washington will open a class action against him, plus the DA opens a case. I hope he learns not to "push peoples buttons" and gets the fucking living shit beaten out of him in prison. Yes, some of these guys are pervs or whatever, if you are trying to prove a point about insecurity, you could block out the full emails or addresses not to be an asshole and still get the point. You also just sent your name into Search Engine hell so good luck ever getting a job, since when your next potential employer decides to possibly Google your name.

    He also has no idea about being an admin, and can not call him self a network administrator because his contact mail script, is full of holes running off what seems to be his own box at his house. A+ for effort, you dumbshit. I hope you get what is coming to you. :)

    1. Re:Ooops... about his personal info by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 1

      I would imagine this sorry cocksucker will be dead soon.

      There are guys in the world who will whack you if you screw up their lives.

      And these are serious DOM types. You know, kinda-sorta unstable (and with violent tendencies) to begin with. And genius-boy decides to "push their buttons"? In public? With his contact info hanging out?

      This should be fun to watch...

    2. Re:Ooops... about his personal info by mad.frog · · Score: 1

      Oh, I doubt it will fun to watch, unless the watcher is (also) a sick fuck.

      Make no mistake -- this guy should get some serious smackdown in the civil court, and possibly jailtime in a PMITA prison.

      But the guy has already (probably) ruined some people's lives (or at least assisted in such in a malicious way), and now probably will get his own ruined... the whole situation is sad. Not fun.

    3. Re:Ooops... about his personal info by dubl-u · · Score: 1

      Ooops, his info just happened to fall out of no where?

      Heh. Of course, the most damning fact, which is that he is an asshole who humiliates people and ruins lives for his own amusement, is one he made public himself. I know I would never hire the guy.

      Hopefully a law firm in Washington will open a class action against him, plus the DA opens a case.

      I've got $100 for a legal fund run by the first reputable law firm to file suit against Jason Fortuny.

    4. Re:Ooops... about his personal info by Furp · · Score: 1

      I'll add in another $100 for a legal fund run by the first reputable law firm to file suit against Jason Fortuny. If and when that ever happens, reply to my comment. Those send email back to me.

  133. Worse than that... by ThinWhiteDuke · · Score: 1

    He obviously takes a lot of pleasure in torturing this Jerry guy. He plays cat and mouse while Jerry swings into full panic mode. Reading this transcript was literally painful. Seeing someone take so much fun at inflicting so much anguish to another person is deeply disturbing.

    The guy shows absolutely zero empathy towards his victims. In some way, he's a cripple. He lacks a basic ability that most people have : the ability to care and to relate. I think he's perfectly aware of the harm he's causing. He just doesn't think it's wrong.

    The fact that he chose to call this an experiment is revealing. In his mind, his victims are mere subjects not people with feelings.

    --

    It would be nice to be sure of anything the way some people are of everything.
    1. Re:Worse than that... by AaronLawrence · · Score: 1

      Zero empathy = the main definition of a sociopath.
      At first I was thinking he was just a stupid asshole, but it's worse than that, he's actually quite seriously unbalanced.
      Ungh, I think he needs to get some help. Wonder if he has family?

      --
      For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
  134. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by Tweekster · · Score: 1

    It already happens, that person you spent the night with last week, they told all their friends every detail about it.

    Deal with it. there are no secrets when it comes to sex

    --
    The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
  135. You sent him a picture of your DICK!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anonymous Coward above has got to be one of the "victims".

  136. Thanks Virg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's also the fact that, in theory, the musician wants EVERYONE to have a copy of their work. They may want paying, but even at 10c an album, that's over half a billion dollars.

    There is no way the respondents want everyone to have a copy, even if they are thinking about S&M. E.g Would they want their granny/grandad thinking about this?

  137. This article brings a whole new meaning... by Zorque · · Score: 1

    ...to "IANAL".

    *ducks*

  138. Illegal? by conlaw · · Score: 1, Informative

    Where did you get the idea that this conduct is illegal? It can be illegal if done by a government agency, but there's nothing illegal about an individual "outing" another individual. You may be able to sue the person who published the information for damages, but that's just a private lawsuit and has nothing to do with criminal law.

    1. Re:Illegal? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1
      Where did you get the idea that this conduct is illegal? It can be illegal if done by a government agency, but there's nothing illegal about an individual "outing" another individual. You may be able to sue the person who published the information for damages, but that's just a private lawsuit and has nothing to do with criminal law.
      Who said anything about criminal law? "Illegal" means against the law, not against criminal law. In order for you to recover damages in a lawsuit, there must be something illegal done. You seem to not understand what "illegal" means: it is not a synonym for "criminal".
  139. Not given away... stolen! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Prank yes, sociopathic possibly, may get some people to think a bit more before giving away potentially embarrassing or expensive data, priceless.

    They didn't "give" their data away. He stole it.

    They granted him the right to view the copy of the photo that they transmitted to him. He then illegally copied their photos and re-posted them on his web-site; and they can and should sue him for copyright infringement. He has no legal right to copy those photos; they're not his photos to copy. He's not the copyright holder.

    Just because you have some data doesn't mean you copy it, alter it (thereby making a derivitive work), or otherwise manipulate it. If it's not your data, you can't do anything with it without permission. If you do, you break the law.

    This is one situation where copyright law works to the victim's advantage.

  140. So how ethical is a Slashdot link to it? by SwedishChef · · Score: 0

    It's interesting to me that I couldn't find anyone complaining about the Slashdot link to this "experiment". If it's unethical, immoral, illegal and just plain nasty to post all those responses then what is it if one of the largest Internet sites clues in a few tens-of-thousand more people to it?

    But it's even more interesting that people still think that any ad for no-strings-sex on the Internet (on whatever site) posted by any "female" might be real. LOL

    --
    No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!
  141. No, but... by Belial6 · · Score: 1

    "Did any of the personal emails request the dude not post the naked pictures?"

    No but, when those pictures were taken, they immediatly fell under copyright for the photographer. They were clearly sent for private viewing to a specific individual, so there was not only no explicit permission to redistribute the copyritten work, but there was no implicite permission either. There has clearly been a federal crime committed here, and the individual who violated this law should have his home immediatly raided, his computer equipment siezed, be sentenced to the appropriate jail time, and have to pay the current maximum restitution for copyright violation.

    Just because these individuals were not big RIAA/MPAA corporations does not mean that they do not have the same legal rights to copyright. So, until copyright gets overhauled with something a little more sane, copyright is an obviouse and legal way to crush the guy who did this.

  142. Ok, lets get one thing straight by SQLz · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Tricking idiots on the internet is an American institution.

  143. Killed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This guy will be lucky if all he gets is sued. Come between ONE man and his wife (and consequently potential children) and you can end up with bullets in your head. So this guy fucked with lots of people who are into sado-masochism?

    He is probably not long for this World. For some people, this sort of loss and suffering can bring them to suicide and murder. Laws can't always compel a person to act within socially accepted norms when the person wants to die. Combine that with the fact that the person suffering, is suffering because of some asshole and then that asshole becomes part of a murder suicide.

    This guy is a moron. He thinks he has people worked out, but his inability to understand people will be his demise. At the very least he will be financially ruined. At worst he will be ash.

  144. Media attention is making it worse by KeepQuiet · · Score: 1

    If Waxy and then BoingBoing, Wired, ./ , NYtimes etc etc. didn't cover this story, I wouldn't hear about this incident and these people at all. Now the word is out and all these people are exposed even more.

  145. What's new here? by yipper · · Score: 1

    Check out the www.9news.com website. They've been posting
    pictures of the wanna-be pedophiles who answered a sting ad
    posted by a law-enforcement agency... by showing up at the
    rendezvous hotel room.

    And these guys ended up with sexual offender status.

  146. Childish by kbox · · Score: 1

    His childish attitude of "he he he, Men like sex with ladies!" makes him look far more pathetic than the adults, who broke no laws, that he exploited for his own gains... Good luck getting a job now Mr "Web developer".

  147. As ethical as the desire to check out the link... by Captain+Sarcastic · · Score: 1

    Slashdot didn't start the "experiment". Slashdot had no prior knowledge of the "experiment". Slashdot's links were to the news article that commented on the "experiment." The articles that Slashdot linked to didn't include any of the names, E-mail addresses, or pictures (sorry if you were disappointed!).

    Shifting the blame for the situation to Slashdot is nonsensical, but hey - "shooting the messenger" is a fun game with an ancient and honorable lineage, and any number can play.

    By the same token, how ethical was it for you to go and click the link to find out about the "experiment"?

    --
    Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
  148. That's "adult women pretending to be..." by coyote-san · · Score: 1

    An adult with a sexual interest in spanking little girls may still be newsworthy.

    An adult with a sexual interest in spanking adult women while role-playing? Very much not newsworthy unless there are extraordinary circumstances. E.g., a teacher who's already under investigation for inappropriate contact with students.

    I think there are two "highly offensive to a reasonable person" questions here. Is the responder's behavior highly offensive? Some individuals may feel that way, but as long as it's consenting it's legal and nobody else's business.

    Is the publisher's behavior highly offensive? Absolutely. I can't imagine anyone being indifferent to the public disclosure of their sexual fantasies. Even porn stars -- who make a living displaying explicit sexual behavior -- keep their private lives private. It is hard to think of anything that we consider more private and unsuitable for public disclosure.

    --
    For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
  149. been there, didn't do that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, people are tremendously stupid answering those ads. The stupidest I ever got was a guy from SLAC using his SLAC email address complete with full, extremely unique name to answer a strap-on ad. 30 seconds of Googling had me a photo and his entire CV. Did I post any of that anywhere? No, I did not. Sure, I was having some fun with the ad (I don't do strap-on, so don't send emails), but I wasn't out to harass and humiliate anyone. I wrote him back explaining his idiocy and sent him a Gmail invite which he accepted.

    One ad I placed because I thought it would be funny was "low sex drive seeks similar." I got a mess of heart-wrenchingly honest answers. Wasn't funny, as it turned out.

    So:

    a. even really smart people can be really stupid

    b. there are things besides BDSM you'd be embarssed to have made public

    c. a lot of ads on Craig's List are lies. A lot of the responses are also lies

    I don't know if what he did was illegal but I know it was mean.

  150. You're so cruel by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 1

    I thought that Fortuny had done something horribly cruel and needlessly sadistic to a bunch of strangers, by announcing their sexual fetishes to the world. I thought there was no more horrific form of public shaming.

    Until I saw this.

    You're a stone cold bastard, Zork.

    --

    You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

    1. Re:You're so cruel by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      Wait, horribly cruel and needlessly sadistic to Fortuny, or to a bunch of strangers on Slashdot who saw the damn poem?
      -f

  151. if you're gonna say something nasty, don't do it in writing, you jerk.

  152. As an IT manager at a Fortune 500 company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    let me just say this:

    Mr. Fortuny, you will certainly never work at any company where I have any say in the hiring process. This 'prank' shows you to be a thoughtless, self-serving sociopath who cannot be trusted to behave in a moral, civilized manner when dealing with personal information - something many IT staff do on a daily basis. Yes, maybe these people are 'perverts' in your definition. However, they have done nothing illegal and your actions have been without legal justification. They strongly call into question your trustworthiness to deal with matters of confidential personal or government data.

    I hope other professionals in our industry take this matter to heart in the same way and show you that posting information publically is a two-way street.

    1. Re:As an IT manager at a Fortune 500 company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I somehow doubt that it matters that you work for a Fortune 500 or that you are an IT manager.

      As far as I am concerned, this is just an example of a guy with creativity and ingenuity. He trolled a bunch of sick perverted freaks, I can hardly side with those guys and don't see why you would.

      I know that if this situation were about child molestors or predators, then everyone would be getting the rope ready for every one of those perverts he caught and calling him a hero.

      The moral of the story is - don't give out information to people you don't trust. If you're looking for sex, you're basically opening yourself up to a whole can of worms including STDs.

      Of course, if you're one of those guys who got exposed by him, then I could see why you would be upset!

    2. Re:As an IT manager at a Fortune 500 company by TWooster · · Score: 2, Insightful

      God, I hope you're a troll.

      This is not an example of creativity and ingenuity. This is an example of being an untrustworthy jerk who really isn't in touch with the ramifications of his actions. One's sexual leanings has very little to do with how they'll operate within a workplace. One's social interactions has much to do with how they'll operate in a workplace. This guy has shown that he is immature and cannot empathize with people, is willing to do pretty much anything to impress his social group (lolz, lulz, roflcopter, et. al.), and does not fully think through his actions. Not only did he harm strangers (stupid strangers though they may be), but he simultaneously put the companies that employ him at risk of community backlash. He is therefore a liability.

      If you like being whipped, gagged and forcefully dominated, it might reflect on your personality, but not nearly in the same way of the actions HE committed.

    3. Re:As an IT manager at a Fortune 500 company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      As far as I am concerned, this is just an example of a guy with creativity and ingenuity. He trolled a bunch of sick perverted freaks, I can hardly side with those guys and don't see why you would.
      I know that if this situation were about child molestors or predators, then everyone would be getting the rope ready for every one of those perverts he caught and calling him a hero.


      Maybe because unlike a child molestor, people who happen to enjoy that particular hobby haven't done anything WRONG, except in your narrow morality. Get it through your head, the vast majority of those people responded to a personal ad for someone who professed a like-minded interest that is perfectly legal, no different than drinking beer, watching baseball or eating apple pie.


      The moral of the story is - don't give out information to people you don't trust. If you're looking for sex, you're basically opening yourself up to a whole can of worms including STDs.
      Of course, if you're one of those guys who got exposed by him, then I could see why you would be upset!


      Nice unfounded assumption. Where have I heard it before though? Oh right - 'If you have nothing to hide..'

      Having read the comments on /. and Wired's article, I find that every person supporting this SOB does so while simultaneously condeming his victims as 'perverts'. Almost as though they feel threatened by people who like sex..

  153. his phonenumber here by slashbart · · Score: 1

    Maybe give the guy a friendly call :

    1. Jason Fortuny: Graphic Artist + Network Administrator
    personal.rfjason.com/resume/?page=resumenetworkadm in
    Published on: 6/22/2006 Last Visited: 6/22/2006

    Jason Fortuny Graphic Artist + Network Administrator ...
    Jason Fortuny Kirkland, WA. RFJason@RFJason.com 425-443-1573 ...
    Jason Fortuny offers network administration service to the Seattle/Tacoma area and graphic design service globally.

    2. Jason Fortuny: Graphic Artist + Network Administrator
    rfjason.com/resume/?page=resumenetworkadmin
    Published on: 10/13/2004 Last Visited: 10/13/2004

    Jason Fortuny Kirkland, WA. RFJason@RFJason.com 425-443-1573

  154. That is a good sign. by pavon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Logically, the only reason to be torn is if you think that one of the parties needs to be declared the innocent good guy. Emotionally, I would be worried if you weren't torn.

    The men who provided sensitive personal information to an anonymous stranger were foolish and took a big risk. The guy who posted this private information on a public forum did commit an immoral and illegal act. The foolishness of the doms one does not absolve Jason of his offenses, and his violation of their trust does not change the fact that it was stupid of them to trust him to begin with, nor does it absolve the ones who were cheating on their wives. These men have faced the unfortunate consequences of their actions, now it is time for Jason to face the consequences of his.

    On the other hand, it is a good that you can feel bad for what happened to someone while recognizing that they brought it on themselves. I mean that for both sides - the ones that had their trust violated, and the one who was to immature to realize that what he was doing wasn't just a prank. It only becomes a problem when people turn empathy into whitewash, or recognition of guilt into an excuse to demonize.

  155. Craigslist should go after him by bcguitar33 · · Score: 1

    I don't think that the fact that those people should have known better makes his actions any less reprehensible. I hope at the very least craigslist takes some action against him. From their TOS: You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content: ... i) that is false, deceptive, misleading, deceitful, misinformative, or constitutes "bait and switch"; Additionally, you agree not to: ... s) "stalk" or otherwise harass anyone; t) collect personal data about other users for commercial or unlawful purposes; I would say his acts qualify as a clear violation of this, don't you?

    1. Re:Craigslist should go after him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So.. they'll kick him off their service? Very mean threat.

    2. Re:Craigslist should go after him by bcguitar33 · · Score: 1

      Well, among the other things agreed to in the TOS is a cash fine, so there's that...

    3. Re:Craigslist should go after him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They might take stronger action if they think this "prank" has significantly hurt their business.

  156. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by Experiment+626 · · Score: 1

    It sounds like what the poster you are replying to is getting at is the relative amount of embarrassment of revealing private information to one random stranger vs. having it revealed to ALL random strangers. One's wife, however, is generally privvy to a bit more private information than "some completely random member of the general public" is, so your analogy in rebuttal doesn't quite fit.

  157. A commercial business does this regularly. by Animats · · Score: 3, Informative

    Most of the personals ads in Women seeking Men on Craigslist are fake. Most of them are spam for dating services, autoresponders for porno sites, or gay guys trolling for pictures of men.

    Some of the fake ads are from a commercial service, CatchEmOut.com. This company runs fake dating ads, logs the e-mail addresses, and, for only $4.95, you can search their database. "Find out about their secret life before it's too late" they advertise. "Dating and Escort sites are booming with some genuine people and many people just trawling for an affair or casual sex. If you think, or are just curious if your partner maybe registered on one of these sites, has answered to one or has contacted a prostitute via E-Mail there is now an answer." "We will look through our available database and let you know INSTANTLY which site they are registered on, or which ads they may have replied to."

    So someone has already been doing this. For money.

    1. Re:A commercial business does this regularly. by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      So for only $4.95 I can find out what people out there are so incredibly stupid that they would actually post their real name and not use a throw-away free email address on these sites, and therefore really should not be allowed to breed... sounds like they are performing a valuable service to society to me!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    2. Re:A commercial business does this regularly. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suppose the next time you make a mistake, you should reach for a knife and slice off your testicles! Hell, I'm sure you've made an error in the past due to naivety or inexperience, so you might as well cut off your nuts now, since by your own definition you should not be allowed to breed! We're waiting...

    3. Re:A commercial business does this regularly. by bourne · · Score: 1
      So someone has already been doing this. For money.

      There's also a site called Don't Date Him Girl which apparently is a database of cheating men. It seems to me that these services would be subject to the same sort of privacy laws that appear to have been broken by this guy.

      Or perhaps they'd be able to argue that there is no willful intent to do harm with the databases, while the callous outing this guy did clearly falls into willful intent territory.

  158. Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Having previously been friends with Jason in the past, I can say this is exactly the sort of thing he does for fun. He looks for ways to humiliate and degrade people. He is a deeply disturbed individual. Sociopathic is definitely a good term. Other people only exist for his personal enjoyment, nothing else. He cares not one iota for other individuals beyond what sort of entertainment he can glean from them. Based on what I've heard from the women who have attempted serious relationship with him, he is extremely emotionally abusive.

    Seriously, the more attention you give this childish prank, the more he will do it and the more people who will get hurt. Frankly, it's only a matter of time before he crosses the line and someone gets physically injured by Fortuny's "entertainment".

    Is it no surprise that such an attention whore has an LJ?
    rfjason.livejournal.com
    rfjason.com

    He considers us trash to be used for his enjoyment.
    Let's see that he doesn't "get away" with his abusive behavior any further, shall we?

  159. Bring out the gimp, boys. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the are real doms then they shouldn't mind what some little closeted masturbator like Jason does.

    However he is playing with fire.

    He might find himself in a PMITA jail very soon either a state one or a private one. ;)

  160. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by SilentChris · · Score: 1
    Presumably you'd have no problem with your wife writing a tell-all expose on your most depraved sexual fantasies and other pillowtalk without your knowledge or consent?


    If my wife chose to do that she'd have every right to. It doesn't matter if I "had a problem" with it or not. I don't need to give consent. That's the way free speech works.

    Think what would happen if people *didn't* talk when others had a problem with something, or had to seek consent. Whistleblowers would be stopped dead in their tracks. Enron executives would still be raking it in. Exposes wouldn't be written. We'd have no idea when our politicians were doing something wrong.

    People don't need to make others happy while exercising their first amendment rights.
  161. This behavior will reward itself by Sloppy · · Score: 1

    Lawsuits aside, this guy just pissed off a bunch of people who specialize in giving pain, and take enjoyment from doing this. Brilliant. I have a hunch that the details of the ad (i.e. straight female) are a hoax, but the generalities are not. This guy wants to get hurt and he's going to get what he wants.

    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  162. Pathetic? Yes. Little? Maybe, but not for long... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who knows, this guy may have just founded an entirely new category within the Darwin Awards...

  163. What's the difference... by eaglej · · Score: 1

    Q: What's the difference between an aggressive dom and Jason Fortuny?

    A: One's a sick pervert who gets off on abusing other people to make himself feel better. The other's just into a little bondage.

  164. Just sad by frenchs · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've been waiting to comment on this one. I've seen it floating around in a couple places the past few days (digg, fark, etc.). The most repulsive part of this is that on the Tucker Max messageboard, he is asking for advice on how to turn this into some sort of career move.

    My prediction is that this ruins his personal life, professional life, and finances. In the world of google, who doesn't run the name of a prospective employee through google? Lawsuit happy; Yep, he'd probably lose them and go broke. Personal life; I can't imagine there is much of one if he does this type of stuff, and even so, what girl would find this type of behavior endearing?

    His best option at this point would be to just shut up, let it go, and do some growing up.

    -steve
    1. Re:Just sad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why bother Googling him? Any tech company in the Seattle area (I've heard there are a couple) will employ people who read Fark, Slashdot, Digg, and other sites. Mr. Fortuny even boasted on his journal that he's given an interview to the NY Times, so he's got all the exposure he needs. When making a hiring decision, if even one interviewer knows how Mr. Fortuny feels about "private" data, I'd say that's an instant thumbs down. The man is clearly more interested in "lulz" for his Encyclopedia Dramatica friends than any sort of information security.

    2. Re:Just sad by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 1

      Because OJ Simpson showed the world - civil suits will bankrupt you for life. No wait, doesn't he still play golf and live in LA?

  165. Unverifiable Destination by lullabud · · Score: 1
    Does emailing someone your personal information act as an implicit waiver of your right to privacy?
    This was the part that stood out most in my mind... After considering the fact that e-mail addresses in the current e-mail system are unverified destinations, I decided that the answer is yes**.

    Who will assure you that the party you are replying to is a person at all? How do you know it's an e-mail address at all and not an entire mailing list? You have no assurance that you are dealing with a single person who is going to keep your information secret. You're essentially talking in the dark to an unknown number of listeners, but assuming that you are only talking to a single, honest person.

    ** I do think that any information you'd choose to send out in any e-mail in plaintext form is an inherent forfeit of privacy. This is why corporations have the intellectual property, copyright and privacy disclaimer at the bottom of corporate e-mails. I didn't see any of these disclaimers on the featured Encyclopedia Dramatica page. Perhaps if these people had used them they could sue for damages.
  166. My wife's response by triskaidekaphile · · Score: 1

    "if the woman LOVES it then how could it NOT NOT be offensive"

    --
    @HbFyo0$k8 tH!$
  167. In that case he may really be fucked by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    Things like that can and often are held to be legally binding. If you are going to go out and claim that you are going to protect privacy, you enter in to a certian legal obligation to do so.

  168. Bait an Obvius Fake. Re:The jokes on you! by Forge · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You know what's really sick?

    The text of the bait post doesn't match the Picture included with it.

    The quote: "i don't get fucked in my ass since my hole is tite..........don't even try or think about it."

    The girl in that picture, Looks like she has been Analyzed enough to need a diaper. To say nothing of doubts of tightness anywhere when you look like that from behind.

    --
    --= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
    1. Re:Bait an Obvius Fake. Re:The jokes on you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      This is modded 'Insightful'? God save Slashdotters!

  169. Civil standard by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

    Usually is "preponderance of the evidence", which is considerably stronger than "reasonable belief", though weaker than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard in criminal law.

  170. Google cache of a portion of Jason's resume... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Privacy lawsuits.

    Understanding privacy lawsuits
    The threat of privacy lawsuits is now very real. If you store customer data on your computers, you are legally obligated to take sufficient measures to protect that data. Personal privacy lawsuits can seek punitive damages at the million dollar level. Security levels one through three specifically address the threat of hackers who would seek to expose your data.


    What, an absolute, classic. You wanna hire this guy to help protect your privacy?

    The appartment he was living in when he last updated the whois for his domain, has since been vacated (1st of August, assuming the US 8/1/06 is not the 8th of January) and possibly occupied by someone else. So I hope some other COMPLETELY innocent person (at that address) is not hurt because of this guys idiotic actions.

  171. ambulance chasers form one line by White+Yeti · · Score: 1

    Considering the number of mailings a person receives from lawyers after getting a traffic ticket, or being in some sort of public accident, I wouldn't be surprised if the prankees already have a class-action suit brewing.

  172. Just deserts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm surprised by the misogyny on display here. I have no empathy for these so called 'victims'. They are the ones lacking empathy for their victims. They humiliate and degrade women for their own sexual gratification. They are sick, they DESERVE to have their sickening prediliction made public. Perhaps that will force them to get treatment.

    1. Re:Just deserts by Captain+Sarcastic · · Score: 1
      They are sick, they DESERVE to have their sickening prediliction made public.


      <IRONY=100%>

      Thank you for that inspiring bit of armchair diagnosis, as well as compassion.

      <IRONY=0%>

      You are missing the point of the exercise. The main issue isn't whether there are people into bondage answering ads. The issue is what the bozo who put the fake ad out there was trying to do. He sure as anything wasn't trying to make some statement about "bondage is bad." He was getting his jollies from tricking all of the respondents and broadcasting their personal information... which strikes me as a greater illness.

      If it was "pretexting" by HP investigators, you'd be yelling and screaming - and rightfully so. However, as this case involves people who indulge in a kink that isn't to your taste... your response tells us volumes about who you think has rights and who doesn't.
      --
      Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
    2. Re:Just deserts by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 1

      While I can't condone the sexual appetite of the people who responded to his "ad" - I can feel sympathy to their plight. What this guy did is simply morally, ethically and potentially, criminally (and civally) wrong. What if he posted his ad soliciting homosexuals and then outted them with the purpose of destroying their life because he doesn't like homosexuals? Would this then be a hate crime? Does what he did actually classify as a hate crime? Would be nice.

      Somebody else posted in here that the "married" guys were probably heading for divorce anyway. There is no proof of that - it is not a foregone conclusion. However, exposing those men in this manner simply may make it impossible for them to reconcile with their spouse if that might have been their wish. To me, that is a truly dispicable act for which there should be harsh penalties. If the guys were commiting a crime - such as pedophilia - they guy might be hailed as a hero - we have an obligation to report criminal acts. But, what these guys did is not criminal - just detestable.

      A friend of mine whose husband was caught having an illicit affair with a young teen since the victim was 14 knows the pain and humiliation that a public outting such as this can cause to all parties involved - including her two young children. The guy involved is currently serving 5 years with 15 years probation (including no contact with children under the age of 18 without an adult being present - that includes non-immediate family members). The stigma he'll endure from his actions will follow him for the rest of his life (well, aside from the fact that he's been labelled a Sexually Violent Predator because of the age of girl when it transpired). I personally don't have sympathy for him - he chose the path - but my friend has found the compassion to try to forgive him and allow him to get treatment. She may still yet leave him - but it's been 2 1/2 years and she's still with him. She's waiting to see if he can change. So, clearly, just because the guy is a schmuck, doesn't mean his marriage is doomed to failure.

      The point is, that just because the guys did something for which this prick didn't agree with, he had no right to essentially phish and then out them and violating their privacy by publishing "private" email. I suspect he will be looking over his shoulder - possible for the rest of his life (however long that might be) - wondering when one of the people he victimized (or somebody else disgusted with him) catches up with him. Call it Karma.

  173. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by Breakfast+Pants · · Score: 1

    A undisclosed settlement doesn't mean anything. They might have settled with just paying his incurred legal fees up to that point. Anyway, we don't know what it was, so we can't use it as an argument for one side or the other. There are plenty of other cases you could have picked.

    --

    --

    WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
  174. Such a shame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must be posting with karma bonus, as no sentient being would mod up horseshit like this. Why do you persist in covering, backing and filling and otherwise wriggling, when it's plain that you're making it up as you go along?

    1. Re:Such a shame... by cdn-programmer · · Score: 1

      You clearly have little knowledge of law.

  175. Donne had it right by Kylere · · Score: 1

    While I was not directly affected by this, no man is an island. So if I ever meet this individual, I will gladly beat the silly little prick to death. Don't think you have to call 911, I will not care to waste my time hunting him down. But some day he is going to be interviewing with someone not "ultra right wing" and they will feel as I do. He has lost his right to privacy IMHO, and he also broke the same kind of social contract that anyone guilty of assault breaks. Since he has decided that he is above common courtesy I think do onto others applies.

    Of course his only supporters are obvious fools and christians.

    1. Re:Donne had it right by Captain+Sarcastic · · Score: 1

      I agree with your post all the way to the last sentence.

      Not all Christians would agree that the jerk was right to do as he did. Some actually do believe that "lying to tempt someone into sin" is an even worse sin.

      And many non-Christians would say things like "serves those bozos right." Smug self-righteousness is not a province solely held by any one group of religious practitioners.

      Apart from that - <sound of 911 NOT being dialed>

      --
      Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
  176. Hah! Bet at least 50% are real & 40% are marr by queenb**ch · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Being a female geek isn't easy and so I've tried the on-line dating thing. (Dramatic Eye Roll) - All you ever get are a bunch of posers and losers. Most of them are married, many with children and none of them are shy about giving out personal details like employment (bragging), salary (bragging), work phone #, cell phone #, email address, etc. What you won't get from most of them is a photo that's taken in the last 20 years or a home phone #.

    2 cents,

    QueenB

    --
    HDGary secures my bank :/
  177. Google "public disclosure of private embarrassing by superdude72 · · Score: 1

    Google "public disclosure of private embarrassing facts".

    I'm pretty sure that an e-mail sent to one person would be considered a private communication. I hope many people sue the bastard.

  178. Nope by localroger · · Score: 1
    Speaking of highly resistant to believing it...

    If you receive a letter all you own is the physical letter itself. You do not have the right to republish the contents; this has been established copyright law for more than 100 years. The fact that so many people do it and believe it is OK does not in fact make it so.

    --
    Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
  179. Well... by localroger · · Score: 1

    ...I think you'd have trouble getting a prosecution under that act for a small violation like republishing one letter. You can bet your socks that was passed for the RIAA, MPAA, and associated jackals. However, the case of Mr. Fortuny and his numerous victims might be an exception to that.

    --
    Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
  180. Sue HIm For Copyright Infringement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sue HIm For Copyright Infringement.

    it is time this guy gets pwned. not b/c of the pervs who answered... but b/c they may have used thei beighbor' information!

    anyway, i'm sure the people who responded would enjoy pwning this guy, anyway. ;-)

  181. slashdot users are the new (old?) cool by bokel · · Score: 0

    It's interesting how different the reactions of Slashdot users to the the readers of Wired are. Most of the Slashdot readers seem to aggree, that publishing private info sucks, regardless how you go your hands on it. On the other side the Wired commentars mostly seem to fly the puritan flag - who is married, is not allowed to contact other women. Personally, in a world full of possibilities, i'd never restrict myself or others to "the only way to live your live (tm)". Live is too short for a thinking like that.

  182. Re:Did you get your Internet connection yesterday. by loraksus · · Score: 1

    You have heard of the Internet, right? It's famous for publishing things that people don't want other people to see.

    And for people who go to prison for posting nudie pics of their ex after a breakup.

    --
    1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
  183. As I posted this, I'd like to point out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    that no, I'm not a 'victim'. I just really don't like people who aspire to be professional assholes, and brag about how they will get away with it. This guy is a dick, plain and simple. Now he's posting a 419 scam letter on his blog, saying how he 'didn't fall for it'. Straw man arguments to defend his position that he did nothing wrong, and more denial with every response.

    The world is shitty enough without people making it more so.

    If my post above is archived on Google, helping some future employer avoid him, so much the better. He should work fast food for a few years, and gain some humility.

  184. MOD DOWN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The guy isn't a photographer.

  185. I know this guy personally, yes he's real. by Speshul_Ted · · Score: 4, Informative

    I went to high school with this guy. He was pretentious and self absorbed then. Still is.
    Had the pleasure of seeing him post my high school alumni board in the thread used for Military people to post their current whereabouts and adventures. In the middle of some guys in Iraq posting their status and catching up with old friends, this winner jumps in with a rant detailing how injured soldiers and their families deserve the pain and suffering due to their support of the war and current administration. Not a thought was given to those who may have enlisted under the previous administration.
    Needless to say, the group was highly disturbed, Mr. Fortuny continued to verbally spar with all who would entertain him highlight how they "didn't get it" where he did and reaffirming that those in the military deserved the wounds and deaths, further stating that they were most likely in the military due to their sub-par intelligence and inability to get a real job anyhow.
    And then he was banned from the forum.

    I can assure you that this guy is real, as his is contact information. When telling the veterans how dumb they were he was quite proud that his personal information was easy to find with a little research (clearly confident that military grunts are too stupid to work google for anything beyond sports scores and porn) and welcomed anyone to come visit him. This was, of course, coupled with the comment that if he were to get his ass beat by a military man this would prove how primitive and honorless they are.
    Well, as a military man myself, I think I can handle the loss of status in his eyes in exchange for a few minutes of showing him what uneducated people get taught to do with their hands. (Bestill your comments on how right that may make him. Some comments are unforgivable.)

    This is a common theme with Mr. Fortuny, in my observations. I'm not sure if it's a lashing out at the world for some wrong he experienced or if this is the typical reaction of someone who gets stomped on IRL so he flexes his muscles and works his agressions virtually. Either way his actions are inexcusable. I really would have thought this guy would have come much further in the 10 years since high school.

    As for the legal ramifications, IANAL but, isn't the lone fact that he attained all these emails disguised as someone else a huge factor? Reminds me of grifters, con artists and black mailers.

    It does appear, at the very least, that Jason violated the TOS with Craigslist.com:
    "You agree to NOT use the Service to:
            Upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive to another's privacy (up to, but not excluding any address, email, phone number, or any other contact information without the written consent of the owner of such information), hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable."

    I think this would be an easy civil trial. But the next week or so should be the most interesting as Jason, our mutual friends and, evidently, his downstairs neighbor all wait to see what sort of truely deranged and violent person would respond to an ad like that.
    Thoughts?

    1. Re:I know this guy personally, yes he's real. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      He claimed that others had sub-par intelligence and couldn't get a real job? Classic Jason. He says that about anybody he envies.

      Funny - his "real job" consists of gleaning the castoffs from a friend who is actually successful. He then succeeds in pissing off about 85% of his clientelle. No surprise. How he manages not to starve to death is nothing short of a miracle.

      Yes, I used to know the guy, too. Glad I don't anymore. Life is better without Jason in it.

      -Anonymous Coward in Redmond

  186. Seriously liable for tortious conduct by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And if they can make a case for pain and suffering...

    Actually, you'd want to file for damages under the tort of public disclosure of private facts. And, hoo boy, if I were this guy I'd be preparing for many, many years spent in court and many, many expensive settlements and wage garnishments in his future.

  187. Sadists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Reading this - Jason seems more like the sadist than anyone who responded. They were looking for something consensual where they would cause physical - Jason is causing emotional pain non-consensually.

    That's actually the true difference btwn people who are "sadists" in the BDSM community (i.e no harm is done - its negotiated, can be stopped, and is desired by both people no matter how *far* things go, if the someone gets hurt, the hurter is responsible for changing/making up/taking care of/etc of the person) and people who are true sadists (who generally are thrown out of the BDSM community for making otherwise fun-for-the-people things non-consenual, with lasting, abusive harm, without a stopping point, and with no responsibility/care/change in behaviour on the part of the person doing the hurter). It's the difference between sex and rape (although it need not involve sex).

  188. Re:Hah! Bet at least 50% are real & 40% are ma by rossifer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I just married the woman I met on match.com three years ago. She was my 13th first date from match.com, which made it an exhausting but ultimately worthwhile experience. For the first two months I was on match.com, I didn't put up my salary because I didn't want to meet gold-diggers. Didn't quite work as I'd hoped, since match.com used to equate "don't want to say" as "less than $25,000/year". My wife didn't want to date the jobless and specified "at least $25,000/year", so she only found me when I finally went ahead and put my income on my profile.

    Some hints. If all you're finding are married men, posers and losers: you're using the wrong dating site and/or you're searching for the wrong criteria.

    Hint #1: Craigslist is the wrong site if you are looking for an actual relationship. One-night stand? Line forms to the left. Random sex in parking lots? Right over here, ma'am. Meaningful relationship? I'm sorry, but we're all out at the moment.

    Those women who perpetually date players (who then cheat on them) don't seem to be able to distinguish between arrogance and confidence, and seem to put more value on the car than the person (for the overly sensitive: this is an unfair generalization with a large dose of truth). Hint #2: Be different from those women in how you select partners, and you'll be different from them in the relationships you have.

    Hint #3: The trick with the photographs is to not put so much value on a photo and instead, value someone who can write a decent profile, respond well in email (articulate, decent spelling and grammar, possibly funny) and meet the guy quickly (but with a low investment). After two or three emails, meet at a coffee shop after work "for a quick cup" and make up your mind in person in 5-20 minutes.

    Fundamentally, don't pretend that dating sites are a replacement for the first date. They're a replacement for the club, activity, or job where you might otherwise see someone interesting, but not a whole lot more. All of the other work in meeting someone great is still up to you.

    Regards,
    Ross

  189. Do any of these people exist? by kerubi · · Score: 1

    Most people seem to take for granted that all those responses to the fake ad are true, and that the guy who posted the fake ad even exists.

    Using the term from the site, we did not "independently verify" that any of these people exist. Would be a good media-spoof if this all turns out to be a big prank. And that is an option that we all considered, being internet-savvy and all, right? Right?

    --
    I joined two users too late.
    1. Re:Do any of these people exist? by Speshul_Ted · · Score: 1

      See my post. He's real alright. And really that full of himself.

    2. Re:Do any of these people exist? by kerubi · · Score: 1

      Sure. And, ahem, well.. just who are YOU?

      --
      I joined two users too late.
    3. Re:Do any of these people exist? by Speshul_Ted · · Score: 1

      Oh no, I'm not falling for that. Next we'll have to read about how /. users got duped and had all their personal data posted on digg.

  190. The bottom line is....Sue the fuck out of him... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you can't just use someone's likeness in this the United States without thier consent. This is not news worthy material and that is the ONLY exception to the law. I as others here hope this guy gets sued for every penny he's got and every penny of his future earnings. What he has done is against the law in the United States. Here's the way the laws work, sure I can take you picture, I can look at your pictures, personally, BUT I CANNOT PUBLISH YOUR PICTURE OR LIKENESS without your consent, for commerical or non commerical use, point blank period. These people need a lawyer because sending someone email is not publishing to the general public but putting these picture on a web site is publishing to the general public. Now if these were their posts on craiglist then there not a whole lot that can be done. I'll tell you one thing this dude is gonna get fucked seriously in a court of law. How fucking stupid!!!!

  191. Re:Criminal 2257 Violations 5 years Jail + $25k fi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I had mod points, I would mod you up.

  192. Legal definition of publish by cdn-programmer · · Score: 1

    http://www.rvats.com/Lawdetails-publish.asp

    "Legal Definition of - publish

    Legal Definition of publish : v. to make public to at least one other person by any means.

    This means wearing a new dress design such that it can be seen by at least one other person is considered "publish"ing.

    As this applies to a patent - if you show it to anyone then you have published it. You have to get them to agree to non-disclosure first.

    In the case of the jokers who posted their pics - they clearly did publish it under law and as such the guy who posted this published information is allowed to do so under fair use interpretations which allow critisism of published works.

    While people might not like it - I think a law suit against the guy goes nowhere.

    They can't sue him for defamation because he just made known what they published. A solid defence in a defamation suit is that he spoke the truth.

    Law only requires disclosure to one other person.

    Also see here: http://www.answers.com/publish&r=67

  193. Fraud by cdn-programmer · · Score: 1

    Hmm - as I wrote those last few comments I was thinking that the horney jerks might be able to sue under fraud legislation because he certainly seems to have fraudulantly presented himself. But he didn't do it for money.

    The problem with claiming fraud is that on dating sites, it is normal for people to use psuedonyms and there is no requirement that anything posted in a profile be factual. In fact many who replied used pseudonyms and probably posted false information as well such as the breadth and length of their members. Certainly some lied about their marital status or intended too.

    Its much like TV entertainment. In the 60's a game show was sued because the contestants were slipped the answers. The producers won on the basis that its only entertainment. There is no suggestion that anything on TV actually be factual. Tricking the public is part of the game - the "War of the Worlds" broadcast falls into this area.

    I think it can be successfully argued that profiles on dating sites might also be considered little more than entertainment since we all know that so many are false in one way or another.

  194. Re:Pathetic? Yes. Little? Maybe, but not for long. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    l0lzc0ptr!

  195. Love & kisses, Jason! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    XXXOOO ;)

    Here's the WHOIS contact info for RFJason.com.

    Jason Fortuny
    726 Kirkland Cir
    Apt C203
    Kirkland, WA
    98033, US
    (425)576-5417
    (425)576-5417

    And here's the Google cache of his resume.

    http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:CyJYkRHOYNIJ:p ersonal.rfjason.com/resume%3Fpage%3Dresumecomplete +RFJason+testimonials&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=3

    Guess editing your Livejournal isn't quite as effective at hiding your own personal details as you'd hoped, huh?

    I also see someone has had the forethought to register JasonFortuny.com today. Good hunting to you, sir!

    http://www.zoneedit.com/whois.html?zone=JasonFortu ny.com

  196. I'd go King Henry on him. by CompMD · · Score: 2, Funny

    Will no one rid humanity of this meddlesome jerk?

    This guy ranks right under Fred Phelps in my book. If this guy was hit by a bus tomorrow, lived, only to get run over by a truck three seconds later, who would cry for him?

  197. Re:Criminal 2257 Violations 5 years Jail + $25k fi by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

    So like, if you submit this post to the appropriate court, they'd totally jail this guy right? Oh wait, you're full of shit.

  198. Rule number one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rule number one: don't post pictures of your dick on the internets.

  199. puritan mentality? by RevAaron · · Score: 1

    what bugs me with a prank like this, other than the obvious privacy issues, is the implied puritanism. the doer of this prank, is not like much of a "sociopath," per se- more likely he is a someone programmed with the reactionary and puritan ideals that large parts of American society hold dear. gathering this kind of information and then sharing it publically is something usually done to chastise those who would enjoy what the craigslist post was offering. it's like those counter-419 sites, or the sites that troll for paedophiles and then post their information- IM username, phone number, address, the whole chat log, etc.

    and while the whole dom/sub thing really isn't my scene, i scoff at reactionaries who go out of their way to condemn, chastise and embarass folks who happen to get off on something different than them. to each their own, as long as you're not hurting someone against their will or otherwise coercing them. but others, including this guy, obviously don't subscribe to that kind of philsophy.

    --

    Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
  200. Some more info on rfjason... by suburbancore · · Score: 3, Interesting

    (karma whoring since I had to create a new account) I have been really intrigued by this guy rfjason's actions and have been googling for information just to see what the deal is... I think he might actually be the BIGGEST asshole ever. This is some choice links for insight into this guy's fucked-up-ness: Comments on New orleans Reply to someone who didnt enjoy his PREVIOUS prank His request for help at the tucker max forum The last one is amazing.... A bunch of self-declared assholes concluding that this rfjason guy REALLY is a douche-bag (they just have no qualms about helping him :P) Another good one Seriously, this guy is unbelievable and appears to have said something to piss off everyone at some point or another.

    --
    We come in peace... We leave in pieces...
    1. Re:Some more info on rfjason... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regarding http://iq-challenge.com/

      It seems that rfjason was behind that too? Based on what he has written, he does not know enough about the subject to be registering a domain about it, let alone use that to make fun of people about their IQ and attitude towards their intelligence.

      I believe IQ tests provide a ballpark measurement of intelligence, but I don't believe that IQ tests provide an accurate measurement, since I've taken many (I enjoy the puzzles) and my results have ranged from 140 - 151. Which seems like a big variation. Most or all of them are therefore wrong. I do have success in my field where others tend to fail or say something is impossible or in-feasible, however. But I did not need the results from an IQ test to tell me what I already knew. That I understand complex things really quickly, while others around me usually don't.

      IQ tests require a mix of intelligence and knowledge. But since both are limiting factors, success implies intelligence and then knowledge of basics (math for example).

      He goes on to say that he's NEVER taken an IQ test. So how can he purport to know so damn much about the subject then? Because he's a moron who has a superiority complex. Funnily enough, the very issue in himself which he is trying to expose in others. IQ is believed to be measurable to an IQ of 151. Talking about anything beyond that is silly unless there have been some new discoveries.

      "So no, I don't think any good can come of IQ tests. Especially IQ tests that tell normal high school kids that they're magnificent geniuses, which sets up the expectation that life owes them some homage. And then reality comes along in adult life, and they've squandered opportunities thinking themselves above them. In that sense, the IQ-testing people have done these folks a massive dis-service [sic]."

      Some people came to my high school to perform some intelligence tests. My teachers were shocked, since I was thought to be a troubled child, who took many (~100) days off school in a year, never did my homework, was always bored, in the middle classes and yet I got the top score for my year in those intelligence tests. In fact I got many questions correct in a fast time, when no other student got those questions correct having used the full allocated time. The fact was, school bored me. The subject material was basic for me and the juvenile behaviour of the students of my age, caused me to be bored by them and not have many friends outside of the children who spent lunch time in the computer room. In math, during computer classes, when other students were using BASIC to solve simple math problems, I was doing graphics in 6502 assembler on the Apple IIc's. My math teacher was one of only three teachers in all my high schooling, who could see that I was focused and capable with more complex problems. The people who came out and did the IQ testing, did me a favour. Suddenly the teachers who had written me off were now reconsidering why I was having difficulty with what they thought were the basics. I was not below them, I was far beyond them.

      Later on in life, time and time again I have excelled beyond what why peers and managers thought were possible. So many times I have taken work home, because my managers would not let me work on something which they deemed far beyond feasible. Bringing the results back to work always shocked them. The result of course, has been that lots of my peers hate my guts. Because I achieve what they previously said (sometimes in meetings) was impossible. I have a bad habit on making other people look bad, while only trying to do my best.

      Jason thinks that anyone can become a lawyer or doctor, through hard work. Anyone who knows a wide range of people, know that this is not true. I know plenty of people who work very very hard, but have difficulty with things of moderate complexity. IQ is real and matters in roles like that. I think he is bitter because he had parents who failed to nurture. Looking at his

  201. Re:Wow, one word: choice by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 1

    I'm going to split hairs here but if you're really at-risk with your employer for something that is private and legal, then you need a better choice in employment. I've been hearing all kinds of grousing about google searches before hiring and risk at-job searches - and you know what?

    I really - REALLY am enjoying being a contractor more and more. I get hired to do the work. Not to be fearful of HR every waking moment of my life.

    That's my choice. And I'm a very happy camper.

    Or you can be a fearful victim all your life waiting for your life to be pulled out from under you.

    Your choice.

    ( you might also choose to alter high-risk behavior - but I"ll let the other posts beat that one to death )

  202. Re:Wow, one word: choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >> I really - REALLY am enjoying being a contractor more and more. I get hired to do the work.
    >> Not to be fearful of HR every waking moment of my life.

    I'm a contractor too - and many firms (especially F500's) will do a background check on contractors.....
    And I'm willing to bet 'google' will be the first reference they check when seeing your resume.

    Mech

  203. What kind of parenting...? by code4life · · Score: 1

    This whole affair, from the deceptive gathering of information right up to the manner of his responses to his victims, just says a whole lot about the kind of screwed up parents he has. Not a lot of family love in your home, was there Jason? I can only imagine this kind of behavior from someone who was emotionally, physically, or sexually abused as a child from his parents...

    1. Re:What kind of parenting...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This whole affair, from the deceptive gathering of information right up to the manner of his responses to his victims, just says a whole lot about the kind of screwed up parents he has. Not a lot of family love in your home, was there Jason? I can only imagine this kind of behavior from someone who was emotionally, physically, or sexually abused as a child from his parents...

      Actually, there was a bit too much love from Jason's family, while he was growing up. He admits that he was sexually molested by no less than FOUR seperate members of his family, including his step father. He also admits that his mother knew and did nothing about it, putting the step father first. Apparently he now refuses to see any of the family.

      This of course, is no excuse for the terrible things he has done. In fact, I seriously question if he is either a paedophile, or a paedophile in the making, since he has sought photos of children and then claims to have posted them to a web site for children who have been sexually abused. He then called the parents to tell them what he did, but did not tell them the site, so that they go nuts trying to scour the net to have them removed. I wouldn't put it past him to have not posted any images, so that the parents search will never end. Personally, I find it hard to beleive that there is any such web site where the photos of molested children are posted. Surely they don't need that addd abuse.

      I hope Jason Fortuny ends up on Ogrish.com.

  204. Re:Wow, one word: choice by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 1

    I don't pine for work to do and wait for layers of approval processes, I get down to the business of doing it. I don't work with agencies who deal out that garbage either. You're thinking HR bullshit again.

    If they have a problem for me to fix. Great hire me and let's get started. If you want to muck about my personal history for a week, I'll probably be working for someone else by then. And good riddance. Before I started some of my own projects into high gear recently, I juggled 3 clients a week - 2 per day, you wanted more time, you had to get on the ball and stop fucking around. I've still got two projects waiting for me to open up my schedule. You think I'd honestly put up with all your shit and scrutiny and waste my time which could be handed to other people in a heartbeat?

    That's called working in a competitive market. It's also known as not putting up with someone else's BS because someone told you that's the way it's done. I'll admit I get at least one of these every few months. It's great fun whacking them upside the head with a reality outside their cubicle. A guilty pleasure actually.

    BTW - this is just one of 3 businesses I'm juggling at present. If number 3 pans out then, it's onto starting number 4.

    Good luck with playing their rules. I'm having great fun with my own. Money's not bad either.

  205. Re:As ethical as the desire to check out the link. by SwedishChef · · Score: 1

    Normally I don't bother replying to flames like yours because it's a waste of time. But your other posts make it appear that you aren't always unreasonable and anyone can have an off day, so:

    Shifting the blame for the situation to Slashdot is nonsensical, but hey - "shooting the messenger" is a fun game with an ancient and honorable lineage, and any number can play.

    I didn't shoot the messenger nor did I shift any blame. I didn't even accuse Slashdot of being unethical (although I asked the question). I simply wondered why, with all the comments made about what a nasty "experiment" this was, no one noticed that Slashdot had furthered it by its link. That Slashdot *has* furthered it (at least some) is undeniable; several hundred people posted comments indicating that they had followed the links on to the "experiment" itself. People who probably would have never noticed it absent the Slashdot article.

    By the same token, how ethical was it for you to go and click the link to find out about the "experiment"?

    Nothing in my post stated or implied that I have visited the site of the experiment so you must have made that leap on your own. I was posting on the comments made by Slashdot readers. Anyway, one person clicking on a link is far different than putting the link on a site visited by tens of thousands of people. And, again, I wasn't making a comment about whether or not Slashdot had done anything unethical... just that no one had noticed that it might be reasonably construed as unethical by some people. To extend this argument, if Slashdot posted a link that would lead a reader to child porn wouldn't that be as unethical (or even as illegal) as the post itself? It would not be necessary to have prior knowledge of the porn or to have originally posted the porn. But if they knew that the site being linked to had further links to the porn itself then I think at least some ethical breach would have occured. While this argument can be debated, I'm not sure I'd call it "nonsensical".

    I thought your personal remarks ("(sorry if you were disappointed!)") as well as your accusation that I must have followed the links to the site itself were juvenile and uncalled for and amount to a personal attack. If "shooting the messenger" is a popular game then you seem adept at it.

    --
    No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!
  206. Re:Criminal 2257 Violations 5 years Jail + $25k fi by SonicSpike · · Score: 1

    Any DA that applies that law in this case should be hanged on the 6 o'clock news (unless they truly believe that one of those posted pics might have been someone underage).

    Regardless, that law is unconstitutional except for when the product crosses state lines. The Federal Government has no right to regulate the "porn industry" unless it is in regards to interstate commerce.

    This was posted on the Net, so it potentially could fall under federal jurisdiction, however, since it was a localized site, it could be argued that it might not.

    --
    Libertas in infinitum
  207. Re:As ethical as the desire to check out the link. by Captain+Sarcastic · · Score: 1

    I may have been mistaken about the tenor of your post. I believe that you are mistaken about the tenor of mine... and/or that I may have not communicated my point well.

    I was angry (and I should know better than to post while angry...) about the whole situation. Fortuny fooled people into trusting an ad, and has crowed about doing the same thing to other people. He showed no remorse for this.

    I don't believe that Slashdot is part of the problem. Slashdot may have posted indirect links to the site, but again, I don't think that it's necessarily an unethical thing. It is a matter of the person running the browser making a personal decision whether to follow those links to their logical end, or settling for the news site links that go to that site. If they don't have some link to what they're reporting, then the staff of Slashdot is doing nothing more than rumor-mongering.

    Individuals may have posted the direct links to the site. I didn't check those out - I have no particular desire either to add to the humiliation of the people involved.

    And my remark about "sorry if you were disappointed!" was, in retrospect, un-called for, and I apologize for it.

    --
    Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
  208. My Space Account by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whooops...Here is his myspace:
    http://www.myspace.com/rfjason

    1. Re:My Space Account by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why the hell should you go through all of this effort to protect your jackass neighbor? Jason went through all the effort to get himself into this mess, he should take care of this himself. If it were me i'd put up the sign welcoming visitors to me and my girlfriend's place with our names clearly printed and a photo identifying us.

      This guy's photo is already online along with his address including apartment number and I am sure that they have already communicated this to all others who have been targeted by this reckless behaviour so I don't think you have to worry about your girlfriend or yourself unless you look very similar.

      Just in case, you should key his car (write Jason on it?), from the very front to the very back including the lights, and deep. This way, the others know which car to destroy.

  209. Score 5: Insightful? by rjstanford · · Score: 1

    I was going for Score 3: Funny. Guess I had an off day..

    --
    You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
  210. Re:HA HA HA HA HA by cloudmaster · · Score: 1

    Random people who post ads on Craigs list aren't "friends and family". If one recognizes that "most of society" thinks their practices are weird, one should realize that people would be likely to post prank ads on Craigslist, and therefore take *a litte* precaution before sharing that information. Simply telling everyone who asks (and providing unsolicited photographs, etc) implies to me that it's not such a big secret...