Slashdot Mirror
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.
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?
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."
Tricking idiots on the internet is an American institution.