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Is a link to an internet site the same as personal info??

Majorbigtime thinks so! I posted a link to an internet site with info about him and CU removed it!

Hey, it's on the internet! How private can that be!!

Ken

Comments

  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Is a link to an internet site the same as personal info?? >>



    No, it isn't. Several people, (mostly trolls), have not only posted links to my sites, but have posted my full name, address and telephone number. It's all publically available information. Since I'm not a whiney little pimple, I've never complained about it to the mods.

    Russ, NCNE
  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    No, but why would you want to post someone's website without their permission. I remember Russ when someone did that to you and personally think it was wrong.


  • << <i>but why would you want to post someone's website without their permission. >>

    Maybe we should ask just about everyone who posts here then! Is someone's ebay auction off limits unless we ask? Is a coin grading site off limits unless we ask permission? Etc, etc!

    Ken
  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    Just a simple question Ken. You asked the question I answered it honestly. If you don't want a question answered then don't post it. Personally I never would link someone's business or personal site w/o their permission. There are a lot of things on the net that are public domain, that doesn't mean that they should be posted in a coin forum, kapesh?
  • K6AZK6AZ Posts: 9,295


    << <i>No, but why would you want to post someone's website without their permission. I remember Russ when someone did that to you and personally think it was wrong. >>



    Are you serious? You must ask someone's permission to link a website that can easily be found by Google or any other search engine? What am I missing here?
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  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    k6 if you are doing it to inflame someone or it has nothing to with the coin forum then I don't think its appropriate. Evidently the folks who own the forum thought the same thing. For example I asked Shylock if I could link his website on IHC's once, to me it was common courtesy.


  • << <i>If you don't want a question answered then don't post it. >>

    Wow, get an attitude! Yes, you answered the question, and I asked you some more! Maybe if you don't like the questions, then maybe you shouldn't answer them!!

    Ken
  • links pertaining to me and my law firm have been posted..........

    links pertaining to my appearance to in Newsweek Magazine have been posted....

    (as long as they spell my name right.....it's all good....)
  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    Not all Ken it was a valid question, I answered you didn't like my respone when I asked you why and then the fun begins. You gonna start another fight over something so silly?image

    I'll ask one more time, why did you post it? If you choose to avoid the question that is your perogative.
  • K6AZK6AZ Posts: 9,295
    Mike, if you have a website that anyone can access and can be found by one of the major search engines, I see nothing wrong with sharing that link. I do it all the time with websites I think might interest others here. I really don't know where this business of asking permission came from. Judging from the stats on my website, people link to mine all the time and I've never received a request for permission.


  • If they don't want you to link to thier site it would be nice to respect that. Unfortunately it seems common courtesy around here has been replaced with a tendency to look for confrontational opportunities such as a poll from last night (that appears to have been removed). I don't know the nature of your link, was it well intentioned?



  • << <i>You gonna start another fight over something so silly? >>

    Now what are you talking about?image
  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭
    K6, all of us aren't going to have the same opinion on this, it doesn't make either one of us right or wrong, I simply gave an honest reply. Should I lie?
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
    I think if someone has made good-faith efforts to keep their identity anonymous here, we ought to respect that and not post personally identifying information. Just because it was possible to track someone down, and it was possible to locate information about them on the Internet, doesn't make it right, IMHO.

    I think it sets a bad example.

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • IrishMikeIrishMike Posts: 7,737 ✭✭✭


    << <i>If they don't want you to link to thier site it would be nice to respect that. Unfortunately it seems common courtesy around here has been replaced with a tendency to look for confrontational opportunities such as a poll from last night (that appears to have been removed). I don't know the nature of your link, was it well intentioned? >>



    Exactly!
  • Quite frankly, unless you know the person well or

    have a reasonable suspicion that the link will not produce bad feelings or

    you have a hankerin to kick the beehive,

    you should seek permission to reveal information about someone even if it is public knowledge.

    My home address might be "available" on the internet if you were savy but if someone posted it I WOULD GO BALLISTIC.


  • << <i> I don't know the nature of your link, was it well intentioned? >>

    Well, people have questioned time and again whether majorbigtime really is a lawyer. I simply posted a link to a site that clearly shows that he is! Maybe he is ashamed of something!

    Ken
  • If he's a lawyer, no wonder he wants to keep it confidential.

    (Not that any lawyers here have their reputations and integrity impugned at every turn....with little justification.)
  • K6AZK6AZ Posts: 9,295
    Mike, you are more than entitled to your opinion, as I am mine. My opinion is that web sites that are accessable to the public are fair game as far as sharing them with others.


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  • Ken image
  • 'Public Forums
    This site makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personally identifiable information.'

    Sorry, majorbigtime, but you disclosed your info in the form of your name and your profession and someone tracked you down. You had no cause to complain.

    Also, nowhere in what I just read did it say that it was forbidden to post personally identifiable information about others.
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    image
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Also, nowhere in what I just read did it say that it was forbidden to post personally identifiable information about others. >>



    It shouldn't be necessary for the admins to make a rule regarding what should be common courtesy.

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • If it's on the web, and it doesn't have special security blocking it from public view, then it is free information for all to see. If someone wishes to remain anonymous they should not talk about who they are, what they do, or otherwise connect the dots to information about themselves posted on the web. Public information is public. If you want to stay anonymous, it is your job to keep your identity secret, and your fault if others expose you.

    Just yet another opinion of an Arrogant, Capitalist American.
  • If it's not a private, password protected site thats unlisted, but one which can be found via search engines, then it's public.

    the respectful thing to do would be ask permission to link to it, but it's not a requirement.

    my .02
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
    The "it's your fault if someone posts your personal information" argument is weak, regardless of whether the information is on the Internet.

    No one has offered a reason why posting someone's personal information is appropriate. I'll do so, though, just to get it out of the way - when someone has been scamming people, and the victims need help trying to locate the scammer. That's a special case. Is "Just because I can" a sufficient reason to post personally identifying information that might happen to be on a web site somewhere? Is "I don't like you" a good enough reason? I hope not.

    Here's where this could lead: A board member wants to stay anonymous, and so does not list their name or email in their profile nor does the member ever post anything that could identify him/her. At some point, the member participates in a deal on the BST board. The other party in the deal later becomes unhappy about something the member posted. Using the personal information they obtained from the transaction, they scour the web and find personally identifiable information somewhere - an employer's site, a site belonging to a non-profit organization where they may volunteer, etc.

    Now the unhappy member posts the link to the information, revealing the member's identity to everyone on the board. Yes, it was on the internet. But it was only by virtue of the "private" transaction with one person that the member could be connected to the information on the web. Is that fair?

    Look, just because it can be done does not make it right.

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • The morality of each situation is unique and different. In the case of majorbigtime, I do not have enough information to say whether his detractor is morally justified in linking to a website containing information about him.

    As for whether I "like" either party in this dispute, I will need to hear more about their political beliefs before I can tell what kind of people they are. But any "like" or "dislike" of the individual has no bearing on the morality of this situation.
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭


    << <i>As for whether I "like" either party in this dispute, I will need to hear more about their political beliefs before I can tell what kind of people they are. >>



    You decide whether or not you like someone based on their political beliefs?

    Russ, NCNE

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