LoquiSordidaAdMe
Reader/Writer
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2017
- Posts
- 1,166
Hi all,
This is a bit of a Public Service Announcement.
I live and work in and around Washington DC. My jobs often depend on background checks and security clearances. An affiliation with Literotica could be considered a “blackmail risk” so I take my anonymity here very seriously. Most people (not all) I’ve interacted with here post under a pen name and seem to desire a level of anonymity as well, but in the few short months I’ve been part of this community, I’ve seen a lot of mistakes made.
Back in grad school, I read this journal article from 2010.
http://studylib.net/doc/13849614/connecting-the-dots--when-personal-information-becomes-da...
The authors, with permission, combed through the personal blogs of writers who wanted to remain anonymous and by compiling little bits of seemingly trivial information, they were able to learn enough about each author to uniquely identify all of them. While the authors did not take the final step to learn the writers’ actual identities, they calculated a better than 90% chance in each case.
While this particular study was done with blogs, it is easy to see how the same techniques could be applied to forum postings here. Is there a 90+% chance that you could be uniquely identified?
Here’s the TL-DR version:
This might not be true for countries with stricter privacy laws, but in the USA, everything is for sale. Imagine that in one post you mention that you attended Stanford University, and in another that you live in Oregon, and in another that you drive a Ford Mustang. Anyone pretending to be a marketer can purchase a list of Stanford Alumni in Oregon, and a list of registered Mustang owners in Oregon. How many names do you think appear on both lists?
To help ensure your anonymity, do your best to avoid posting any of the following.
It’s been awhile since I studied this topic, so that list is probably incomplete. I know it can be very constraining to avoid those topics. I’ve slipped up myself. But if you’re serious about maintaining your anonymity, these are the lengths you need to go to.
I hope folks find this helpful.
This is a bit of a Public Service Announcement.
I live and work in and around Washington DC. My jobs often depend on background checks and security clearances. An affiliation with Literotica could be considered a “blackmail risk” so I take my anonymity here very seriously. Most people (not all) I’ve interacted with here post under a pen name and seem to desire a level of anonymity as well, but in the few short months I’ve been part of this community, I’ve seen a lot of mistakes made.
Back in grad school, I read this journal article from 2010.
http://studylib.net/doc/13849614/connecting-the-dots--when-personal-information-becomes-da...
The authors, with permission, combed through the personal blogs of writers who wanted to remain anonymous and by compiling little bits of seemingly trivial information, they were able to learn enough about each author to uniquely identify all of them. While the authors did not take the final step to learn the writers’ actual identities, they calculated a better than 90% chance in each case.
While this particular study was done with blogs, it is easy to see how the same techniques could be applied to forum postings here. Is there a 90+% chance that you could be uniquely identified?
Here’s the TL-DR version:
This might not be true for countries with stricter privacy laws, but in the USA, everything is for sale. Imagine that in one post you mention that you attended Stanford University, and in another that you live in Oregon, and in another that you drive a Ford Mustang. Anyone pretending to be a marketer can purchase a list of Stanford Alumni in Oregon, and a list of registered Mustang owners in Oregon. How many names do you think appear on both lists?
To help ensure your anonymity, do your best to avoid posting any of the following.
- Anything that suggests your zip code
- Anything that suggests your birthdate or even your age
- Anything that suggests your gender
- Anything that suggests your type of dwelling
- Anything that suggests current or previous employers
- Anything that suggests your political affiliation or voting status
- Anything that suggests elected offices held
- Anything that suggests membership in a specific organization
- Anything that suggests specific degrees or certifications earned
- Anything that suggests specific institutes of higher learning attended
- Anything that suggests ownership of a specific vehicle make, model, or year
- Anything that suggests favored retailers or rewards programs you might be affiliated with
- Anything that suggests specific service providers such as insurance, cell phone, lawn care, etc.
It’s been awhile since I studied this topic, so that list is probably incomplete. I know it can be very constraining to avoid those topics. I’ve slipped up myself. But if you’re serious about maintaining your anonymity, these are the lengths you need to go to.
I hope folks find this helpful.
