On or about 12/5/03 10:21 PM, Bill McIntyre ever-so-carefully typed:
>The rationale of the
>list founder is that it helps create a sense of community rather than the
>usual anonymity that exists on the internet, and it seems to work. I
>frequently sign with not only my city of residence, but my phone and fax
>numbers. Sometimes, just to be overcompliant and because I'm a wiseass, I
>include the latitude and longitude of my house.
>
>So far, I have had no adverse effects that I am aware of, and I have had
>many happy diving encounters with people from all over the world who
>interpreted my openness as an invitation to get in touch with me and see
>if I would take them out on the boat when they visited the area.
>
>I suppose that someone could seek out my house and try to attack my wife
>or daughter as Chris selected, but I wonder why that person would decide
>that my wife and daughter were better targets than the ones living in any
>other house selected at random. What in my sig line even suggests that I
>have a wife and daughter, much less say something about their
>attractiveness?
>
>Maybe I'm too trusting and living on borrowed time, but I prefer to avoid
>hiding.
>
>When my identity gets stolen next week, I'll get back to you :-)
>
>Bill McIntyre
I'm with you on this, Bill, for the most part...
Latitude and longitude is a bit much, though.
For instance, if I were to accidentally push this button,
*ooops!* OK, just kidding about the button. Or, at least,
the *ooops!* part about the button. But don't p!$$ me off!
OK, really, street addresses, phone numbers, etc... the kinds
of stuff that are matters of easy public record anyhow, I
don't think of as much of a problem. I'd just as soon someone
who wanted to could get in touch with me. And I say this as a
guy who has had the unfortunate experience of being harassed
to the tune of 200+ phone calls a week by a crazy woman.
[Although I'm very cautious about the whereabouts of my evil
twin, who flames and spams all those newsgroups.] But enough
about me.
I'd be much more cautious about things like birthdays, Social
Security number, credit card numbers, and so forth, for the
obvious reasons. Besides, it's easy enough to arrange for
your credit history to be lousy enough that identity theft is
unlikely. But enough about me...
Roger
The secret to staying calm in a crisis
is in not knowing all the facts.
-Lefty, from "The Lives of the Cowboys"
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