Today most of the mega-blogs (Slashdot, Boingboing, Wired, to name but a few) are carrying a story about a puerile internet prank pulled over the internet classifieds service, craigslist.
Recently, bloggasm.com wrote a nice article on your chances of getting laid through anonymous internet classifieds (long story short. Women: Hundreds of men will send you pictures of their penis. Men: Nobody will respond). In the conclusions of that article the following is stated:
I'm going to let Waxy.org describe what happened next as they are are much more eloquent than me:
I am pro-internet pranks, but when you're doing something that could end jobs, ruin friendships and cause massive embarrassment you have probably pushed it too far.
It looks like the dramatrain is already rolling into the station:
Recently, bloggasm.com wrote a nice article on your chances of getting laid through anonymous internet classifieds (long story short. Women: Hundreds of men will send you pictures of their penis. Men: Nobody will respond). In the conclusions of that article the following is stated:
The first thing that always came to my mind was the fact that if a really malicious person wanted to get on craigslist and ruin a lot of people’s lives, he easily could. I had so much personal information and so many pictures of so many people, that I could have posted their names and pictures alongside their messages online somewhere and have their most treasured secrets available to anyone who google searched their names.I'm going to let Waxy.org describe what happened next as they are are much more eloquent than me:
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 (warning: not safe for work) in another area, reposted it to Craigslist Seattle, and waited for the responses to roll in. Like Simon's experiment, the response was immediate. He wrote, "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 (kinda like Wikipedia for web fads and Internet drama). Read the responses (warning: sexually explicit material).I am pro-internet pranks, but when you're doing something that could end jobs, ruin friendships and cause massive embarrassment you have probably pushed it too far.
It looks like the dramatrain is already rolling into the station:
- One couple in an open marriage begged that their information be removed, as their religious family and friends weren't aware of their lifestyle
- One Microsoft employee identified his friend via his email address
- The prank's coordinator, Jason Fortuny has already recieved at least one threat of violence
