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posted by martyb on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the actions-have-consequences dept.

DECISION – 'aristarchus':

Introduction:

Actions have consequences. This is not a matter of free speech or censorship.

Doxing "Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly revealing previously private personal information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet." This is the definition upon which we are basing this decision. Legally, the term does not appear to be well-defined in the US but doxing is also covered by laws relating to harassment, threats, and abuse. Elsewhere in the world, the definitions are sometimes more clearly defined but might cover a broader interpretation than the US definitions. Which interpretation is applicable could depend on the location of the perpetrator.

Background:

We first noticed that something was amiss in late 2020. Submissions from 'aristarchus' would contain certain words, phrases and names which were apparently unconnected with the rest of the content. We were unable to understand their significance at that time, but they would be meaningful to the intended victim. (Story submissions by 'aristarchus' often contain additional material that he has inserted himself.) In almost all cases we removed them prior to posting the submission as a story because they had no bearing on the rest of the submission.

In late 2021 the doxing became more blatant both in comments that were made to stories and as well as on IRC. We also contacted the victim (by now it was obvious to us who it was) who responded and explained what had been published, where and when. We also discovered additional material that had not been seen by the victim. He had been suffering this abuse for a considerable time.

Please Note:

This investigation is not something that has been carried out purely on a whim by the admins on this site. During it we have consulted with and taken advice from a representative of the board of directors. (As an aside, SoylentNews PBC has never been 'run' by 'TheMightyBuzzard' or any of the current admin staff whose names you know well.) This is a serious matter and the investigation was conducted with utmost discretion by a very small team.

To ensure that 'aristarchus' is aware of this Decision he will receive an Admin-to-User message and an email to the address associated with his username drawing his attention to it.

Publishing Personal Information:

It is now apparent that 'aristarchus' has doxed at least one person in our community, and possibly others who may have left the site rather than suffer the harassment. This is not a single act, but has taken place repeatedly over a significant period of time.

'aristarchus' has published the victim's full name, where the victim lives, and the victim's employer. Presumably he believes this information to be accurate. We have seen additional comments that contain threats and state very personal information, such that posting them here would likely do further damage. We are trying to be discreet. If it were you, would you want us to air all the information that has been revealed? This action might also have placed other members of the victim's family at risk from abuse or embarrassment.

It is obvious that 'aristarchus' has conducted research away from this site. SoylentNews PBC does not hold such information nor has it been ever been declared in any comments.

We can only guess at the true reason behind these disclosures: at the very least it appears to be a smear campaign.

What We Have Done So Far:

  • The victim has a full copy of all the evidence that we have been able to trace to date. The evidence was all publicly accessible. We are not aware of a compromise of any other community members' information. We are not going to indicate where this information might be found.
  • We have made a separate backup of the database to ensure that evidence should not be lost.
  • We have removed personal information from database comments and IRC logs where possible.
  • It is entirely for the victim to decide whether to seek legal redress in this matter.

Options:

There are 2 options open to us.

(1) Permanent Ban

  • 'aristarchus' will face a full and permanent ban from this community.
  • His account(s) will be completely disabled.
  • Any further posting he may make to the site will be treated as Spam.

(2) Temporary Ban

  • 'aristarchus' will face a temporary ban of 3 months where his account(s) will be disabled. He will be able to restore his 'aristarchus' account when his ban ends. His conduct during this time will be taken into consideration before his account is reactivated.
  • During the ban 'aristarchus' may still post on the site as an 'Anonymous Coward', with all the limitations that are associated with that i.e. no journal, no ability to moderate, etc. Whether he wishes to make his identity known in his AC posts is entirely up to him.
  • During and subsequent to the ban he is to act as we would expect any other member of this community to act. He is not to disrupt other discussions nor is he to continue to complain about his treatment. The ban is entirely a consequence of his own actions. We will not discuss this matter publicly. If he has complaints he may contact us via email as usual.
  • He is to refrain immediately and completely from harassing other members of this community.
  • Any serious future abuses by 'aristarchus' can result in a permanent ban being imposed without further warning.

We acknowledge that 'aristarchus' regularly makes insightful and interesting observations and we recognize that he has many supporters on this site. That is why we have offered the option of a conditional Temporary ban.

Action/Conclusion:

'aristarchus' must now decide which ban he wishes to accept. This is not negotiable – there are no other options open to him. If he does not respond either by commenting here or by email within 48 hours of the release of this Decision then we will assume that he has chosen the Temporary Ban and he is bound by the conditions stated within it. He may elect to change to a Permanent ban at any time.

For legal reasons we do not intend to comment further. The community can now see why several of the site admins have been putting in long working days, sometimes in excess of 12 hours since just before Christmas. We are exhausted and need to have a period of normal activity so that we can recover. We urge the community to be circumspect and restrained in the discussions to this Decision – there is little to be gained from inflaming the current situation any further. We ask you not to speculate about the identity of the victim.

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by mmlj4 on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:26PM (24 children)

    by mmlj4 (5451) on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:26PM (#1218237) Homepage

    Seriously, if there's impending lawsuits and the guy has a history of stalking over an extended period, why would there be even the suggestion of a temp ban?

    --
    Need a Linux consultant [joeykelly.net] in New Orleans?
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +4  
       Insightful=2, Interesting=2, Total=4
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:35PM (22 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:35PM (#1218244) Journal

    Doxing based on publicly accessible information (the all-too-common "bad OPSEC") is unlikely to be considered a crime in the U.S. outside of extreme circumstances. I don't see anything here about impending lawsuits, and civil litigation against some anonymous homeless philosopher wannabe would likely be fruitless anyway.

    aristarchus will happily troll as AC and dodge any account restrictions. I'm not sure even a temp ban is warranted.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by stormreaver on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:45PM (2 children)

      by stormreaver (5101) on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:45PM (#1218250)

      ...is unlikely to be considered a crime in the U.S.....

      Although I can't quote them (or bother to look them up at the moment), there are many jurisdictions where the intent to cause injury is a crime even when it involves publicly available information. The biggest obstacle is the will (and/or financial means) to pursue it.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @03:41PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @03:41PM (#1218276)

        Not so sure. The mayor of my town posted tax records of people who were arguing with him on a public forum. Yes, this is available from the county if you know the property address. But most found this to be weird and threatening. Exactly nothing happened to the mayor, even though he did it multiple times to multiple people. What is described here won't go anywhere in the courts, unfortunately.

        • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday February 04 2022, @04:17PM

          by Immerman (3985) on Friday February 04 2022, @04:17PM (#1218692)

          Perhaps.

          Keep in mind though that "something happening" to the mayor would require:
          1) The victims having the time, energy, and money to actually press charges against them. (the law rarely has anything to say about anything unless someone with standing decides to try to make it stick in court)
          2) The mayor not having friends that could "make the problem go away". It's not exactly rare to have a pretty tight-knit old-boys network in the halls of power, in which case enforcing the law against them can be... challenging.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:58PM (5 children)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday February 03 2022, @02:58PM (#1218259) Homepage
      The ban might just turn him into another APK, and eventually some of his endless stream of inane posts might be listed as examples of valid spam mods.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @03:59PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @03:59PM (#1218287)

        on Thursday February 03, @02:58PM (#1218259)

        "and eventually some of his endless stream of inane posts might be listed as examples of valid spam mods." - by FatPhil (863) on Thursday February 03, @02:58PM (#1218259)

        Do you mean THIS post of mine about facts on the VAX that's KILLING YOU & all of its points are NOW proven facts https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=46034&page=1&cid=1197563#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] (especially on what the VAX is causing in health issues, ala the title "The 'CURE' is WORSE THAN THE DISEASE" & within its content about Dalek saying "there is no graphene in the vaccine" BS since anyone can lookup "Graphene" and "Adjuvant" & SEE it's been used as such for DECADES++ & yes, that is is DEADLY...

        As time has passed SINCE then, even the HORRENDOUS TERMINATION OF THAT (awful & yes, scary) is coming out (hydras forming etc. & graphene constructs of FERRO FLUID & aluminum forming clotting you & KILLING YOU - "men's hearts WILL FAIL THEM for FEAR" as stated).

        OR

        Optimization of CODE & why PASCAL is superior to C/C++ & most others (many now like RUST shoring up non-Pascal deivants only to use the SAME MEANS & METHODS Pascal has since, oh, 1970? Yes, IMITATION is the SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY, lol) https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=46096&page=2&cid=1198315#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]

        ?

        * :)

        Above ALL else, FatPhil?? Your FAKENAME tends to lend credence to this saying by Ancient Greeks "those who are given the RING OF GYGES (invisibility/anonymity) will tend to do BAD (purely relative term really, though that's what Nicolas Schreck & Nina LaVey (jewess daughter of Anton LaVey, Satanic Church Leaders) would espouse) BEFORE those who post as their REAL selves" - more or less a DIRECT quote you can verify using Ring of Gyges as your search term... WELL???

        YOU ARE USING THE "Ring of Anonymity" MORE THAN I DO - I "id" myself as "APK" whereas yourself? HIDING to do what is noted JUST ABOVE THIS PARAGRAPH as you LURK in the SHADOWS doing so.

        I don't - I'm honest about who I am - YOU ARE NOT.

        FACT!

        ... & TALK about FALSE PRIDE & DELUSION? Let me quote your SIGNATURE pal "I know I'm God, because every time I pray to him, I find I'm talking to myself." - somehow I SEVERELY doubt that pal... lol!

        APK

        P.S.=> Yes, YET AGAIN, those like YOU make ME just HAVE to say this (since it's fact per the above): THIS? This was just too, Too, TOO EASY - just '2ez'" & it always is when hypocrites speak (like Dalek for example here) https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=46034&page=1&cid=1197193#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] where he says "Oh everyone will say my MAINSTREAM MEDIA sources (RussiaGate LIE proven in court no less & they were champions of "Russia, Russia, Russia" etc. & now VAX PROPAGANA all "Brought to you by PFizer" bs) are BOGUS" well, they long ago PROVED they were BUT then Dalek turns around & puts down MY using a site like this one, a NEWS AGGREGATOR (citing economists, scientists & FAR more vs. PAID FOR PARROTS for Pharmakeia) is "bogus sources"??? Please, give us a break... apk

        • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:19PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:19PM (#1218296)

          Dalek HYPOCRISY better accuracy than my OWN posts (I'lll let HIM say it himself in fact):

          When I show people articles that debunk misinformation about COVID-19, the response is often that the articles are from the mainstream media and can't be trusted. It's the same principle, where the information is rejected on the basis of its source, without regard for content. - by dalek (15489) on Wednesday November 17, @06:14PM (#1197102)

          Then, his OUTRIGHT HYPOCRISY:

          I'll believe a very prestigious scientific journal like Nature over the sketchy website you keep citing. by dalek (15489) on Wednesday November 17, @11:30PM (#1197219)

          All I cite, once again restated now as I did in my post parent to this, is I use a SITE LIKE THIS ONE & cite scientists with actual research OR economists etc. - brighteon is a NEWS AGGREGATOR & facts don't NEED "FACT CHECKING" (hilarious that when MSM sources have to ADMIT that's purest bs too).

          I'd LOVE to see "Dalek" get outta that one (set of quotes from HIM no less, contradicting himself), lol - after all - he GAVE ME THE BULLETS to SHOOT HIM WITH easily... lmao! Just like his "there is no graphene in vaccines" well, again, ADJUVANT & GRAHENE folks, look it up, decades in vaccines & yes, your body views it as NO GOOD!

          Ring of Gyges (any search engine turns this up but it came from Plato's Republic) https://tenyearreadinglist.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/plato%E2%80%99s-republic-book-ii-your-dog-is-a-philosopher/ [wordpress.com]

          APK

          P.S.=> It's pitiful, but THIS RESULT FOR THIS SITE & many others using "downmods"? Purest destruction & YES it IS purest "CENSORBEAMS ON MAXIMUM" Capt. Kirk - & when you have to CENSOR away things rather than DISCUSS THEM? You are SHOWING YOUR ASS & truest selves as losers doing so... apk

        • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:31PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:31PM (#1218305)

          "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for apprehension of those things which are coming on the earth" per LUKE 21:26 & what's causing it? PHARMAKEIA (Big Pharma) SORCERY (greek for witchcraft = Pharmakeia, per Revelation by John in the Bible) & my post on VAX DEADLINESS that is coming FAR MORE TRUE with FAR MORE BEHIND IT than what I posted here initially LONG ago https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=46034&page=1&cid=1197563#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]

          FUNNIEST PART? All I did was cite ACTUAL concrete VERIFIABLE & UNDENIABLE FACTS here https://soylentnews.org/meta/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=47504&page=1&cid=1218287#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] & moreso HERE on Dalek's HYPOCRISY easily verified (he said it, not I) https://soylentnews.org/meta/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=47504&page=1&cid=1218296#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] quoted...

          AND YOU GAVE ME A "SPAM" downmod?

          APK

          P.S.=> Seems VERIFIABLE FACTS that TRASH you "ring of gyges" FAKENAMES hiding behind them DESTROY YOU & you HAVE TO HIDE THEM, lol - THANKS FOR PROVING MY POINT! apk

          • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @10:41PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @10:41PM (#1218448)

            Oh fuck. APK has gotten religion. (not really - he's as fale as ever, just using different source material to rage at the world).

            Remember that scene in Men in Black where agent K opens up a locker and there's a whole bunch of little creatures that worship him? APK needs to get himself a locker like that, and shut himself inside.

            • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @10:48PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @10:48PM (#1218454)

              Ah, another FAKENAME Ring of Gyges fool in you: Thanks for proving THAT for me too. Dalek is that YOU? If so, I note you "FALE" (Learn to SPELL, dolt) confronting YOUR HYPOCRISY you armed ME with against you here https://soylentnews.org/meta/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=47504&page=1&cid=1218296#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]

              LMAO!

              ("Gosh! I wonder WHY?", lol - not).

              APK

              P.S.=> Ah yes, FAKENAMES from the Ring of Gyges ABUSERS & downmod to hide things like the link above that FLAT-OUT OUTRIGHT DESTROY YOU, & best part is? You HELP ME help you destroy yourselves, lol... keep RUNNING "Forrest" (Run Forrest, RUN!)... apk

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @03:17PM (10 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @03:17PM (#1218269)

      You missed part of the TFA. Ari did off-site research to find information not published anywhere online. Publicly available information, paired with some deductions, a lot of guesses, and ultimately, some fraudulent phishing phone calls, and you can doxx just about anyone, anywhere. Read TFA again. Ari has spent years at his obsession.

      Also consider that ari has likely dug to expose other members. Why would you suppose that there has only been the one target?

      • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:20PM (6 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:20PM (#1218299)

        All still not a crime. No more than digging up Trump's tax returns. Lots of threats, then he STFU.

        While other jurisdictions have a more far-reaching definition of defamation, the US doesn't see the publishing of publicly available personal information (name, address, employer, telephone or email address) as any sort of crime, either criminal or civil.

        Would have been more fruitful to ban the racists, and make more sense.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:42PM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:42PM (#1218308)

          Publish a federal judges personal info (regardless if public sourced or not) and tell me out that works out for you when the US Marshals and FBI show up.

          • (Score: 2) by exaeta on Thursday February 03 2022, @05:07PM (2 children)

            by exaeta (6957) on Thursday February 03 2022, @05:07PM (#1218313) Homepage Journal
            They can show up to intimidate you but they can't really prosecute you for anything now can they?
            --
            The Government is a Bird
            • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @05:08PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @05:08PM (#1218314)

              Not if you can afford a lawyer... how many can?

            • (Score: 4, Insightful) by epitaxial on Thursday February 03 2022, @09:37PM

              by epitaxial (3165) on Thursday February 03 2022, @09:37PM (#1218412)

              Doesn't matter. They can still serve a warrant, trash your house confiscate your devices, possibly jail you for a bit and ultimately drop the charges. You might get your shit back in a few years after taking them to court.

        • (Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday February 03 2022, @06:26PM (1 child)

          by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday February 03 2022, @06:26PM (#1218334) Journal

          Doesn't need to be a crime for us to decide it's not allowed here...

          • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 04 2022, @03:41PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 04 2022, @03:41PM (#1218671)
            ... except that now you're actively deteting content based on what, exactly? Not a legal requirement to delete it (like copyright infringement). But tou leave fale news, lies, conspiracy theories, antivax and antimask bullshit that actually costs lives visible ... "because we can't delete such content and keep the section 230 safe haven."

            Since this wasn't all that noticeable to the general public, it would have been better to just ban him.No announcement (other sites don't feel the necessity to publicly announce and debate bans - what is wrong with you people? Transparency? Then explain why you allow hate speech and misinformation but not the posting of publicly available info.)

      • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @05:44PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @05:44PM (#1218323)

        If I go to city hall and look up ownership titles for homes and publish them, that's still publicly available information and completely legal to publish.

        Giving out information to a phishing phone caller? So someone is incredibly fucking stupid. Do they also fall prey to Nigerian Prince scams? Fake IRS phone calls? I put phishing phone calls on speakerphone and let everyone hear just how abusive I can be with scammers - everyone should.

        If you had ignored this it would have amounted to nothing. If you hadn't posted a story about it it would have amounted to less than nothing. Instead you've fed the troll/ari. Again. Sheesh.

        • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Thursday February 03 2022, @09:37PM (1 child)

          by Mykl (1112) on Thursday February 03 2022, @09:37PM (#1218413)

          Easy to say when you haven't been subject to a harassment campaign for an extended period of time. We don't know the specifics (and I don't really want to), but I believe that doxing someone in the community is a line crossed.

          Funny that you seem to be OK with people's details being published, yet are posting AC. Care to state your full name and address?

          • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @10:27PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03 2022, @10:27PM (#1218436)
            Spent years on the green site being harassed by nutbars, real name, address, etc. It's not a big deal. Seriously. Plenty of others had the same experience. No big deal.

            There was a time when everyone got a phone book with everyone's name, address, and phone number delivered to their door every year. Nobody freaked out. It's publicly available information, bo big deal then, no big deal now. Get a grip.

            The only exception is minors. For obvious reasons. So many people cry abot being doxxed, and when you look at their posts, most of the information they claim should be private they leaked themselves. A big one is employment/employer. Linkdin is a thing. So is people discussing their work and social life, their education, etc.

            For the record, I no longer have ANY active accounts on any internet sites. Not even online banking . Just don't see the need to feed the surveillance/advertising economy. Unlike the wankers who decry the evil of fakebook/googles, but still hypocritically use them.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by RS3 on Thursday February 03 2022, @07:46PM (1 child)

      by RS3 (6367) on Thursday February 03 2022, @07:46PM (#1218365)

      I wonder if his account can be configured to always post at -2.

      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Reziac on Friday February 04 2022, @03:54AM

        by Reziac (2489) on Friday February 04 2022, @03:54AM (#1218544) Homepage

        I generally like this idea better than banning.

        However, there's a distinction between merely posting stupid shit, which harms no one and can be ignored, and doing nasty shit behind the scenes, which can't be ignored because it impacts someone else.

        --
        And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:19PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday February 03 2022, @04:19PM (#1218297)

    I would suggest that a temporary ban is more desirable/effective not because I would miss Aristarchus's posts, but more because I would not enjoy the guessing game of what his new whack-a-mole identities (via TOR or other free IP proxy services) are.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]