Privacy vs. Free Speech

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OK, so in the recent ugliness/greatness that result in the departure of our local troll, said troll repeatedly objected that he had a right to have his email aderess and name removed from the forum. The email address I can understand, but don't I have 1) both a basic human right and 2) a right under the U.S. Constitution to type out his name all I like? And if the servers are in the U.K., am I bound by U.K. law, or what's the deal?

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 5 June 2003 02:19 (twenty-two years ago)

NB I'm going to respect his wishes and not say his name, just because it's so snotty to respect the wishes of somebody who never once respected ours

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 5 June 2003 02:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Unless there's some crazee law in which saying his name is libel or slander or whatever or he's trademarked it or something then we can say his name til we've gone blue in the face. Same with email address I would imagine.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 5 June 2003 02:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought the ILX server was in Australia (where the laws of the land mainly boil down to DON'T DOB and DON'T WHINGE).

― estela (estela), Thursday, 5 June 2003 02:34 (twenty-two years ago)

'tis

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 5 June 2003 02:36 (twenty-two years ago)

It's in the FAQ that people have the right not to have their real names revealed, so long as they don't regularly use it themselves. I couldn't find any instance where the person in question revealed more than his first two names. Admittedly google and knowing what the first email address he used here is allows you to turn up his name pretty quickly, but that still doesn't mean that his full name can be plastered willy nilly here without his permission.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 5 June 2003 07:08 (twenty-two years ago)

That's my position too. There are lots of posters here who don't use their real names, and I think it's reasonable to respect that. I'm not sure how far I want to go along with an argument that suggests that someone who behaves appallingly forfeits their rights.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 5 June 2003 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't use my real name. But if anyone wants to know it, I'll tell them in secret. (hint: it starts with an "Al" and ends with a "Gore")

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 5 June 2003 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

In this instance I thought said troll's request was mostly moronic because he had used most of his name and posted his email address in the past. If he didn't want his last name used, that is fair -- but it was stupid of him to get angry about someone posting his email address when he had used/posted his email address all the time in the recent past. He was the one who made his email address public.

― Nicole (Nicole), Thursday, 5 June 2003 17:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not totally convinced he's gone

― g--ff c-nn-n (gcannon), Thursday, 5 June 2003 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

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