The Current Debate

[msbeadsley]

--- In HPFGU-Feedback at yahoogroups.com, "Potterfanme" <fc26det at a...> 
wrote:

<snip>
> If the admins feel that they are being harassed or if their lists 
> are being deleted or whatever, they can notify law enforcement and 
> they can determine exactly which computer the offenses came from... 
> I know this for a fact as I have worked with Federal agencies that 
> do this.

Can someone else please address this? I live with a computer nerd and 
asked him, "Is it possible to tell where in cyberspace messages, 
etc., originate from, i.e., the originating computer or ISP?" and he 
said, "Er, usually...at least sometimes."  I imagine it would be 
harder to determine who was doing things like deleting files (no 
audit trail, I'm guessing) or siccing Yahoo on the group for 
infractions of their terms of use agreement (real, imagined, or 
somewhere along the spectrum of opinion as to what constitutes 
infraction). The other thing that occurred to me in response to 
Susan's post is that while "the Federal agencies that do this" likely 
do have the resources/ability to track down terrorists, or saboteurs, 
or cyber-stalkers...well, is that a suggestion that we "make a 
Federal case out of" this? In other words, it may be nontrivial to 
entities not so well equipped as the Bureau (or Department or 
whatever it is) of Homeland Security. This here stuff is extremely 
small potatoes; I can't imagine law enforcement getting very 
motivated to find HPfGU's, er, vandal.

<snip>
> Continually trying to involve those of us who are not part of the 
> original parties is unproductive and very disruptive.

But I'm guessing that's all that's left for those who feel a wrong 
has been committed. (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here 
and leaving out the "Hulk SMASH!" option.) They exhausted the 
administrative and/or judicial appeal process, such as it was, and so 
were left with the option of trying the case in the court of public 
opinion.

On another note, I got a couple of very interesting offlist responses 
to my pseudo-fable ramble about what happened, how, and why. 
Evidently I got one core theme (ego, at least as I was 
interpreting "ego," in the common vernacular...in spite of (hmmm) 
using the word itself nowhere, iirc). Apparently there is a need here 
for delicacy (not a dialect of my mother tongue) of which I was not 
previously aware, so I'm mulling over how to go about addressing it 
online--in my copious *#$! free time (RL can be SO <Aarggh!> 
intrusive).

Sandy, reflecting on the fragility of the human psyche...and making 
the ungainly (and possibly tacky) leap to wondering about the 
fragility of the human psycho, as well

P.S. Was chat just hosed yesterday?