I'm just going to repost a comment I made during an HN thread on trolling here:
"....However, on a general note, I think it is important to realize that every text message you send, every cell phone conversation you have, every post to the CNN forum you make, every tweet you send ... is directly attributable to your IP whether you use your own name or not. With Facebook and Google tracking everything you do, whether you are logged in or not, I would go one step further, and say all of these things are directly attributable to you personally.
I would strongly urge young people to really think about what they are putting out there. Consider this, the military was doing the equivalent of credit checks for sensitive positions during the 60s. Now you need a credit check to do ANYTHING, even things that don't require credit. How long before an internet and phone background check is standard in the background checks organizations do before offering jobs?
I can tell you the military is doing this sort of screening right now for sensitive positions, but at least you are confronted about it. It still basically ends your career, but they will give you a chance to explain your posts. In the private sector in the future, they will just deep six your application and you won't know what happened. Or they'll let you in at entry level, maybe, and subsequently you'll start running up against an invisible barrier as you try to advance beyond the first or second layer of management. Or you will find resistance to you advancing into management at all.
Also be mindful, it can affect more than your professional life. Think about what the background checks for apartments will look like in the 2020s. Or what 'dating sites' will be like in the 2020s.
Please consider your future before you make comments on ... say ... black people and Hurricane Katrina ... that might be misconstrued. Or post an opinion on ... say ... American soldiers in Afghanistan ... that could be taken out of context and viewed in a negative light.
All that said, the absolute best defense against these sorts of situations is just not to be a douche, which isn't very hard..."
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I think that comment is apropos here as well. I encourage all of the young people I work with, as often as I can, to be careful about what comments they put ANYWHERE on the internet. To be mindful of what they say during ANY cell phone conversation. And to try to limit their use of text messaging.
I know this sucks, but this stuff is serious...these things WILL affect your future.
> Or they'll let you in at entry level, maybe, and subsequently you'll start running up against an invisible barrier as you try to advance beyond the first or second layer of management. Or you will find resistance to you advancing into management at all.
I've seen this post before. (edit: no offense intended - a lot of people post the same thing on repetitive topics, your one is just a little unique)
I'm wondering how you came up with this idea. It seems ... odd but strangely credible. Is this an extension of some process which already happens?
Ah, but see, even that fact right there is quite telling. Do you have anything to hide? Even though you don't, how could you convince your future employer of that?
You're obviously doing it wrong if you use 7 proxies and then log into an account that can be easily traced back to you. Proxies should only ever be used with anonymous and/or throwaway accounts.
"....However, on a general note, I think it is important to realize that every text message you send, every cell phone conversation you have, every post to the CNN forum you make, every tweet you send ... is directly attributable to your IP whether you use your own name or not. With Facebook and Google tracking everything you do, whether you are logged in or not, I would go one step further, and say all of these things are directly attributable to you personally.
I would strongly urge young people to really think about what they are putting out there. Consider this, the military was doing the equivalent of credit checks for sensitive positions during the 60s. Now you need a credit check to do ANYTHING, even things that don't require credit. How long before an internet and phone background check is standard in the background checks organizations do before offering jobs?
I can tell you the military is doing this sort of screening right now for sensitive positions, but at least you are confronted about it. It still basically ends your career, but they will give you a chance to explain your posts. In the private sector in the future, they will just deep six your application and you won't know what happened. Or they'll let you in at entry level, maybe, and subsequently you'll start running up against an invisible barrier as you try to advance beyond the first or second layer of management. Or you will find resistance to you advancing into management at all.
Also be mindful, it can affect more than your professional life. Think about what the background checks for apartments will look like in the 2020s. Or what 'dating sites' will be like in the 2020s.
Please consider your future before you make comments on ... say ... black people and Hurricane Katrina ... that might be misconstrued. Or post an opinion on ... say ... American soldiers in Afghanistan ... that could be taken out of context and viewed in a negative light.
All that said, the absolute best defense against these sorts of situations is just not to be a douche, which isn't very hard..."
----
I think that comment is apropos here as well. I encourage all of the young people I work with, as often as I can, to be careful about what comments they put ANYWHERE on the internet. To be mindful of what they say during ANY cell phone conversation. And to try to limit their use of text messaging.
I know this sucks, but this stuff is serious...these things WILL affect your future.