Posted on 09/12/2006 8:33:11 AM PDT by Sopater
The moral of the story is this: Beware of what you post on the Internet.
It could come back to bite you.
I'm getting ahead of myself.
Our tale begins with a post that was put up a week ago on craigslist, the popular Internet ads site.
A woman was seeking a discreet hook-up involving rough sex.
"I am 27 ... sexy str8 woman, 5 ft 7 in, 145 pounds," the ad said. "I am looking 4 a white or Latin only, str8 brutal dom muscular male who is arrogant, self-centered, nasty, egotistic, sadistic ... Send ur stats and a face pic."
More than 170 men -- a good number of them from Seattle -- apparently responded. Many replied with photos that included body shots, their names and contact information. Some used work e-mails. Some were married.
"I'm not a Harley man, but I'm so not a yuppie, either," says one post. "I was a logger, but now I'm in finance. I'm 35 years old, 6'2", muscular, strong, pushy, and don't have time to (expletive) around."
"Former professional football player," declares another writer, claiming to bench press 410 pounds. "Can dish out and handle pain. Bring it on."
The woman who wrote the ad, it turns out, is a man -- or says he is, if you believe his blog and MySpace page identifying the ad's author as Jason Fortuny of the Seattle area. He says the fake ad was "an experiment" to see how many responses he could get posing as a submissive woman.
Dumb? Yes.
I can see someone doing this if they're, like, 13 -- not 30.
What Fortuny allegedly did with the responses is something many are rightfully calling unforgivable, the product of a sick mind, beyond boorish. He publicly posted the replies from unwitting people, in effect "outing" them in the name of -- get this -- satire.
People are calling for his head, which is understandable but not advisable unless folks want to experience real tough love behind bars.
Some folks pray he gets hauled into court for violating privacy rights.
I'm not sure how much privacy people can reasonably expect when they voluntarily dump personal business on the Web while pursuing a legal activity.
Then again, public dissemination of private facts without consent seems troubling at first blush.
It would be interesting to see how such legal questions would play out before a judge or jury.
Kurt Opsahl, a staff lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Craigslist would be protected under federal law exempting a service provider from liability for what their users do.
Fortuny's liability under Washington state law rests on whether the disclosures are of legitimate concern to the public, Opsahl tells The Associated Press.
Craigslist executives say the ad in question had been pulled many times.
They said the ad violates their posting policies.
One thing seems clear: The stunt crosses the line of moral decency.
As far as I can tell, the point of the prank is to laugh at people being publicly humiliated over doings they would rather keep private. Put another way, to Fortuny, "the victims are 'perverts' who aren't smart enough to know how to use the Internet anonymously," as bloggers from Wired point out.
The tale has a hall of mirrors quality.
It has sparked a wildfire of commentary on the Internet even though little is known about the man who duped people into believing he was a she.
What other lies might Fortuny be up to?
A phone number listed to a Jason Fortuny was not in service.
Database records show a 30-year-old computer professional by that name who has lived in Kirkland.
Queries went unanswered to his MySpace page, where he mentions a pleasure in "pushing people's buttons" and getting "away with everything I do."
This guy pats himself on the back for being some kind of evil genius who pulled off a warped Web stunt.
On Monday I spoke with a man who said that his name, phone and e-mail had been posted without his knowledge.
The man said he never replied to the Craigslist sex ad, suggesting someone else -- a stranger? Fortuny? -- got hold of his personal information and used it against him.
This certainly wouldn't be an Internet first.
"I'm not very happy," the man said.
"This is a nasty joke."
You have to wonder if what Fortuny just did is such a big crack-up, why so few are laughing.
P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or robertjamieson@seattlepi.com.
I bet the reporter responded to that ad.
"I was a logger, but now I'm in finance."
This "journalist" apparently hasn't read SF Craiglist personals.
When you send your personal information to a stranger, you run the risk that they will use it in unamusing ways.
Lesson? Don't send personal information to strangers. How hard is this concept? The risk of exposure is directly related to the kinkiness of the relationship. Participating in a recipe exchange is low risk, participating in pervy sexual fantasy is high risk.
LOL
Sometimes I answer those things for fun, my sexy internet name is phatbaldvoyager. They never respond.
My theory goes as such: "If you would be ashamed to do or say something in front of your mother or spouse, then it is probably not in your best interests to do so and especially not in some form of permanent record like a letter, or picture, or video tape!"
They weren't thinking with the brains in their skulls.
If there were a way to do this honestly, I think it may be a pretty good idea.
AOL and MySpace.....home to over-30 adolescent idiots
Why did he have to name names for his satire? He could have used the responses he got anonymously to the same effect, and would have less chance of getting beaten up or worse by one of the brutes he was soliciting.
What happens on the internet
apparently no longer
stays on the internet
Agreed; like my FR page says, personal information and the Internet don't mix.
But what about sending someone else's personal information to a stranger? I've known more than one person who got pranked by having their name and information posted to places like gay hookup websites; it's the 21st century version of writing "For a good time, call Suzy at 123-456-7890" on the bathroom wall.
It would be awfully easy to respond to such an ad with a friend/enemy/random stranger's name and phone number, and include a random picture of a naked guy from the Internet. This kind of "outing" turns an obnoxious but mostly harmless prank into something that could seriously damage someone's career and relationship, maybe for doing nothing more than having one's name in the phone book.
I think it is hilarious. Do you have a link?
Those are some scary ideas. People should be more careful what they post online.
Yes, people should be careful what they put on the internet...never know who might be reading it! Someone sends you a link and viola.....:)
Do you think he works at Money Tree...?
Here's a picture of the guy, Jason Fortuny.
Of course I'm still here and free. I hacked into yahoo, and now I'm running the company. I decided not to sue me. Now if somebody could just send me a link to a google group, I can corner the market.
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