Posted on 02/11/2005 7:19:23 AM PST by Lazamataz
Recently, two Freepers who have some measure of prominance outside the forum have been damaged by liberals and/or Democrats. Jeff Gannon has resigned as a White House reporter, and the individual who goes by the name NCPAC has left his position in Maryland.
J. Gannon wasn't necessarily damaged by anything he posted here, but NCPAC was damaged by the work of a Democrat mole or a Washington Post reporter who revealed his freepmails.
It should be possible to post on this forum with anonymity and to be able to really discuss what's on your mind without worrying about Democrats trying to ruin your professional life, so, in order to help prominent Republicans who may wish to be an active member of Free Republic, I'm formulating some suggestions that I would like to have new users see.
This is what I have so far, as far as guidelines to help our prominent freepers avoid damage in the future:
If You Are A High-Profile Individual In “Real Life”….
If your daily job is such that you are a high-profile individual – as example, an official in a Republican campaign, or a state official in a Republican administration, or a rightward-leaning reporter – please read this article and take these suggestions.
- Please don’t reveal your identity. Please don’t drop hints as to who you are. Please don’t succumb to the temptation to show off a little and thusly compromise your anonymity.
- Know that there are Democrat operatives (and now, it appears, Legacy Media reporters) who pretend to be loyal conservatives. They will attempt to get you to reveal damaging information about your candidate, your administration, or your media enterprise.
- This is for ALL Freepers: Never reveal any personal contact information. Please don’t post (or share in Freepmail) any email accounts, private phone numbers, addresses, or places of employment – unless you really know and trust the person to whom you are revealing these things.
- Know that Freepmail can be, and sometimes is, exposed publicly. Please, never say anything in Freepmail that you would not want posted on the public forum. Please, people, add whatever you think might be helpful, and I will post the result as a new article.
NOTHING in writing is PRIVATE.....ESPECIALLY on the net.....letters on paper can be ripped up, burned....what's on the net can develop a life of its own!
FYI
I suspect the mole solicited the FReepmail . . . hence what was "supposedly" private thus became quite public. The rat.
ping
The recipient could expose it, and tell where they got the info.
I would add that, even if you are not a high-profile person away from FR, they might come after you if you have your own Buckhead moment. As the influence of FR grows, so will the attacks on rank-and-file members. So be careful what kind of electronic trail you leave not just on FR, but around the entire net.
So, Laz, You do get serious occasionally and when you do it is absolutely awsome. From what I see you have pretty mush covered all bases, I can't think of anything to add except that I shall comply with those suggestions.
Send me a FReepmail and I'll show you how easily it can happen. :o)
What if you are a Low-Profile individual in "Real Life"?
What about if no one cares who you are or what you have to say? How should I post then? Where are my guidelines?
Good idea! Outside the purpose of this particular thread, of course, but it would be nice if the Admins and Jim Rob started a covert program to this end.
And I would also add that it is important to go to at least a couple of live FR events and meet a few freepers in person. That helps build a core of freepers you can truly trust - because it is very difficult to maintain a fake persona when you finally meet someone. Then, if you have a question about someone else on the forum, you can use that network to help vet that person before you interact with them in any kind of substantive manner.
I wish the moderators would do a better job of deleting trolls also
See my post #26.
If you want to keep your replies super safe re: "never say anything in Freepmail that you would not want posted on the public forum" here's a little trick: Mentally begin every paragraph of your post with the word "Grandma".
"(Grandma) I've heard that he's never all that far away from a telephone so I think..."
or
"(Grandma) You forget that George Washington said in regard to the..."
LOL! You'd be surprised how much that one little word keeps you on the straight and narrow. Sort of like asking yourself: "Would I buy this if mom where standing right here?"
Anything you say or do can & will be used against you.
They do, but how do they know who is a sleeper troll? There are about eleven mods on FR monitoring thousands of messages,etc.
Well, maybe I have covered the bases. I don't know. If so, so be it .... but maybe a Freeper will come up with another great suggestion.
I kid around a lot, but I want our side to win, and when our side is taking hits, I'll diligently work to mitigate the damage -- and maybe inflict a little damage to the other side.
Seriously? With all the increased troll activity around here they've been really on top of things.
They do have the power of the zot, but they are only human after all.
Much dammit much- not mush- I hate typos.
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