Need Intelligent Freeper Input: Guidelines For Our Prominent Freepers

Source: All of us | 02/11/2005 | By Laz

[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.

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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.

[stuartcr]

If it's conservative, then that's proof enough.

[davidosborne]

I respect those that wish to remain annonymous, but I choose to be who I am.

[davidosborne]

It is average for Tallahassee, The neighbors like the fact that my patrol car is parked out front also.

[ASA Vet]

Some people are very, very good at running down information

There are several on my ping list that description might fit.

[reformedliberal]

This is a good idea. I cautioned one young FReeper on this during the run-up to the election.

However, one caveat I haven't seen so far (I am reading this after it was posted and haven't read thru the thread): making us all paranoid would help them, as well.

Long ago, I was on some lists where we inadvertently were targeted by the progressive operatives. Some people outed themselves online and were harassed IRL. We went to a private list requiring phone calls and vetting before even lurking privileges were allowed. Then the inevitable internecine problems arose. The group split into factions. Some were purged. Some who remained were privately outraged and gave their passwords to some of the purged. The main cadre then began 2 more private activism lists. One of the members was skilled in trace route and tracking down people via their IPs and various posted comments. The backchannel emails began to sound like the Inquisition. Frankly, allowing the harassers to drive people underground hurt the group as whole and it never really recovered from marginalization and being branded as kooks.

That said, real life harassment and economic/social marginalization are no fun, but living life afraid of the politics of personal destruction is even less fun.

Something to consider if one is going to be an activist is that one should be able to afford being publicly known. If you can't afford it, perhaps you should restructure your life so that being known has minimal consequences.

If you are a low profile person, also keep in mind that your comments here reflect on the forum and the cause. Think twice, post once and spend some time editing if you are in doubt.

[Willie Green]

Willie, I'm not going to bother to explain what I meant by an invitation-only forum.

Can't blame you for that.
I wouldn't want to try to explain it either,
at least not after the thrashing YOU received.

[BlessedByLiberty]

Time to confess.

I'm Hillary R. Clinton, a really right wing conservative, born in Illinois,pseudo-married in Arkansas, moved to DC for a while with this pseudo-bachelor. He's kinda flitting around the globe and I'm still in DC, at least til '06.

[SmithL]

Please ping the list

[Mamzelle]

FR posts can be googled way into the past, likely when we were all a bit more naive about how nasty the opposition can be. I was stalked myself, which has made me more careful than most FRpers. For instance, I'd love to proudly wave my state flag, but know that'd make me a lot easier to find.

And there are some blue state GOPers who have more to lose than the red-staters.

Perhaps we all ought to change our names here periodically...?

I find it ironic that how very "homophobic" the left can behave when they think they've "caught" a homosexual conservative. There are many anti-tax, pro-life, pro-America homosexuals.

For all that there are many social conservatives in the GOP, it occurs to me that at least the GOPers are upfront about their problems with homosexuality--the liberal Dems will pretend to "love" them and stick a knife in their backs at the first opportunity. If they don't like a homesexual, they won't hesitate to try to humiliate him.

Also, beware of things like posting movie or book reviews from places you do business with--they'll "out" you on the strength of a phone call. IE--don't rag on the Hollywood types on certain web sites. If they have your address in any way--like on purchase records--they'll out you.

I would really like to know HOW these writers were fingered...that's the big story. It'd tell us who is on whose payroll. They have to trace through some server...earthlink? aol? Who's the liberal in what internet provider providing the names and addresses?

[Lazamataz]

Can't blame you for that. I wouldn't want to try to explain it either, at least not after the thrashing YOU received.

LOL! A jerk and clueless about it, that's you, Weenie.

[Wolfstar]

First, Laz, thank you very, very much for posting this thread. While the benefits of the WWW are extraordinary, far too many people simply do not understand the danger that also lurks out in cyberspace.

Here's one practical tip: Never use the FR email service for anything but very general discussion. If privacy is a concern -- such as it would be for truly prominent people or people in sensitive jobs -- then always use a private email account for more detailed discussions.

There are services that essentially protect your email and online privacy by using sort of double and triple blind methods to make it impossible to trace you through an email address. They are broadly referred to as remailers.

Here is a link to a good, informative, easy-to-understand website about email privacy. I recommend that EVERY FREEPER check it out. http://www.emailprivacy.info/home

Alternatively, go to Google.com, and enter "email privacy" and/or "remailers," and research the topic for yourselves. Then choose a privacy protection method that suits your needs.

[Tempest]

I'm Karl Rove.

[MarineBrat]

I am positive there are real highly trained and DNC paid posters that simply lurk and stay under the radar monitoring this site looking for dirt and to see what stories and articles are being hit hard.

I agree. I just wish that my local yokel newspaper would hire a guy to monitor FR. They were printing stories straight off the AP wire that were 3 days boyond completely debunked. I called the editor and asked him if he realized that the whole world knew that Dan Rather was using made up documents except for him. He got mad at me and said in a huffy voice "are you saying that the AP newswire is biased?" (general laughter)

If there's any deep trolls out there that may wonder who I am.... here's what I have to say to you!

[Willie Green]

"Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause."

~ Victor Hugo

[Lazamataz]

By the way, this thread was for creating more suggestions for helping prominent Freepers not get damaged by the left.

Don't you have something constructive to do?

Like campaign for Pat Buchanan? LOL

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Any fool can be important. There is wisdom in being important discreetly.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I'm Karl Rove, mirrored by President Bush and I approve this message.

(grin)

[StoneColdGOP]

Great idea.

Unfortunately, I think my ID and occupation are already out there. Ah well...

[Mamzelle]

bump your post...

I post often--and sometimes on threads irrelevant to politics. I figure anyone who wants to do a longtime search on my posts is in for a booooooring time of it...

[Lazamataz]

Seems to me you LED with strong and bitter words, Weenie.

BTW: Pat Buchanan still sucks.

Now, because I have allowed myself to be baited by you, consider yourself ignored for the remainder of this thread.

Ta ta, Weenie.

[steveegg]

Take a number (there's a line for being Karl Rove, and it forms behind kevkrom :-)