Fingerprints of Internet Cowards
I wrote recently on my site, BlogStrategies.net, about the increasingly chronic issue of Internet cowards only to read a column by Maureen Dowd in The New York Times that it has been on her mind, too. I’m happy she wrote about it because no one wants to cross Ms. Dowd. Her column in the Times is very good. Permit me to repost my thoughts here …
As a lot of bloggers have found, many of the people who object and criticize blog postings the loudest do not use their own name or a valid email address. All during the evolution of the Internet, such people have been bottom-feeders who lurk in the shadows as cowards, misfits, deceptive failures, malcontents and liars (did I miss anyone?).
Long before the Internet, Mark Twain said: “You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down from a thing you openly set out to do.” Such is the case with people who anonymously post vile material and comments online. But, they often leave fingerprints …
Whenever anyone posts a comment on a WordPress blog, their IP address is captured. It can look like this in the WordPress dashboard comment screen next to the comment: 12.345.678.90. That is the individual identification of their network and reveals all kinds of information, including location, Internet service provider, type of computer, operating system, etc, unless they have gone to the trouble of using a proxy server. In such case, they are a certified Internet criminal.
If the harassment and abuse continues, you can file a complaint with the person’s Internet service provider, providing the specific IP address.
Additionally, on incoming emails, you can reveal the “raw source” data of any email address which helps to triangulate the source of offensive comments which, in some cases, can be downright slanderous.
If you are being attacked on Twitter by an anonymous person who is using a false email and identification, Twitter responds quickly when you file a complaint by deleting the offensive account. The team at Twitter can block their IP address from further problems.
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While I agree with you almost entirely, it is not true that using a proxy server to hide one’s identity is criminal.
In my office are computers where clients, personel, and others are able to sit down and use freely. Often I have the screen set to a site displaying some article written by or about me or someone at my firm (online magazine sites at SAIL, BoomerCafe, California Lawyer, etc.). I encourage users to leave an online comment following the article. In response to some users’ reluctance to leave valid email address for fear of spam or whatever, I encourage them to just leave a fake email address. Are you saying this is improper?