From: query@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Samuel Green)
Subject: Re: I'll tell you why there aren't any women here
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 08:49:48 GMT

	Guess I'll put my 2 cents in...
	I have posted to a news group in the past, and then, about a day
later, gotten a harrassing phone call.  The caller mentioned a few things
from my post, and, when I finally got a line trap installed (after the 20th
call on the second day of this) I found out that they were calling from my
city.  I did not know them, and none of the people on the net who know me
in rl know him either.  Seems that he was able to get:
	1) My real name from the "finger" command, the one with the plan
file.
	2) My home city from "finger"

	Then, armed with that info and a phone book, he was easily able to
track down my number and call me.  I am the only person in the phone book
with my full name, so it was pretty simple. 
	Now, this was kind of extreme, so I guess it dosent happen all that
often.  But, when it happened here, I will say that it changed a LOT of
ideas I had about the nets supposed anonynimity.  I thought that no one
could get my real name, or, that id they could, they would have no easy way
of getting other info.  Well, looks like I was wrong...
	Anyway...  I think that the women and men who get harrassed should
*definately* take any appropriate measures to catch the harrassers.
Ignoring a problem will *not* solve it.  As an example:  Remember when you
were a kid in school, and someone would pick on you? The teachers said
"Ignore it, they will stop."  But it never did.  
	If you are really worried about harrassment, but you still want to
use the net, then I suggest a few things.
	1) Change your phone number, and get it made unlisted.  This will
not stop a determined person (it is *quite* easy to get an unlisted number,
if you know how), but it will at least slow them down.,
	2) Change the information given out in your .plan or the local ph
so that it will not give any info about you to the potential harrasser.
Change the 'real name' if necessary, and if your sysadmin allows.
	3) Be careful about what you post.  Try to make sure that nothing
is terribly provocative (Yeah, I know, some of these twits find the word
"gender" overstimulating) so that at least some overactive glandular
conditions will not feel like responding.
	4) Use anonymous posts as often as possible, and *never* give out
your e-mail address unless you are as sure as possible that the person will
not harrass you.  Also, be sure to tell anyone that you give your address
to to expressly forbid them giving it to anyone for any reason whatsoever.

	I know that a lot of that is obvious, but, hell, never hurts to
post it.  
	And, I am sure that I will get some harrassment from some 'clever'
child about this, they showing me that I can be tracked (rather easily,
since I took no precautions) and all that.  Ah, well, such is the price.
	Oh, yes, if any of those 'clever' children wishes to call me,
assuming that they can get my number, remember:  The line trap is very easy
to have put on, free of charge, and, when the cops get a number, they give
it to the person being harrassed.  Finding someone and threatening them is
a rather nasty business when the other person bites back.
	Sam

Newsgroups: alt.personals