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Milwaukee PT
@24.209.161.x

3 recommendations

Milwaukee PT

Anon

my thoughts no longer valid....

I can now no longer post under my thoughts, says name is not available.
Suspect someone may have registered my anon name.
Please be aware any future posts from me will be under my previous anon name now displayed.

Darknessfall
Premium Member
join:2012-08-17
Motorola MG8725
Asus RT-N66

1 edit

Darknessfall

Premium Member

Seems like when I tested the name my thoughts in my profile it said not available there too.
»/usere ··· /1907668

You should make an account so this doesn't keep happening to you or are you not allowed to make one?

rolande
Certifiable
MVM,
join:2002-05-24
Dallas, TX
ARRIS BGW210-700
Cisco Meraki MR42

rolande

MVM,

said by Darknessfall:

You should make an account so this doesn't keep happening to you or are you not allowed to make one?

Darknessfall See Profile there is a very good reason why they do not use a registered account. They work for the company and have inside info yet reveal a fair amount of personal opinions or detailed technical analysis that may, at times, not put them in a good position politically. As soon as they register, anything they post could be attributed directly back to them and negatively affect their success inside the organizations. It can be a difficult gray area to navigate when trying to be honest and helpful.

I am cool with them continuing to consistently use the same anonymous account because they provide a lot of useful information to many of the users here and do not create any real problems, as far as I'm concerned. If AT&T ever sees this differently for any reason, then our approach may be forced to change.

Darknessfall
Premium Member
join:2012-08-17
Motorola MG8725
Asus RT-N66

1 recommendation

Darknessfall

Premium Member

I figured so, that's why I suggested that he wasn't able to make one. I figured it had something to do with AT&T.

I wish the employees here had more freedom. I appreciate all of the employee posts .

rtfm
join:2005-07-09
Washington, DC

rtfm

Member

said by Milwaukee PT :

my thoughts no longer valid....

I often thought that way the day AFTER New Years Eve, but I'm too old for such any more...

I too welcome their insight & knowledge.

For example:
I spoke to the installation supervisor re: our situation, and mentioned the "end of quarter" supplies situation. His response "I can neither confirm nor deny the issue of low stock...." made me, as someone Inside The Beltway, laugh. I also related nrobot80's story re: no remotes & he was as unhappy as I was at the wasted effort.

ILpt4U
Premium Member
join:2006-11-12
Saint Louis, MO
ARRIS TM822
Asus RT-N66

ILpt4U to Darknessfall

Premium Member

to Darknessfall

said by Darknessfall See Profile
I wish the employees here had more freedom. I appreciate all of the employee posts .

Too much freedom could cause all sorts of problems... Anyone remember the old uverseusers.com?

As far as I know there is not outright ban on employees with registered accounts posting...I hope anyway...

rolande is right, though, as there is some politics involved. Many employees come here not officially as part of the job, but just to share thoughts/experiences (that can be shared). I know I like to at least pretend to be semi-anonymous. And my dslr account here predates my current employment anyway -- I find the industry interesting

And Darknessfall, rtfm -- you are welcome =)

K9DAK
join:2010-09-13
Wauconda, IL

K9DAK

Member

I'll add my thanks... ILpt4U gave me lots of insight into my situation, and that allowed me to speak intelligently with CSRs and visiting techs (sixth one coming Friday now that my FECs have hit over 50 million in three days).

Cheers and Happy New Year!

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer to rolande

Premium Member

to rolande
said by rolande:

Darknessfall See Profile there is a very good reason why they do not use a registered account. They work for the company and have inside info yet reveal a fair amount of personal opinions or detailed technical analysis that may, at times, not put them in a good position politically. As soon as they register, anything they post could be attributed directly back to them and negatively affect their success inside the organizations. It can be a difficult gray area to navigate when trying to be honest and helpful.

I am cool with them continuing to consistently use the same anonymous account because they provide a lot of useful information to many of the users here and do not create any real problems, as far as I'm concerned. If AT&T ever sees this differently for any reason, then our approach may be forced to change.

I can recall having a discussion with the site owner about what information is known about registered users. His reply was that he had no way to obtain the real world identity of any registered user based on any information that was required to register an account (and he would only know the real world identity of even a moderator if that individual chose to reveal their identity). The email address that is used for registration could be a disposable email address, and even the real world identity of premium users is hidden because the site uses outside sources for credit card processing. The only real world information that is available from the site records is the IP address(es) in the web server logs -- and that information is available whether the user is registered, or "anonymous" (and could be requested via a court order by an employer). A registered user is just as "anonymous" as (s)he wishes to be. Don't post personal information on-line, and nobody will know who you are without a court order -- and that is no different than for an "anonymous" user.

As an example, a while back I was routinely making "anonymous" posts on several forums on this site due to a compatibility problem with the browser I was using and some new site code related to the login process. More than one forum moderator asked me about it; and aside from possible recognition of my writing style (yes, I know I am a bit long winded), the only way that would have been known would be the IP addresses (and possibly combined with browser ID strings) in the web server logs. So any AT&T employee (or contractor) who wishes to post here, and be truly anonymous should be more concerned about from where the posts are made than whether or not they use a registered account on the site. Off shore proxies or VPNs, are the anonymous user's only friends.

rolande
Certifiable
MVM,
join:2002-05-24
Dallas, TX
ARRIS BGW210-700
Cisco Meraki MR42

rolande

MVM,

NetFixer See Profile while you are pretty much correct, the point here is that the user is more concerned about appearances and politics than legal issues. One irritated manager is not going to get a court order for IP address info to prove who posted information on this site. There would have to be some significant civil or criminal damage caused in order to convince a judge to issue a court order. I think we all know that 'my thoughts' has been an extremely helpful and beneficial resource to users on this site and to AT&T in general. You would struggle to find posts by them here that would warrant a reprimand from a manager let alone a court order to reveal identity for purposes of civil or criminal prosecution.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by rolande:

NetFixer See Profile while you are pretty much correct, the point here is that the user is more concerned about appearances and politics than legal issues...

And that particular "anonymous" user has already publicly implied being an AT&T employee. So what difference would being a registered, or non-registered user make? Registering (and thereby preserving the desired pseudonym) would in no way make that person any more identifiable or vulnerable to AT&T retaliation; nor would it have any effect I can think of on "appearances and politics". Really, how could registering a pseudonym on this site in any way effect "appearances and politics"? I may not always succeed, but I try to be a logical individual, and I don't see the logic in that argument.

I can understand someone not wanting to reveal certain proprietary information (but that is not what this thread is about). I have myself on many occasions had to sit on my hands because of NDAs even though I would very much want to answer someone's question (or assertion). But I never once worried that anything I have posted would have more or less impact for any past employer or client simply because I am a registered member on this site. If I truly wanted to appear "anonymous" (and a quick perusal of my site profile and my posting history should answer that question), I would still be a registered member because of certain advantages associated with premium membership -- but I would certainly be more discreet about posting personal information.

FWIW, I use the particular pseudonym of NetFixer because that was a nickname that many of my clients used when referring to me. My real name, address, phone number, etc is easily available by just looking at my DSLR site profile and visiting my web sites, or doing a whois query on any of my domains. I have sometimes thought of just using my full name as my site pseudonym; but so many members have gotten used to the NetFixer moniker, that I have not done so.

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey to NetFixer

Premium Member

to NetFixer
Unmasking who a member is:
1) Click their name
2) Click post history
3) Look through their posts to find identifying information

Unmasking who an anon is:
1) ????
(site does not provide a way so see all posts by an IP or anon name)

/M

rolande
Certifiable
MVM,
join:2002-05-24
Dallas, TX
ARRIS BGW210-700
Cisco Meraki MR42

rolande to NetFixer

MVM,

to NetFixer
What mackey See Profile said. And what I mean by politics is internal manager retaliation at review time. A determined manager probably could piece the puzzle together and figure out who it is if they really had a reason. It makes the individual feel safer to not use a registered account. Whether that is material or not, under certain circumstances, is not the point. The individual hardly does anything to warrant direct corporate retaliation. However, were a manager to trace the identity, it could be used subjectively against the individual. If I were in the same position I would not use a registered account either. However minor you might argue, there is some security afforded through obscurity.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer to mackey

Premium Member

to mackey
said by mackey:

Unmasking who an anon is:
1) ????
(site does not provide a way so see all posts by an IP or anon name)

In that case, you might find this forum search interesting:
»/nsear ··· Thoughts
NetFixer

1 edit

NetFixer to rolande

Premium Member

to rolande
said by rolande:

What mackey See Profile said...

In that case, you might find this forum search interesting:
»/nsear ··· Thoughts
said by rolande:

If I were in the same position I would not use a registered account either. However minor you might argue, there is some security afforded through obscurity.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But obscurity is not security -- it is a warm cozy blanket to hid under. And a non-registered user who consistently uses the same pseudonym is no more obscure than a registered user who consistently uses the same pseudonym.

And while the subject is security by obscurity -- if you truly believe that then the non-registered user who used to use the pseudonym "my thoughts" would have been more obscure as a registered user. I already knew that person probably lived/worked in/near Milwaukee before the pseudonym changed to "Milwaukee PT" because of the IP address that was usually present in all of the posts by that individual -- a registered user's IP address is only visible to site staff with access to the web server logs, but the three most significant octets of a non-registered user's IP address is publicly displayed for every post.

rolande
Certifiable
MVM,
join:2002-05-24
Dallas, TX
ARRIS BGW210-700
Cisco Meraki MR42

rolande

MVM,

said by NetFixer:

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But obscurity is not security -- it is a warm cozy blanket to hid under. And a non-registered user who consistently uses the same pseudonym is no more obscure than a registered user who consistently uses the same pseudonym.

Okay, you are clearly determined to force some watershed realization here. What are you suggesting? That I need to care if the user is registered or not? You have just proven that it doesn't matter. Stop beating the dead horse. The user is entitled to stay anonymous and it does not bother me in the slightest.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by rolande:

Okay, you are clearly determined to force some watershed realization here. What are you suggesting? That I need to care if the user is registered or not? You have just proven that it doesn't matter. Stop beating the dead horse. The user is entitled to stay anonymous and it does not bother me in the slightest.

My point is and has been that the non-registered user is less anonymous than a registered user (and my example of the publicly displayed IP address should be proof of that to anyone). And a forum moderator who suggests that a non-registered user is more "anonymous" than a registered user is not doing that non-registered user any favors (which is why some of my posts have been replies to your posts). Just "my thoughts" on the subject.

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey to NetFixer

Premium Member

to NetFixer
said by NetFixer:

said by mackey:

Unmasking who an anon is:
1) ????
(site does not provide a way so see all posts by an IP or anon name)

In that case, you might find this forum search interesting:
»/nsear ··· Thoughts

Not really. That search only returns posts in which he was quoted. If he doesn't get quoted then his posts do not show up in that search. That search also has a lot of "noise" where other people use the words "my" and "thoughts."

It all boils down to ease of unmasking - if someone is determined enough they can usually find out who someone is with enough digging, anon or registered. Being registered just makes it super easy and someone who only casually cares can easily figure it out with just a few right keywords and the "Username: Made by:" field.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

2 edits

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by mackey:

Not really. That search only returns posts in which he was quoted. If he doesn't get quoted then his posts do not show up in that search. That search also has a lot of "noise" where other people use the words "my" and "thoughts."

That was just a quick and simple search, and it does indeed show up original posts by the non-registered user "my thoughts" -- just because you did not notice them (or chose not to notice them) does not mean that they are not present. That search could also easily be refined to mask some of the "noise" as you call it (have you ever used an Internet search engine before?). I was simply pointing out that searching for posts by non-registered users is not impossible, and even with the "noise" can get results for anyone interested in looking.

Try seaching for Milwaukee PT: »/nsear ··· aukee+PT

The only thing that this site does not appear to use in a search for posts from non-registered users is the @aaa.bbb.ccc.x IP address that is displayed publicly with non-registered posts (and since the IP addresses of registered users is not publicly displayed at all is only a partial compensation for having that IP address displayed for non-registered users in the first place). In this particular case the @24.209.161.x IP address that accompanied most of the posts by "my thoughts" told me that individual most likely lived/worked in the Milwaukee area long before the pseudonym changed to "Milwaukee PT" (although in some cases it only said "@rr.com" -- I don't know why this site occasionally uses the domain name instead of the more common IP address tag, but in my opinion that should be the default method if location information is to be used for non-registered users).

OTOH, if a registered user doesn't put valid information into the Zip Code field in the user profile, and doesn't put location information in posts, nobody will know where they are located -- a non-registered user does not have that option. Is that more obscure or "anonymous" than a registered user or less obscure or "anonymous"?

I just find it somewhat unsettling that the predominant advice for a user who wishes to be somewhat obscure seems to be to not register -- when a non-registered user is by default less obscure than a registered user (unless the registered user chooses to make location information available). Now I have seen some non-registered users who obviously took the extra step to use a proxy or VPN, but that does not seem to be the case for the OP of this thread (unless the OP is super clever, and has religiously used a VPN connection to Wilwaukee, WI, but actually lives/works in Columbus, OH).
System

Anon

This topic has been closed. Reason: run its course