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Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#61
post #5

Is there a phone number associated with the account? How does GitHub want you to prove that you're you?

There is, but it's not a phone number I have access to anymore. I changed it to the said person's phone number before I surrendered so that this exact scenario did not happen. I trusted the wrong person.

You might want a lawyer's help to get that person to assist. Perhaps through an agreement not to sue for past wrongs, and maybe with a payment.

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#62
post #53

I wonder if you can make a creative small claims court claim against them. Denying access to some repo where you spent x hours on which can be resolved by them paying you y dollars * x hours. And then hoping a lawyer takes pitty on you and restores the account?

That's a good idea! I've been thinking about how they could solve this, since they accept payments; wouldn't it be possible to request a payment with a specific reference code to verify the identity? Paired with any other required identification process, documentation, etc.

IIUC, the issue is not that they can't verify OP. It's that there is a policy decision not to restore access.

So you have to work around the policy issue.

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#63
post #57

I'm perpetually worried (and partially prepared) for this sort of scenario, as more of my accounts require 2FA. I dread the day I lose or break my phone, have my items stolen, there's a weather disaster etc. I try to make my hobby repos public and/or backed up in multiple places as a hedge.

Print out 2FA codes and bury them somewhere. It's not that hard, and you feel like a proper spy doing it ;)

Please don't depend on this. Paper does not like moisture and soil is full of it.

Use an escrow or custodian (lawyer, bank, etc).

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yubikey in a safe deposit box is about as good as we can get, at least for the services that allow it.

Can we use multiple Yubikeys for a service?

I use 2 yubikeys. I registered both on multiple services. So… yes, it is possible. One key is a backup if the other key stops working.

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#66

I'm perpetually worried (and partially prepared) for this sort of scenario, as more of my accounts require 2FA. I dread the day I lose or break my phone, have my items stolen, there's a weather disaster etc. I try to make my hobby repos public and/or backed up in multiple places as a hedge.

Yubikey in a safe deposit box is about as good as we can get, at least for the services that allow it.

The problem with this tactic is the need to go get the Yubikey every time you make a new account.

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#67

I'm perpetually worried (and partially prepared) for this sort of scenario, as more of my accounts require 2FA. I dread the day I lose or break my phone, have my items stolen, there's a weather disaster etc. I try to make my hobby repos public and/or backed up in multiple places as a hedge.

All my digital life is sorted with a password manager that sync's in a cloud (I know some consider this an anti-feature). I guess OP probably had to disclose information to someone (s)he trusts when going to prison and that trust was abused.

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#68
post #44
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I for one would appreciate the option to put an ID on file ahead of time, at least for important stuff like this. I'm at that point of agreement. I don't want to say "national SSO ID" because that can get really Orwellian obviously. Being able to put an ID on file is a reasonable ask.

a passport is orwellian? i don't really get this fear of government issued IDs. if your government is so bad that it will abuse IDs for surveillance, then your government is the problem, and not having a national ID is not going to protect you.

Someone explained this to me the other day in a way that helped me understand the concern better.

Not already having a ton of easy and effective choke points on the whole citizenry (which such a card would eventually grow into due to its usefulness) is a safeguard against wannabe tyrants being confident they can crush dissent easily and thus to them seizing power in the first place. Just like I wouldn’t steal a car with a manual transmission because I know I wouldn’t be able to drive it successfully, and certainly not well enough to outrun the consequences.

If I were a fascist I’d be a lot more brazen if I knew that I could switch off every dissenter’s ability to travel, work, or even buy food, in an instant.

Re: Ask HN: Went to prison for 18 months, lost access to my GitHub. What can I do?

#69
post #68
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a passport is orwellian? i don't really get this fear of government issued IDs. if your government is so bad that it will abuse IDs for surveillance, then your government is the problem, and not having a national ID is not going to protect you.

Someone explained this to me the other day in a way that helped me understand the concern better. Not already having a ton of easy and effective choke points on the whole citizenry (which such a card would eventually grow into due to its usefulness) is a safeguard against wannabe tyrants being confident they can crush dissent easily and thus to them seizing power in the first place. Just like I wouldn’t steal a car w…

What if you were a fascist who exercised influence over Experian and TransUnion, the airlines, and of course the TSA? The horse has left the barn already.
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