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The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

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Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#171

Post by mattzito »

varjag wrote: post #158
lentil_soup wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the line is on whether it's a personal/private matter and when it's not. The NSA is a government agency, so what it does is in the public interest. A guy planning to bomb something is also by definition affecting the public so exposing that is also in the public interest. This hack, the fappening and similar are completely personal and private so they are of no concern to anyone but the people involved in it.

Infidelity is not a private matter however: the person being cheated on has the right to know. For a million cheaters, there's a million their SOs, often living miserable lives but denied an informed choice about their future and kept at non-negligible health risk. It stops being a private matter when it trespasses into other people's life.

It is by definition a private matter - we have no idea what the context behind these peoples actions are. They could have an agreement with their spouse to let them discreetly cheat. Cheating could be a part of their particular marital or relationship kinks. They could be in emotionally abusive relationships and looking for comfort.

Or they could be cheaters who are lying to their SOs.

Regardless, we the general public have no horse in this race. We haven't been asked by the person's SO to find this out, the people in question are not public figures, and we have no knowledge of the specifics of their situation.

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#172

Post by simoncion »

dgfv1 wrote: post #133
harryf wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good thing you did it anonymously. We wouldn't want you to have to face any consequences for your actions. Let's hope you're not responsible for something like this http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/utah-dad-kills-fami...

I'm sorry what does that article have anything to do with anything. And if some wacko kills his family and himself how is that in any way my fault?

How was harryf in any way saying that the incident in Utah was your fault?

Please take the time to read comments more closely before replying. If you find yourself angry at something, draft a comment, wait a few minutes, and re-read both the draft and the comment to which you are replying before posting. :)

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#173

Post by agopaul »

inversionOf wrote: post #30
jpatokal wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, the three people say the last digits of their credit card numbers were included in the dump, while the Ashley Madison CTO says they don't keep credit card numbers, full stop.

Storing the final digits complies with the CC requirements, to my knowledge. I mean, every online store happily shows me my final four digits. So it could just be confusion about what they mean. Having said that, Ashley Madison has approximately zero credibility, so whatever their agents say is open to intense skepticism.

This, you don't even need to be PCI compliant to store the last 4 digits and the expiration date. This way you can show this info to the user and email the user before the card expires (in case of recurring payments).

If you work with external payment gateways sometimes you are provided with this information even if the card processing is done directly on the processor page (you only have access to limited information about the card and the transaction)

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#174

Post by kalms »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #154
dagw wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

one could argue that what AM is doing is an explicit attempt to damage the basic building block of society Sure, but one could also argue the same about per-marital sex, divorce and homosexuals.

Marriages are not just moral issues, they're also contracts between people themselves and between the couples and the government. They come with privileges and tax breaks and social status, and all of it is built upon assumption that marriages are mostly permanent. AM is explicitly attempting to attack that.

Who are you to judge how people live and should their lifes? How dull. There are so many different family structures — incl. open relationships.

A family's structure and agreements is not public, nor should they be. Unless said family choose to disclose that fact by their own volition.

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#175

Post by varjag »

mattzito wrote: post #171
varjag wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Infidelity is not a private matter however: the person being cheated on has the right to know. For a million cheaters, there's a million their SOs, often living miserable lives but denied an informed choice about their future and kept at non-negligible health risk. It stops being a private matter when it trespasses into other people's life.

It is by definition a private matter - we have no idea what the context behind these peoples actions are. They could have an agreement with their spouse to let them discreetly cheat. Cheating could be a part of their particular marital or relationship kinks. They could be in emotionally abusive relationships and looking for comfort. Or they could be cheaters who are lying to their SOs. Regardless, we the general publ…

Well that's the thing, the SOs now can find out. Yeah as a cheater one would get the uncomfortable feeling from everyone else possibly knowing that too, alas. Comes with the territory.

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#176

Post by zamalek »

camillomiller wrote: post #153
zamalek wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> God-given natural status The "God reasoning" isn't the only reasoning. Just like polygamy is a choice, so is monogamy. It's a sexual choice. What is wrong is that people can't be open about that choice. People should be able to be open and honest about being polygamous or monogamous with their partner - yes, that might sometimes result in the relationship ending; but there's a good chance where there is a disagreem…

It's not really a choice. It's "the way things are supposed to be". The argument is not unrelated though, because it's relative the nature of our society. And that nature is what makes this hack so juicy to people that would have otherwise have ignored that as they ignored many other data leaks in the past. Freedom of choice is important, but you're not really free to choose polygamy when education and morals are sti…

> It's not really a choice.

Just like homosexuality "was not a choice" a mere few years ago: yet people did choose to be open about their homosexuality and did choose to fight for their rights as homosexuals. Look where we are today: the American courts now lawfully recognize that choice in marriage.

> archaic religious beliefs

So far as advanced societies go, believing in higher power(s) is a choice. It is certainly not archaic to those who choose to do so and in the somewhat broken world today, possibly more relevant to them than ever. I've never understood why those who are discriminated against have discriminated beliefs. It's not right when their force-feed their beliefs down people's throats, but that doesn't make it right to force-feed Atheism/Agnosticism down theirs.

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#177

Post by gjm11 »

david-given wrote: post #144
dang wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a word for things that only other people can be? The one that always comes to mind is "tourist".

It's 'outgroup'. There's a really amazing post here about outgroups and the distorted way we reason --- or fail to reason --- about them. It's a bit long, but totally worth the read. http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything...

> really amazing [...] a bit long, but totally worth the read

You have just described at least half of the dozens of posts on that blog.

(There's a best-of list, still intimidatingly long, here: http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/mmg/yvains_most_importa... and a best-of-best-of subset of that, unfortunately with only the titles and no links, here: http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/mmg/yvains_most_importa.... I haven't looked through either of those lists and make no claim that they have successfully selected the best. The lists include not only posts on Slate Star Codex, but also others -- mostly earlier -- from the same author elsewhere.)

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#178

Post by pjc50 »

varjag wrote: post #158
lentil_soup wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the line is on whether it's a personal/private matter and when it's not. The NSA is a government agency, so what it does is in the public interest. A guy planning to bomb something is also by definition affecting the public so exposing that is also in the public interest. This hack, the fappening and similar are completely personal and private so they are of no concern to anyone but the people involved in it.

Infidelity is not a private matter however: the person being cheated on has the right to know. For a million cheaters, there's a million their SOs, often living miserable lives but denied an informed choice about their future and kept at non-negligible health risk. It stops being a private matter when it trespasses into other people's life.

Perhaps they have a right to know, but that doesn't mean that you, I, or any other random bystander has a right to know.

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#179

Post by kalms »

antillean wrote: post #160
brerlapn wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been known to drink Budweiser. Does that mean that I believe that women will suddenly find me sexy and the Swedish bikini team will appear as I pop off the bottlecap to lavish me with scantily-clad attention? You are conflating the marketing copy of the company with the intentions and motivations of the users. Just because something confirms your most cynical expectations doesn't make it true. Ashley Madison has…

Uh, what? How is membership in a website that is known, markets itself, and is designed as a cheating website not evidence of the intentions and motivations of its members? Of course membership in Ashley Madison isn't irrefutable proof that a person is looking for an affair. But how is it also not good reason to believe that he/she is?

You can use a gun for killing, and it's marketed for that specific purpose. Does owning a gun make you a killer?

Re: The Ashley Madison Database Was Leaked

#180

Post by 0x4a42 »

tajano wrote: post #81
duncan_bayne wrote: post #37

There's something poetic about people who use an Internet based service to commit adultery being exposed by crackers. With luck the fallout will break Ashley Madison too.

I signed up years ago out of curiosity. I was single, and had no intention of getting involved with a married woman. I just wanted to see if people were actually dumb enough to post their own pictures on a cheating website.

I signed up on AM to cheat on my wife.
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