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I Am Deleting the Blog

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Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#81

Post by fourcommas »

pvg wrote: post #53
chillacy wrote: post #14

This is a tragedy, Scott Alexander is such a thoughtful writer. I wish journalists would come up with some professional standards and make the title licensed, like doctor or lawyer. Right now we all recognize how important journalism is but journalists themselves run the gamut from ethical investigative journalists to clickbait manufacturers. Imagine if journalists also had to adhere to the equivalent of attorney cli…

Scott Alexander was not the source. Journalists generally don't reveal sources and some have gone to jail to avoid doing so.

And then there's Washington Post whose entire editorial board signed a letter asking the US Gov to arrest and charge their own source. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/edward-snowden-doesn...

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#82

Post by wskinner »

Smaug123 wrote: post #71
wskinner wrote: post #64

Edit: this comment was not constructive.

This behaviour is very much not going to help. One of the many reasons doxxing is bad is because "speculation" is so often wrong. Anyway, it rather diminishes the force of an argument that the NYT is in the wrong if a mob publishes someone's name in a spasm of outrage over the fact that the NYT wanted to publish someone's name.

It’s not really the same. One person is a pseudonymous blogger who requested to keep their pseudonimity. The other is a reporter for the best known newspaper in the world. But I agree it’s a bad look, I have removed the comment.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#83

Post by alexashka »

This is a very smart and calculated move on his behalf.

One that is surely unexpected by the scumbag reporter. I predict the reporter will be forced to back off, he'll keep his job and go on shitting on other people's lives for a living, but SSC gets to keeps his privacy, for a while longer.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#84

Post by londons_explore »

jaredtn wrote: post #9
bonchicbongenre wrote: post #6

Somewhat related — does anyone know an easier way to cancel one's NYT subscription than going through the rigmarole of waiting for/talking with multiple "customer service" reps? After NYT's all-too-credulous parroting of Barr's mischaracherization of the Mueller report I tried to cancel mine, but spent over an hour on the phone with no progress, and gave it up. I should have persisted — I don't want to give them my m…

Credit card chargebacks really hurt, and are the appropriate response to a situation where they continue to take your money.

Most companies pay about $15 per chargeback (independent of if they win or not).

Especially for low value things, even a few percent chargebacks will be really costly.

Source:. Was selling $1 physical items online... The business was profitable until a few percent of packages started going missing in the mail, and rather than contacting us, customers would just chargeback, forcing me to double the price of the service.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#86

Post by tschwimmer »

pvg wrote: post #53
chillacy wrote: post #14

This is a tragedy, Scott Alexander is such a thoughtful writer. I wish journalists would come up with some professional standards and make the title licensed, like doctor or lawyer. Right now we all recognize how important journalism is but journalists themselves run the gamut from ethical investigative journalists to clickbait manufacturers. Imagine if journalists also had to adhere to the equivalent of attorney cli…

Scott Alexander was not the source. Journalists generally don't reveal sources and some have gone to jail to avoid doing so.

Scott Alexander may not have been the original source, but he is a definitely _a_ source as it seems he was in touch with the reporter. The reporter has an undeniable ethical duty to decide whether to publish his full name after he raises concerns about his safety.

I see limited to no news value in publishing his name and substantial risk of harm, but I'm a frequent reader and admirer of the blog.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#87

Post by Smaug123 »

qq11ww22ee33 wrote: post #74

When did "investigative journalism" become "doxxing"? Terminal internet brain.

Why is Scott's real name even relevant to the article? He has good reason not to want it published, and his real name is of no interest to most readers given that his entire public online presence is in the name "Scott Alexander". Knowing that Lewis Carroll was really called Charles Dodgson may be a piece of trivia that makes you win a pub quiz one day, and it may be of niche interest to someone who reads one of his mathematical papers and realises that the author is the same as the author of Alice, but Scott's real name won't even win you a pub quiz and has similarly niche publications that are not of remotely general interest.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#88

Post by jamesrcole »

Findeton wrote: post #35
sxp wrote: post #5

> He told me it would be a mostly positive piece about how we were an interesting gathering place for people in tech, and how we were ahead of the curve on some aspects of the coronavirus situation. It probably would have been a very nice article. Unfortunately, he told me he had discovered my real name and would reveal it in the article, ie doxx me. ... When I expressed these fears to the reporter, he just said that…

He could also name the NYT reporter.

I would like to know who the journalist is. Not so they can be threatened or put in danger. But so their reputation can take a hit. Part of the reason people do these things is because they can get away with it without any consequences.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#89

Post by rachelshu »

maxwelljoslyn wrote: post #21

I clicked on this expecting it to be Scott Alexander blogging about somebody else getting doxxed. I flipped like a boat when I realized what I was reading. Holy shit! I was just in SSC's Open Thread a few hours ago opening comment permalinks in tabs to respond to them. That NYT writer should be fired. I hope Scott recovers soon. SSC is my favorite place on the Web.

I don't think, given Scott's recent defense of Steve Hsu, that he'd really want people fired for doing ill-advised things, even if they could be reasonably construed as dangerous, unless harm was demonstrated. It's still disappointing that the journalist is making this choice.

Re: I Am Deleting the Blog

#90

Post by TMWNN »

burntoutfire wrote: post #62
rtz12 wrote: post #49

This might be a controversial opinion, but I have just one word to describe most journalists nowadays: "scum". They seek exciting and sensationalist stories without regard for any consequences in the real world. They twist their stories to manipulate the readers towards their viewpoint. But worst of all, they have the gall to present themselves as the upholders of morality and the paragons of democracy. Any criticism…

There's a novel by Balzac (forgot which one), which shows the behind-the-scenes of mid-XIX century Paris journalism. It's essentially the same as you described, but also, the journalists don't flaunt their views, but rather their masters' (the owners of the papers).

Such has a long tradition in France, and lasted well into the 20th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_French_journalism#M...

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