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Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

sive.rs

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Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#131

Post by throwaway4837 »

I had an idea a few years ago around anonymity, but now it seems even more possible with things like billion parameter LLMs. A service where you enter text that you want to post on Reddit/Twitter/etc. but you instead give it to your locally-running model, which is trained to output the text with the following transformations:

  1. Writing style change
  2. Degree of extra/reduced fluff
  3. Degree of typos
  4. Typing style change (e.g. using semicolons a lot, misusing commas consistently, conventions like S.O.S vs. SOS)
All in an effort to further anonymize your text. The idea is that people have different, consistent grammatical habits and mistakes, writing, concision, etc. You create a "profile" for each identity you want, usually one per account.

Another interesting concept to explore is platform style. Have you ever noticed that everyone on Reddit sort of sounds the same? People on HN sort of sound the same. I think there's an emergent platform-based profile that top comments hover around, because adhering to this style is more likely to get upvotes. The hive mind is real!

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#132

Post by kortilla »

zajio1am wrote: post #119
rt4mn wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That said, as someone who prizes ethical behavior, it's not possible to practice this and remain wholly honest without some sort of ethical loophole The primary "ethical loophole" here is that there is no viable ethical alternative. Something can not be immoral if it is the best of a series of bad options, and if you want to exsist in the world and protect your privacy, the only real option is to create a persona.…

> The primary "ethical loophole" here is that there is no viable ethical alternative. Something can not be immoral if it is the best of a series of bad options, and if you want to exsist in the world and protect your privacy, the only real option is to create a persona. There are simple ethical alternatives, just not disclose that information, or just avoid that questions. Lying in this case is clearly unacceptable.…

Oh really? You’re gonna have a hard time with the monsters in WITSEC then.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#133

Post by vehemenz »

chaboud wrote: post #19

Ah yes... I'm Skimmington Harborough, Esq., I come from a family that made its fortune in philanthropy generations ago. This seems like a pretty straightforward mechanism for covert operatives, to generate a believable (and memorizable) cover that pulls attention away and maintains coherence. That said, as someone who prizes ethical behavior, it's not possible to practice this and remain wholly honest without some so…

Before it was de rigeur to use real names on the Internet, most of us used personas that were informed by our handles.

It's unusual—I might even say unethical, if moral realism were coherent—to insist on real names as a matter of honesty given that real names disproportionately benefit the powerful. The powerless cannot use their real names on the Internet because often there are real world consequences.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#135

Post by Kiro »

O__________O wrote: post #16

As a counter example, I have been largely anonymous online and offline for awhile; yes, aware it is nearly impossible to be completely anonymous, that’s fine, largely a “hobby” for me. Very direct about it, and yes, some people completely shut you out once you tell them, but vast majority don’t; while my opinion, those who do aren’t people I am interested in knowing. Very similar prior to me being largely anonymous,…

In what situations do people you don't know ask you what you do where they actually care what you respond? And why not just say that you don't want to say? Among the online friends I have anonymity is the norm.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#136

Post by buildsjets »

erstorreyk wrote: post #32
O__________O wrote: post #16

As a counter example, I have been largely anonymous online and offline for awhile; yes, aware it is nearly impossible to be completely anonymous, that’s fine, largely a “hobby” for me. Very direct about it, and yes, some people completely shut you out once you tell them, but vast majority don’t; while my opinion, those who do aren’t people I am interested in knowing. Very similar prior to me being largely anonymous,…

https://stylometry.net/user?username=O__________O

stylometry.net is hot garbage. Zero of the candidates that it identifies as being related to buildsjets are my actual alternate accounts. The DBCooper one is interesting, it sounds like a username I might use, but it's still not me.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#137

Post by akerl_ »

zajio1am wrote: post #119
rt4mn wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That said, as someone who prizes ethical behavior, it's not possible to practice this and remain wholly honest without some sort of ethical loophole The primary "ethical loophole" here is that there is no viable ethical alternative. Something can not be immoral if it is the best of a series of bad options, and if you want to exsist in the world and protect your privacy, the only real option is to create a persona.…

> The primary "ethical loophole" here is that there is no viable ethical alternative. Something can not be immoral if it is the best of a series of bad options, and if you want to exsist in the world and protect your privacy, the only real option is to create a persona. There are simple ethical alternatives, just not disclose that information, or just avoid that questions. Lying in this case is clearly unacceptable.…

> If someone is willing to lie in such minor issues, then such person is totally untrustworthy

What’s the backing for this? If a stranger asks me what my favorite color is, I don’t feel any particular obligation to give them a truthful answer. But at least in my experience, that hasn’t manifested as a willingness to lie or deceive in cases where it matters. I think it’s possible that your personal social contract is not as universal as you think.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#138

Post by altruios »

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #121
chaboud wrote: post #19

Ah yes... I'm Skimmington Harborough, Esq., I come from a family that made its fortune in philanthropy generations ago. This seems like a pretty straightforward mechanism for covert operatives, to generate a believable (and memorizable) cover that pulls attention away and maintains coherence. That said, as someone who prizes ethical behavior, it's not possible to practice this and remain wholly honest without some so…

Is lying in-of-itself unethical? I'd be curious to probe a framework that thinks it is, while not holding that axiomatically. As someone who leans heavily into consequentialism, I can think of plenty of times lying can lead to a net positive for everyone. Likewise, there are harmful truths that should be suppressed. That suggests to me that lying is, in-of-itself, amoral. The effect of the lie (or the intent, if you…

There are frameworks that have lying as axiomatically evil. But to be consistent - a painful truth must be preferable to a rewarding lie. To live a lie free life is to invite pain, and to view that pain as both functional and necessary - it is not for the weak to try.

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#139

Post by imhoguy »

Adraghast wrote: post #99
j0hnyl wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I understand art world folks very well know who Banksy is, but I don't think such is the case for the tech world and Satoshi.

Hardly just the art world. That he’s Robert Del Naja (aka 3D from Massive Attack) has been semi-public knowledge for a long time.

Proof? Please

Re: Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery

#140

Post by INTPenis »

erstorreyk wrote: post #32
O__________O wrote: post #16

As a counter example, I have been largely anonymous online and offline for awhile; yes, aware it is nearly impossible to be completely anonymous, that’s fine, largely a “hobby” for me. Very direct about it, and yes, some people completely shut you out once you tell them, but vast majority don’t; while my opinion, those who do aren’t people I am interested in knowing. Very similar prior to me being largely anonymous,…

https://stylometry.net/user?username=O__________O

They need to expand their dataset beyond HN, why would I have two HN accounts? Maybe if I had a public persona that mattered... but I mostly want to be anonymous once to avoid issues with my employer.

But if they expanded their dataset to other sites like reddit I would be concerned.

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