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Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

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Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#91

Post by s1artibartfast »

null0pointer wrote: post #60
s1artibartfast wrote: post #20

I dont plan to run for president or anything, but find myself increasingly censoring my online speech. I think the biggest risk is some out of context post being pulled into a civil suit, or professional cancellation following that. Things like advice in an alcohol recovery forum would be prime evidence for a liability suit. There are also groups that vacuum the internet for offensive posts, and use them to try to ge…

> try to get people fired for things they said 10 years ago I assume the implication here is that the thing they said 10 years ago was less inappropriate back then. So how do you predict sensitivity changes 10 years in the future to limit your speech today? Even if you delete posts after, say 1 year, archives exist. Shouldn’t you just not say anything if you’re afraid of this? Maybe discussion of self-censorship like…

I wasn't implying that it depends on sensitivity changes, although that is possible too. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

My thought was more about time and distance. Something can be unpopular or even wrong when it's first said too. People are dynamic and change over time. The mechanism of change is living their lives.

Taboos can change as well, so there is a motivation to steer clear of controversial topics in recorded media. You can use discretion to judge risk. It's unlikely that someone's going to fire you for discussing ice cream in 10 years.

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#92

Post by sangnoir »

cruffle_duffle wrote: post #59
nurettin wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I try to use the same name across websites. I want to be identified as the same person. Just resist the urge to post information you don't want others to have.

The secret is multiple accounts. I too have a Brand Name Account(tm) I like to float around but it sure as heck isn’t this one. Doing the multiple account thing isn’t as easy as it sounds though. Some sites like Reddit make switching between accounts incredibly easy while others aren’t so much. Plus laziness kicks in and soon enough your Brand Name Account gets tainted and you have to consider taking it out back to t…

> The secret is multiple accounts.

There was a "show hn" many months ago that did stylometry on HN commenters to show which accounts were most stylistically similar; I ran a throwaway account of mine through it, and it showed my account in the top 3 - which was impressive.

Having multiple accounts won't save you when your own word choice, grammar and style can uniquely identify you to anyone sufficiently motivated to link your disparate identities at any point in the future. The author even said their tool was rather basic; IIRC the basis was all pairs similarity on n-grams

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#93

Post by sureglymop »

pluc wrote: post #64
fragmede wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clean up the online footprint for someone that hires you to do so before they run for office. I don't remember every single web site I've every signed up for going back to when I started using the Internet, and neither can you.

Internet Archive likely renders that point moot, no? There a plenty of sites that index tweets outside of Twitter for example... at least there used to be

You can request them to take down personally identifying information about yourself. They respond quickly and seem to have someone employed to handle GDPR requests.

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#94

Post by cookiengineer »

Tepix wrote: post #23

And this makes it obvious why you should use a unique username everywhere! It makes pervasive tracking a lot harder. Also when you do any research on health related topics, be extra privacy conscious.

Doesn't matter for the next day's witch hunt

They are just gonna make fake accounts that look like yours and shitpost ahead anyways.

Social media has multiple problems, including authenticity, transparency, validity and verifiability. All of which don't exist and make it the optimum propaganda machine (referring to the criteria that Chomsky described) because it can be corrupted through multiple attack vectors.

If we want to survive this hellhole of misinformation, the mentioned criteria has to be implemented for the "next big platform" so that censorship and other legislative processes can be encountered with increased transparency and openness.

On a network/society scale it can't be driven by financial incentives to prevent corruption, ergo it must be financed by taxes. Preferably on an EU or UN legislative level to prevent political corruption of single state actors.

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#95

Post by throwaway519 »

portaouflop wrote: post #82
mrtksn wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And this makes it obvious why you should use a unique username everywhere! Actually I was disappointed by the post, I was hoping it will be able to find the same person regardless of the username through analyzing the writing style, what they are talking about, the timezone etc. The username doesn't prove anything, anybody can take any username anywhere. If someone targets you, they can take usernames on platforms y…

That’s why you should claim your main handle on all platforms, just don’t use it if you want privacy.

I have no interest on some platforms.

Whatvabout the platformsthat I don't know of? Or that don't exist yet?

Even major corporations don't bother with all TLDs.

It's far more plausible to not seek to have the same identity behind the same handle.

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#98

Post by malfist »

sangnoir wrote: post #92
cruffle_duffle wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The secret is multiple accounts. I too have a Brand Name Account(tm) I like to float around but it sure as heck isn’t this one. Doing the multiple account thing isn’t as easy as it sounds though. Some sites like Reddit make switching between accounts incredibly easy while others aren’t so much. Plus laziness kicks in and soon enough your Brand Name Account gets tainted and you have to consider taking it out back to t…

> The secret is multiple accounts. There was a "show hn" many months ago that did stylometry on HN commenters to show which accounts were most stylistically similar; I ran a throwaway account of mine through it, and it showed my account in the top 3 - which was impressive. Having multiple accounts won't save you when your own word choice, grammar and style can uniquely identify you to anyone sufficiently motivated to…

You wouldn't happen to have a link to that would you? I'd really like to check that out

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#99

Post by sangnoir »

malfist wrote: post #98
sangnoir wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The secret is multiple accounts. There was a "show hn" many months ago that did stylometry on HN commenters to show which accounts were most stylistically similar; I ran a throwaway account of mine through it, and it showed my account in the top 3 - which was impressive. Having multiple accounts won't save you when your own word choice, grammar and style can uniquely identify you to anyone sufficiently motivated to…

You wouldn't happen to have a link to that would you? I'd really like to check that out

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33755016

I can't get the site to load

Re: Sherlock: Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400 social networks

#100

Post by inerte »

cookiengineer wrote: post #94
Tepix wrote: post #23

And this makes it obvious why you should use a unique username everywhere! It makes pervasive tracking a lot harder. Also when you do any research on health related topics, be extra privacy conscious.

Doesn't matter for the next day's witch hunt They are just gonna make fake accounts that look like yours and shitpost ahead anyways. Social media has multiple problems, including authenticity, transparency, validity and verifiability. All of which don't exist and make it the optimum propaganda machine (referring to the criteria that Chomsky described) because it can be corrupted through multiple attack vectors. If we…

A state funded platform with a focus on authenticity, transparency, validity and verifiability, is the best thing against censorship? I don’t get how.
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