Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

mynsarecords.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 60 posts

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#31

Post by dfc »

tsaoutourpants wrote: post #14
dedward wrote: post #9

So.. they said please, didn't threaten you, and pointed out a few potential problems with the method you are using (like missing return addresses). That seems.. helpful?

They were certainly polite. :) I did a quick check for people submitting things like "FUCK YOU" and "YOUR MOM" in every field and deleted those before sending. A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them. 95% of what was sent had a full address.

A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them

Did you ever read their instructions for filing a FOIA request? "If you do not include a name and complete postal address, NSA will be unable to respond."[1]

While you are here I dont understand what you mean by:

"It seems that the NSA does not quite get that this is a protest, in addition to a request for information."

How did you expect them to act? And/or what behavior would constitute recognition that this is a "protest"? NSA is required by law to respond to FOIA requests. The civil servant that emailed you was doing what her employer told her to do so that she could continue to bring a paycheck home. Are all the "protest" FOIA requests supposed to get tossed in a burn bag at the end of the day?

[1] http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/foia/submit_foia_request/foia...

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#32

Post by agwa »

diminoten wrote: post #10

What's the actual protest? That the paper FOIA requests don't include the required information to honor said request, allowing the NSA to throw out the requests entirely without having to spend time fulfilling them? Sounds more like the ~~company~~ guy is trying to cover for ~~its~~ his fuckup filling out the forms. It's a much more effective protest to actually make the NSA follow through with the requests. Edit: Al…

> This man is an idiot, please don't fill up HN with this drivel.

This personal insult is uncalled for. It's easy to sit around and complain about what the government is doing, but this man has actually gone out and done something - setting up infrastructure to make it easier for the average person to submit these requests, he is spreading the word, etc. He has also done great work protesting the TSA.

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#35

Post by pwenzel »

dedward wrote: post #9

So.. they said please, didn't threaten you, and pointed out a few potential problems with the method you are using (like missing return addresses). That seems.. helpful?

Does it bother anyone else that the online FOIA Request form [1] is not protected by SSL?

Edit: I attempted to submit a request via the online form, but it responded "An error occurred while processing your request." This makes the paper request seem much more reasonable now.

[1] http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/foia/submit_foia_request/foia...

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#36

Post by diminoten »

agwa wrote: post #32
diminoten wrote: post #10

What's the actual protest? That the paper FOIA requests don't include the required information to honor said request, allowing the NSA to throw out the requests entirely without having to spend time fulfilling them? Sounds more like the ~~company~~ guy is trying to cover for ~~its~~ his fuckup filling out the forms. It's a much more effective protest to actually make the NSA follow through with the requests. Edit: Al…

> This man is an idiot, please don't fill up HN with this drivel. This personal insult is uncalled for. It's easy to sit around and complain about what the government is doing, but this man has actually gone out and done something - setting up infrastructure to make it easier for the average person to submit these requests, he is spreading the word, etc. He has also done great work protesting the TSA.

He muddies the water, and increases the signal/noise ratio.

Idiot may have been harsh as a judgement of character, but this post is idiotic.

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#37

Post by intopieces »

dfc wrote: post #31
tsaoutourpants wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were certainly polite. :) I did a quick check for people submitting things like "FUCK YOU" and "YOUR MOM" in every field and deleted those before sending. A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them. 95% of what was sent had a full address.

A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them Did you ever read their instructions for filing a FOIA request? "If you do not include a name and complete postal address, NSA will be unable to respond."[1] While you are here I dont understand what you mean by: "It seems that the NSA does not quite get that this is a protest, in…

"The civil servant that emailed you was doing what her employer told her to do so that she could continue to bring a paycheck home."

So she was just following orders, huh?

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#38

Post by saraid216 »

agwa wrote: post #32
diminoten wrote: post #10

What's the actual protest? That the paper FOIA requests don't include the required information to honor said request, allowing the NSA to throw out the requests entirely without having to spend time fulfilling them? Sounds more like the ~~company~~ guy is trying to cover for ~~its~~ his fuckup filling out the forms. It's a much more effective protest to actually make the NSA follow through with the requests. Edit: Al…

> This man is an idiot, please don't fill up HN with this drivel. This personal insult is uncalled for. It's easy to sit around and complain about what the government is doing, but this man has actually gone out and done something - setting up infrastructure to make it easier for the average person to submit these requests, he is spreading the word, etc. He has also done great work protesting the TSA.

The linked post is not "great work". It's ignorance piled on indignation.

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#39

Post by genwin »

dfc wrote: post #31
tsaoutourpants wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were certainly polite. :) I did a quick check for people submitting things like "FUCK YOU" and "YOUR MOM" in every field and deleted those before sending. A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them. 95% of what was sent had a full address.

A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them Did you ever read their instructions for filing a FOIA request? "If you do not include a name and complete postal address, NSA will be unable to respond."[1] While you are here I dont understand what you mean by: "It seems that the NSA does not quite get that this is a protest, in…

Yes, civil servants who flout the oath they took should be just as respected as those who don't.

> I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same...

Re: NSA: Please Stop Mailing Us FOIA Requests

#40

Post by tsaoutourpants »

dfc wrote: post #31
tsaoutourpants wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were certainly polite. :) I did a quick check for people submitting things like "FUCK YOU" and "YOUR MOM" in every field and deleted those before sending. A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them. 95% of what was sent had a full address.

A couple I let through had things like missing city but valid ZIP code, which I assume would actually be enough to get the letter to them Did you ever read their instructions for filing a FOIA request? "If you do not include a name and complete postal address, NSA will be unable to respond."[1] While you are here I dont understand what you mean by: "It seems that the NSA does not quite get that this is a protest, in…

It's not me that failed to include a full address. It is the people who submitted their information and failed to fill out the form properly. The form is dead simple, but no matter what, there will always be a small % of people who do not follow instructions.

Furthermore, the NSA does not get to make "rules" about the form of FOIA requests. If they have enough information to reply, by law, they must reply.

Post reply on HN