Live data from Hacker News

Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

wired.com

11–20 of 221 posts

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#11
One would assume that the users of deep web-related subreddits would take just as many precautions to protect their privacy when using Reddit as they do when on the deep web. Just because you don't actually conduct illegal activity via Reddit doesn't mean that it's impossible for someone to connect the dots to your deep web forum account(s) with enough effort.

If people turned out to truly be that foolish then I will have little, if any, sympathy for them.

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#12
Wow, Gwern from gwern.net is implicated in this. No idea he moderates that subreddit.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out considering Gwern has a few essays on self-experimentation with drugs and discloses they were purchased from Darknet vendors. Despite the articles pertaining to illicit substances the experiments in question were exceedingly academic (like much of Gwern's writings).

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#13

We (speaking as a netizen) need Usenet 2.0; eg: something that can fulfill the role of reddit that is decentralized/distributed. Perhaps reddit can even transition into being a reader (a la google reader) for people that don't want to set up their own node. I'm not saying that drug discussion is the quintessential act that deserves to be protected, but I am worried that the government has such an easy avenue to get t…

Usenet 3; Usenet 2 has already been done.

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#14

We (speaking as a netizen) need Usenet 2.0; eg: something that can fulfill the role of reddit that is decentralized/distributed. Perhaps reddit can even transition into being a reader (a la google reader) for people that don't want to set up their own node. I'm not saying that drug discussion is the quintessential act that deserves to be protected, but I am worried that the government has such an easy avenue to get t…

Have you checked out Freenet recently? There are a few plugins for message boards, mail, and following feeds.

It's highly decentralized, censorship resistant, and can be very anonymous.

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#15
Warning: this opinion probably won't fit into the HN zeitgeist.

If you commit a crime online don't be surprised when they seek to gain evidence against you. This isn't a liberty issue. This is a you're probably a criminal issue and law enforcement is coming after you. I don't protect drug dealers in my neighborhood because of their right to free speech and personal liberty so why would I protect these guys?

It just always makes me chuckle when criminals won't face the fact that they are criminals. They'll deflect, ignore, and basically try anything to escape the reality - they broke the rules of society and now society wants to punish them.

And just to give you a little background - I've done some time in a few bids for violence and drugs. I know what it means to be a criminal because I grew up as one. I have no pity. None. You should've made better decisions. I made a choice to leave that behind a long time ago, and you should too.

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#16
post #11

One would assume that the users of deep web-related subreddits would take just as many precautions to protect their privacy when using Reddit as they do when on the deep web. Just because you don't actually conduct illegal activity via Reddit doesn't mean that it's impossible for someone to connect the dots to your deep web forum account(s) with enough effort. If people turned out to truly be that foolish then I will…

>One would assume

One would be quite foolish to assume strong OpSec from drug seekers and their enablers. We've seen case after case resulting from these busts with absolutely trivial investigations necessary to locate the defendants.

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#17
post #10

We (speaking as a netizen) need Usenet 2.0; eg: something that can fulfill the role of reddit that is decentralized/distributed. Perhaps reddit can even transition into being a reader (a la google reader) for people that don't want to set up their own node. I'm not saying that drug discussion is the quintessential act that deserves to be protected, but I am worried that the government has such an easy avenue to get t…

i agree. recently i desired to create an online community for a small game that probably wouldn't have many users or posts. subreddits are fantastic for that type of thing, and i like the ease of use and PRAW, however, handing over all of the community's data to conde nast isn't something i'm interested in. what i'd like is a tool with which to create online communities, which would consist of a message board with up…

See https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/list-of-the-best-enc...

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#19

Warning: this opinion probably won't fit into the HN zeitgeist. If you commit a crime online don't be surprised when they seek to gain evidence against you. This isn't a liberty issue. This is a you're probably a criminal issue and law enforcement is coming after you. I don't protect drug dealers in my neighborhood because of their right to free speech and personal liberty so why would I protect these guys? It just a…

Please have a little pity, you never know. But that's beside the point of this article I guess.

Re: Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

#20

We (speaking as a netizen) need Usenet 2.0; eg: something that can fulfill the role of reddit that is decentralized/distributed. Perhaps reddit can even transition into being a reader (a la google reader) for people that don't want to set up their own node. I'm not saying that drug discussion is the quintessential act that deserves to be protected, but I am worried that the government has such an easy avenue to get t…

Have you checked out Freenet recently? There are a few plugins for message boards, mail, and following feeds. It's highly decentralized, censorship resistant, and can be very anonymous.

Thank you for posting this!
Post reply on HN