http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2813301#post2813301 Just my opinion, but I don't think it is right for an ET moderator to be gathering geographic locations of IP addresses for political purposes... A snippet: "So I went through to the most vocal critics of America, Republicans, Conservatives, etc., and I checked their IPs and did a rather extensive lookup. Of the 10 most vocal in the P+R forum, only TWO were definitely posting from the USA." Don't you think this is an invasion of privacy?
No I don't want anyone posting info about IP's and their locations. But your question about invasion of privacy, I don't see it.
LOL! My God, you're so predictable, Optional. This argument has been posted before. No personal information was given out, and privacy is completely in tact. As moderators, we examine IPs daily (hell, hourly) to determine if aliases are used in cases of spam, complaints, etc.) Another moderator owes me $5, because I said one of you would run here the moment it happened.
So you endorse moderators collecting IP addresses of members to advance their own political agenda? Say it isn't so Joe...
Advance what agenda? I have no political agenda to advance. I am a site moderator. Everything in the thread you're whining about was completely neutral in every way.
I don't believe you are telling the truth. Sorry, but you do have a political agenda. It doesn't take a spy mission to figure out that many ET members are not Americans, and that those members comment on US politics...just like Americans comment on politics of other countries. If the argument is the thing, not jingoism or xenophobia, then why would nationality matter at all? Would you take a sample of race, religion, ethnicity if that were part of the ET mechanism of logging the disposition of ET members to advance a political agenda? It is invasive, it is abusive, and it is not right in spirit. You are not a census taker, your job is to moderate, right? If someone were to get the census data internally...something not published for everyone to see, and you used that data for your own political agenda, that would be the right thing to do? I would have no problem with Baron using the IP data for marketing purposes, as he owns the company. That happens all the time. Even if he, as the owner were using that information for political purposes, I could even understand that. But a moderator who is not an owner taking advantage of knowing the IP addresses of members to advance a political agenda?
The best thing to do when surfing the web is to use a subscription proxy service for additional privacy like I do. I would use the service with the closest server to your location and one that does not keep logs. I feel kind of weird knowing that some guy, who I dont know...never met...never talked to, is observing me and my personal information. Therefore, I use proxy servers to protect my privacy. I know all you can see is limited information, but I still don't feel comfortable with this type of routine. I dont want anyone knowing which state I live in or where I travel to. I dont know how this personal information or the logs on here can be used against me. I understand the website's concern to prevent trolls and spam so they keep logs of ip information, but oftentimes this personal information is abused. It starts out every time with good intentions, but then ends up with someone getting an eye poked out...
You make it sound like someone can get your home address, phone number and social security number. The only thing one can get from an IP (without some hacking skillZ) is the zip code the ISP line is coming from. Yeah, that sure worries me! As for a proxy or other form of anonymity, many reputable sites block all proxies to prevent any access from those who use them BECAUSE people abuse the site, knowing they are anonymous.
If there is nothing wrong with what you did, and if there is any value at all in the information you gathered that would benefit ET members, why not have their zip code available for all to see? Right to privacy seems to mean nothing to you...and why should a moderator have the right to peruse the ET IP address function for their own personal agendas? The acid test of course would be if a left wing moderator would have done something similar to promote their left wing agenda, utilizing their position of inside information for personal (not professional or as part of their job) use. What you did was highly unprofessional. Not much different than a cop going into the database of addresses for some purpose entirely unrelated to his job as a cop. Sure, he will rationalize it as "no big deal" but in principle it is a big deal...and I have little doubt that it would be a big deal if a moderator was spying into your account for personal reasons... Abuse of power is exactly what happened in this case. Your ability to view IP addresses is part of your job in moderating, but using that information for a personal interest violates the spirit of moderating. That you are a right winger, and that ET is dominated by right wingers, and that I am not a popular person at ET yield the results of people not caring... That would not be the case if it had been a left wing unpopular moderator, the ET mob would be all over this with complaints to Joe and Baron calling for your ouster...