THERE IS a nasty new breed of vermin out there. Actually, it's not new, but it has gotten worse recently. I came to realise that some people out there descended to new tactics of personal attacks that make use of my name. They post nasty things under my name, but people have no way to verify one's identity on the Web, unless the Webmaster is under complete control. In the past (around 2006) I had people post nasty things under my name claiming that 'I' was a child molester, transgendered, and so on and so forth. Later on, the same crooks who 'planted' such claims about me all over the Web started linking to it. But there is an even worse strategy. If discrediting a person does not suffice, then ruin relationships too.

“In the past (around 2006) I had people post nasty things under my name claiming that 'I' was a child molester, transgendered, and so on and so forth.”Some time ago I noticed attacks on peers or journalists supposedly coming from my name. People were trying to incite reporters against me by attacking people under my name. A few months ago, using such a strategy, I even saw the whole "Nazi" thing being used to portray me negatively by posting such tripe under my own name. Then, on Saturday I came to discover that people also insulted a friend of mine under my own name. I usually don't notice such things (there are many conversations around the Web and it's impossible to track all), but the attacked person, whom I consider to be a friend, could not believe what was said, so he E-mailed me yesterday to ask if it was a faker/forger. It was.

There is no easy solution to this problem. The Web can't be stopped and people can steal identities. Several years ago, Pamela Jones from Groklaw said she would never comment outside her site unless she announces this in her site. This means that all postings from her outside Groklaw should be treated as potential fakes. I've found several and confirmed with her that these were indeed fake.

With the exception of verified accounts and places where I can PGP-sign my messages (e.g. USENET), I won't comment in public anymore. There are people out there who sink to the lowest level to discredit me and turn people against me by pretending to be me and I don't know any other solution for this utterly repulsive smear campaign. ⬆