By Demosophist

Someone in the comments section of several of my posts has been impersonating me by posting in my name. The fellow also posts under other names, including "Cornell," and his IP address is listed as 207.69.138.6 . This is a Redhat Linux test page for the Apache server, so it appears that whoever the imposter is he has enough savvy to also fake his IP address Here's what Austin Bay said recently about "identity theft," one of the primary reasons he gives for instituting a cumbersome system of comment moderation:

Identity theft (a noxious act committed by one young man earlier this week) is an out and out crime– and in this case not only a crime against specific people, but an attack on free speech. Why? The identity crook who steals another’s name and fakes a post is attempting to silence others by intimidation and slander. It’s Internet brownshirt activity– a step beyond vandalism.

One step closer, in other words, in the direction of the very kind of evil that we're currently fighting a war to stop. In fact, it's entirely possible that the imposter is a jihadist or jihadist sympathizer. I will do my best to monitor comments to my posts and to delete and block imposters, but if this is part of a pattern rather than an isolated incident it might be advisable to consider a more formal method of comment moderation. Ultimately, of course, that decision is up to Rusty, but there's probably a good reason why the more popular blogs have installed these controls.
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Yips from Rusty, with apologies to Llama Butchers for stealing schtick: Yeah, as soon as we upgrade to a version of MT (that's Moveable Type, the program I use to create this blog) that doesn't require 13 hamsters running frantically (17 on heavy posting days) for power, we're going to go with comment registration.

Posted by: Demosophist at 11:38 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
Post contains 326 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Man, that blows. Well, good to know either way...keep us updated. I post under a crapload of names, but they are all my own.

Posted by: osamabeenvotin' at June 07, 2005 02:08 AM (B9hEP)

2 Yeah, it does blow and it's happening more and more often. Sometimes you can spot them because what they say is so out of character for the person they're appearing to be. If one doesn't know the person, they come away with the wrong impression. I also hate those who post anonymously using verbal abuse as part of their dissent. They have wiffle balls for cojones.

Posted by: Oyster at June 07, 2005 06:23 AM (YudAC)

3 What a buttmunch.

Posted by: Howie at June 07, 2005 09:31 AM (D3+20)

4 Oyster...I never post my email or use real names in my posts only because I value privacy & love coming up with funny names. In other words, if I wanna hear from anyone in response, I'll read yer post! I admit, I've been guilty of verbally smacking a few people, but my cojones aren't filled with air. Taking someone's handle is pretty lame. Ban 'em...

Posted by: osamabeenvotin' at June 07, 2005 02:50 PM (B9hEP)

5 Allright, smartass! That wasn't me. Was that you, Osama? I'll gitcha!

Posted by: Oyster at June 07, 2005 07:55 PM (YudAC)

6 I would never have used such abhorrent punctuation.

Posted by: Oyster at June 07, 2005 07:59 PM (YudAC)

7 Oyster! Someone just jacked your name? It wasn't me! I also don't think you'd be so dim as to not get my using osamabin/osamabeen this and that as a joke. Well, if someone is going to impersonate, they better at least use capitol letters then, huh?

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 07, 2005 08:24 PM (B9hEP)

8 hahahaha! Osama, you misunderstand me. The fact that you stop by here so often gives us at least an idea of "who" you are without knowing "who" you are. I was talking about the trolls that spout shit and disappear, leaving no trace whatsoever. They're idiots. I wasn't implying your cojones, in particular, were filled with air. Frankly, I don't think about your cojones at all.

Posted by: Oyster at June 07, 2005 08:35 PM (YudAC)

9 Hahaha...Oyster, I sure hope you're not thinking about my nuts! Yeah, anyone who spouts shit and doesn't stick around to duke it out is a pussy. I've definitely riled some people up in here, but you could never say I turn and run. I don't consider myself right or left, so that fucks with some people.

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 08, 2005 01:46 AM (B9hEP)

10 Again, that was not me. Alright, you can stop impersonating me now. It's not funny anymore.

Posted by: Oyster at June 08, 2005 08:23 AM (fl6E1)

11 Again, that was not me. Alright, you can stop impersonating me now. It's not funny anymore. I'm afraid I don't know which "Oyster" to delete. The IP address isn't consistent for either. I'm thinking about something along these lines. If Rusty isn't interested in imposing to comment controls I may turn off comments for my posts (assuming I can do that), or simply ignore them, and direct people who want to comment seriously over to my own blog at Demosophia. I cross-post everything that I post on the Jawa Report, and I can activate Typepad registration. I have no patience at all for this impersonation kr@p.

Posted by: Demosophist at June 08, 2005 09:09 AM (d0CtA)

12 Ok, I give up...who the hell am I talking to in here?! This is crazy. No clones!

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 08, 2005 05:38 PM (B9hEP)

13 The fellow who just posted threatening legal sanctions is probably the imposter. In fact, this person DOES NOT post from more than one location. His URL is in New York City, whereas the real "Oyster" appears to be from some place south of that. I'm now going to delete the fraudulent "Oyster's" posts. I was going to turn off comments and direct people to my blog, but it turns out (ironically) that Typepad doesn't have Typekey implemented so there'd be no advantage in going there, yet. They promise to implement Typekey in the next few weeks, though. Best I can do is delete the imposter. Rusty, if you'd like to ban this guy, his IP is: 70.18.202.29 It's fixed so it's probably a high speed connection. The earlier imposter was using a dialup account, which is a bit more difficult to ban.

Posted by: Demosophist at June 09, 2005 02:07 PM (FVRfJ)

14 Okay, this is me, the Oyster from "somewhere south of NY". The one who's been visiting here for almost a couple months. The Oyster just above this comment is a different person. The URL given (mouse over the name) isn't legitimate either. And I know why, because as soon as this mess started I was suddenly unable to post comments because my URL was considered "questionable material" so, of course, the imposter can't use it either and came up with something bogus. I don't know what the purpose of this crap is, but it's pretty childish.

Posted by: Oyster at June 09, 2005 03:59 PM (fl6E1)

15 Well isn't this getting confusing as hell! That posted IP is in Virginia. I checked satellite photos down to the street level and it is a college right outside of D.C....I won't post further info though because I don't know who is who. Plus, I'm sure a imposter can be banned without me as a snitch!

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 09, 2005 06:42 PM (B9hEP)

16 You are all a bunch of idiots, do you really have nothing better to do with your lives?

Posted by: DaviesR at June 10, 2005 10:29 AM (2QauQ)

17 Davies'R'Us...time? It took me less time to do what I did than it took for you to write your post. Helping someone pinpoint a lamer is a just action, so you are the idiot time waster, not us!

Posted by: osamabinchimpin' at June 10, 2005 05:47 PM (B9hEP)

18 Anyone who names himself after Osama bin Laden is a coward and a wanna be terrorist and someone should email the FBI as this guy is either a 14 year old kid or someone who wants to do the US harm. Like W says you are either with us or against us. Try coming to my neighbourhood and pulling that and see what would happen to you.

Posted by: Myles at June 15, 2005 02:16 PM (ltu2p)

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