I have recently discovered what I consider to be some disturbing information regarding my company's testing efforts.

If I were to post it here, how possible is it that the info could be traced back to me and my computer?

Thanks for any input.

AKA

-- AKA (no@way.com), July 22, 1999

Answers

If it were that disturbing you'd risk getting caught posting confidential info on the web, you know, for the good of humantiy and all.

Perhaps though your just another Doomer who thinks they have another "juicy tidbit" and needs attention from his fellow Doomers. In which case you'd be very careful that you weren't "traced".

Hey, you got a story? Spill the beans already. Otherwise keep your confidential information that way it was intended to be.

-- (doomers@suck.com), July 22, 1999.

Don't name the name of your company, and write your story in such a way as not to bring attention to yourself. I am sure your story is not an unusual one since thousands of companies are testing, and the public has no idea of what is really happening.

-- worth2cents (worth2cents@worth.com), July 22, 1999.

Look who need's attention from Doomers. Suck, can you ever voice your opinion without bringing up "Doomers"? Try it, you might like it. Go on, just pull the "D" key off that keyboard of your's.

-- CygnusXI (noburnt@toast.net), July 22, 1999.

Okay, can this Zombie put aside covering his ass long enough to report on a story that must be very, very important. I feel that if there was anything that needed to be told to the world that might actually make a difference then this anonymous person would just say it and quit beating around the bush.

But more likely it's juts more unrelated testing mumbo jumbo from one company that has no real impact, that one good little Zombie feels he/she needs to tell everyone about. You know, one more instance of those feared invisible failures .

-- (Zombies@suck.com), July 22, 1999.

Hard to say, AKA.

Suggest you do NOT post from work. The Greenspun Forum software does log all ISPs, and does other kinds of linking, which is accessible only to the TBY2K Sysops, Phil Greenspun and his associates and possible unknown numbers of people at MIT.

If youd like to understand more about it, read Phils online book (esp. Chapter 3)...

http://photo.net/wtr/thebook/

That said, there are MANY times when I wonder who else is monitoring this forum and what kinds of big toys they have. Nothing would surprise me.

And several things already have.

The internet, as a whole is monitored by some very sophisticated equipment. This we do know.

Your choice. And, of course, wed appreciate any heads up Y2K corporate info.

;-D

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 22, 1999.

If I were to post it here, how possible is it that the info could be traced back to me and my computer?

It's very possible. Only you can determine if its worth losing your job over.

-- (its@coming.soon), July 22, 1999.

Pick a Polly, any Polly, and post it from THEIR computer!! :-)

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), July 22, 1999.

AKA,

How about going to your public library and post from there? Or should you not have access go to a internet cafe should one be there. You can fully disclose names of companies involved if you do that

AND

A) have info that is known to more then a small handfull of people

AND/OR

B) are able to write it in a way so it can NOT be traced back to you because of its content.

You may also be able to post from one of the local colleges they have sometimes public accessable internet connections.

One other route would be to find a local free net where there is also public access.

Do NOT and I repeat NOT use any on line anonimizers as it is easy to trace HTML through them. I do this ever so often on our server.

-- justme (justme@justme.net), July 22, 1999.

Thank you for the suggestions...I think I like Roland's the best!

I will post in the next few days. You can take the information as it is intended, as informational only. Perhaps doomer and zombie can explain to me why this situation is not cause for concern.

It may not alarm you, but I certainly had never considered the implications of what I have learned.

AKA

-- AKA (no@way.com), July 22, 1999.

Diane,

You forgot the most important piece of advice. . .

"If theres a chance that you might voice an opinion that questions the assumptions which the forum "elders" hold, then post from somewhere anonymous. Otherwise, you never know . . . someone might "speak to some reporters" about you (whatever that means)."

Oh, but of course, this person wants to post NEGATIVE info. . . so they'll be ok. Sorry, carry on.

:)

W

-- W0lv3r1n3 (W0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), July 22, 1999.

AKA,

in the past a poster communicated with Drew Parkhill of CBN (a semi- regular here) to verify his/her credentials. Drew was able to independently verify authenticity of source. He might be willing to also publish your information if you can write in such a way as to disguise yourself.

just a thought.

-- Cowardly Lion (cl0001@hotmail.com), July 22, 1999.

Dear AKA, Thank you for being willing to share with the rest of us any knowledge which will help our ongoing assessment of the national/global/local situation. Please do not take seriously the words of the disturbed person who signed in first as doomers@suck and then another pseudonym. This is someone who daily attempts to disturb the serious work of other concerned citizens on this site, who are seeking to survive Y2K and to help others to do so. There have been many insults from him to others, and many here who have begged him to disengage himself and go play in traffic...but he gets perverse pleasure in soiling carpets. The rest of the people are "normal," though he likes to call anyone who is concerned "doomers." So we will look forward to your input, and please don't be put off by his mental problems. I worked as a well-trained volunteer in a mental hospital, so I've seen this sort of behavior before.

-- Just A. Helper (Gladyour@here.com), July 22, 1999.

I'd be careful if I were you AKA. I've been on this board for quite a while now, but I never post ANYTHING related to my Y2K projects, and I only post with a psuedonym.

Why?

Lawyers.

I have no idea how Y2K will shake out, and I have no desire to spend years in court as a defendant OR a witness. (Remember DeJaeger?) I want to learn and contribute on this site, I wouldn't want anything I post to later be used to show my "state of mind" or some other nonsense. Could the dots be connected by .gov or others who knew what they were looking for? Certainly. Anything on line can be traced. Read Phil's book. (it's great BTW) But there is no point in making it easy by giving them a starting place.

IMHO, the only situation that unquestionably warrants whistle-blowing is imminent danger of death or grave physical injury. If you work for a nuclear power station or a methylene chloride plant, and you think that lives are in danger, well, follow your conscience. But if the stakes are that high, don't tell us - tell 60 Minutes.

My opinion, worth every cent you paid for it.

Good luck. Don't quit.

-- Lewis (aslanshow@yahoo.com), July 22, 1999.

1. Make sure someone else could have known and revealed the info (like a co worker- the more the better.

2. Get the information in a snail mail letter to Drew at his office. (or anyone wlse you trust)

3. Include the request to have the info posted on this forum. (In a manner that Drew feels comfortable with - verified etc.) remember, he may want verification, e-mail him at his office if you want - but from the library....

4.Stay off the internet about it.

-- Living in (the@real.world), July 22, 1999.

So maybe posting isn't the wisest thing in the world to do. I can't afford to lose my job over this.

I like the Snail Mail idea. Is Drew the best one to communicate my concerns to? It certainly isn't 60 Minutes material, but I am concerned and haven't heard of this issue on this forum before.

Thx,

AKA

-- AKA (now@way.com), July 22, 1999.

You can also talk to Scott Johnson at "Y2k Today." He also occasionally posts here. Email: scojo@yahoo.com He works for a company headed up by the former chief of United Press International. I think you can be assured they understand and subscribe to "off the record" communications. If you email him, he'd probably be willing to give you his phone number or snail mail address.

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), July 22, 1999.

I would say, if you have a story, spit it out. Don't give the company name and make it anonymous, like everyone else has, and we will each judge your style on its own merits. As usual, the doomers will tend to accept it and the pollys to reject it. Unless you have affidavids from everyone involved, no one will believe it 100% anyway.

I really think that the "inferential analysis" approach is sound though. Throw out all offical accounts, and look for patterns in the ancedotal information.

Good luck.

-- a (a@a.a), July 22, 1999.

Thanks, FM...decided on Scott Johnson.

Emailed him this evening...we'll see what happens.

AKA

-- AKA (no@way.com), July 22, 1999.

Hey you guys remember the C4i "breaking story"?. Whatever happened to that? Just another wiseacre that wanted to go trolling. This person AKA is seting you guys up for another BS story. What gets me is that no one at this point seems to make any reference to the C4i thing. That was supposed to be a big deal. It was supposed to be the kind of report that sent the herd flocking to the supermarkets to stock up on food. But whatever happened to it? Nothing, nada.

Oh yeah it was a BFD while it lasted but these "big ____ deals" always have a way of slipping quietly into the night never to be heard from again. It's almost like watching a cheap soap opera with a melodramatic plot that revolves around Y2K. Every day we get a new horror story but by the time the day is finished all is well and everyone is set for another dose of Doomerism.

Kind of like a technological "As the World Turns" with a gloomy twist.

-- (doomers@suck.com), July 22, 1999.

OK Mod...Get ready to hit the "delete" button:

[Troll Expletive Deleted--By Request--This is NOT AKA--Stop It!!--Sysop]

-- not AKA (no@way.com), July 22, 1999.

Do not curse AKA - take opposition in stride. In response to your original question, it depends on your network admin. I don't think this site sends cookies, so that's out of the question. However, temp files, disk cache, history (and two .dat files on certain versions of IE3.X) could do you in if you're not careful. On top of this there is software that can easily track visited sites.

-- Sinbad (sinbad@sixftp.net), July 23, 1999.

I do not know who posted the above under my name, but I assure you it was not me. Although I do not agree with doomer's stance or tactics, I would not use such language on a public forum.

Moderator, please delete this thread. I do not wish to be associated with such a posting.

Thank you.

AKA

-- AKA (no@way.com), July 23, 1999.

AKA

That sure didn't sound like you!!!!

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), July 23, 1999.

AKA,

I think there are alot of folks studying the Y2k situation that have bits and pieces of information from one source or another, whether they do or do not have direct experience with remediation work. But these stories never see the light of day because of confidentiality, trust, and promises...in short ethics.

Where these bits and pieces to ever be put together in a published source, alot more people would indeed "Get It" and be preparing with much more determination. And yes, Doomers S, even little old me has a story or two that I have came across personally, and without even actively looking for information. And no, no amount of proding or asking would get me to share. Easy to say isn't it and impossible to prove.

We will just leave that at I'll not judge you, if you don't judge me.

The way I share this information is by example. Preparing and by stating publicly that I have no regrets about assisting and encouraging others to prepare to the level which they (not myself) are comfortable with.

Either way, AKA, as curious as I may be about your information, all I care to say is to be sure your ethics are Y2K compliant. Since you already seem to be wrestling with this issue to a certain extent, and while I am sure you have all of our interests at heart, don't do anything you don't feel totally comfortable with.

Because Doomer S, did make one point well; within a given amount of time, the story will be gone for everyone... but yourself.

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), July 23, 1999.

Thanks to all for your feedback, and thanks to Diane for "sanitizing" this thread!

I contacted Scott Johnson and spoke with him this evening. His response was thoughtful and immediate. He was extremely professional and I trust him to be discreet with any information that was provided.

For those of you in a similar position, please consider a professional such as Scott as an alternative to posting on forums. It's not worth the risk...email, scojo@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

AKA

-- AKA (no@way.com), July 23, 1999.