Title: Ethics Question Last modified: August 18, 2016 --- # Ethics Question * [abrazell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abrazell/) * (@abrazell) * [20 years, 12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/) * This is a more abstract topic and I was hoping to get some of your opinions. I have a No-Censorship policy at Technosailor.com. Anyone can write anything as long as it is not spam. * But to steal from Sir Isaac Newton, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. * When trolls come on your board, how do you feel about responding with personally identifying information regarding the troll? * The situation is that there is a post I made several months ago about Halo 2 Game variants. It’s sort of an annoying thread because I get all the kiddies who can’t spell and like to mumble…. but hey, no reason to censor. A troll hit that post today with “you’re all gay”… no more. My response was to chide him and include his IP address in my response… lol. I thought twice about it but did it anyway. * Which begs the current question…is it ethical to release personally identifying info about a poster ever? Viewing 12 replies - 16 through 27 (of 27 total) [←](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/?output_format=md) [1](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/?output_format=md) 2 * 26629 * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208168) * okay okay, just checking the possibility 😉 * [Mark (podz)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/podz/) * (@podz) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208169) * It’s not possible 🙂 * 26629 * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208170) * what a pity! :> * [billsaysthis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/billsaysthis/) * (@billsaysthis) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208171) * Podz, I find this little back and forth with shimo amusing since this forum’s design automatically gives users a link back to their page if one is specified in the profile. Amusing is possibly not quite the right word and I’m not saying this to rebuke you, only to point out that shimo still has two links to his page on this thread (if the one you edited out was to the same). * [Mark (podz)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/podz/) * (@podz) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208172) * Ah .. I shall get that seen to. At the point I did what I did, he/she/it had not linked their name. * Thanks 🙂 * [asparagus](https://wordpress.org/support/users/asparagus/) * (@asparagus) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208173) * Wow — like a swimming pool. Deep and shallow this thread is. * Blogging is new to me, as is Word Press and all of you. Some names I begin to recognize, but I believe everyone has something to teach. The thread began with such a broad declaration “Anyone can write anything as long as it is not spam.” Isn’t adding the limit ‘not spam’ the first act of censorship? I hasten to add that it is not a bad idea, even a necessity. * When the idea of rules was introduced, it raised an excellent point. As the creator of your site, you have a clear idea of what it is, how it should look, what it can do and be. When you adopt the mental model of blog or weblog, you bring with you a mental model of what that means. Those terms are still being defined but a schema of ‘netiquette’ exists. If you begin with a different mental map of Content Management System, then the onus to make and state rules is clearer. * Shifting back to the cenorship concept, by having the ability to mark an entry with No Comments is level of a priori censorship. This also is not a bad or evil thing. * Publishing an IP is bad form IMHO and as someone pointed out, if anyone wants to discover it, ve haf ways…. The notion of anonymity on the Net is illusory, at best. Fostering the illusion may border on unethical. Operating under it is just plain silly. * [Forever](https://wordpress.org/support/users/forever/) * (@forever) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208174) * Why don’t you think that publishing IP is a bad form? I think that it’s good to prevent spamming (when I see on the other messageboard spammer and his ip, I can put it in my black list). * [Forever](https://wordpress.org/support/users/forever/) * (@forever) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208175) * ups, I use ‘back’ in my FF * [asparagus](https://wordpress.org/support/users/asparagus/) * (@asparagus) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208176) * “Why _don’t_ you think that publishing IP is a bad form?” You meant **do**, I think, from the context. The whole notion of black listing is questionable. Some argue fundamentally flawed. When you see an IP, do you actually check that it is who the posting says it is? Some don’t. Is the poster making a justified accusation or is it a squabble over something else? * Is it the IP to your target or to their host server where others may be hosting and be blocked unintentionally? This once happened with a large hosting company being put on a black list by a spyware blocking group and affected me. I was merrily editing pages but outside the editor I could not view them while the particular blocking software was run and altered my Hosts file effectively censoring a large chunk of the internet for me and anyone who used that software. * Yes, spamming is bad, wasteful, evil, and a royal pain in the asq, but posting an IP so others will preemptively censor remains bad netiquette in my mind and it invites abuse and misuse as I outlined. * PS I was testing the spyware blocker at the time, but it still took over a month to rectify and though the toolis better I still wouldn’t even mention it by name, let alone recommend it. 😉 * [mr_cynical](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mr_cynical/) * (@mr_cynical) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208177) * Is IP blocking even effective? I mean even if you have broadband all you have to do is disconnect the DSL modem (not sure if its the same for cable, someone enlighten me) and voila, new IP address. * [asparagus](https://wordpress.org/support/users/asparagus/) * (@asparagus) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208178) * Also, with some ISPs and a properly configured router an email’s IP points to a larger pool of users. The IP to a website is a different matter. If it were effective, spammers and pop-up advertizers would have been out of business long ago. * Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) * (@macmanx) * [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208179) * > Is IP blocking even effective? * Keep in mind that most spammers use random IPs. Blocking spammers by their IP does temporarily break up spam floods, but it also increases the chance of blocking legitimate users. Viewing 12 replies - 16 through 27 (of 27 total) [←](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/?output_format=md) [1](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/?output_format=md) 2 The topic ‘Ethics Question’ is closed to new replies. ## Tags * [IP](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/ip/) * In: [Everything else WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/miscellaneous/) * 27 replies * 14 participants * Last reply from: [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) * Last activity: [20 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ethics-question/page/2/#post-208179) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics