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So what is doxxing anyway? Is the concern that anyone googling you will find you phone number or address? Why is that so bad in general? As long as you are not

So what is doxxing anyway? Is the concern that anyone googling you will find you phone number or address? Why is that so bad in general? As long as you are not in some unique position like a famous person or something.

ljp_206 4y ago
I would be happy to start from a definition of doxxing and explain why it is not a good thing, but I am curious as to why you might not find the prospect of your address and phone number being revealed disturbing. Very boring, non-unique people get death threats all the time online. Even though the rate of online threats turning to violence against random users is demonstrably low, would you not be troubled to know your location was known to unknown potential harassers? Even disregarding physical assault, a potential attacker could make life online very difficult if they understood a few things about one's identity. I also ask this as someone who is skeptical of the prospect of anonymous employment, so I acknowledge there is certainly a spectrum of perspective on this issue. "As long as you are not in some unique position..." is reasoning that is very close to "as long as you have nothing to hide..."
- tgv 4y ago
  The first line on that page is literally "don't doxx yourself for work". You are only informing your employer of a few vital stats. The employer keeps that information private. There's no death threat involved.
  - 0xPersona 4y ago
    Well it's not just your employer who knows your legal identity at work. It's potentially the entire organization, and more.
morpheuskafka 4y ago
I think the vast majority of people greatly overestimate how difficult it would be to find someone's address. If you either own property or vote in the US, its usually trivial to find you via the county GIS/tax database and the state voter records. At least it is here in NC. If you rent and don't vote, it's a bit harder, but still lots of data brokers and other sources to look to.
syzygyhack 4y ago
Bit of a myopic take, don't you think? Everyone but the most extreme recluse is probably going to have run-ins with less-than-savory characters at some point in their lives no matter what they do or how they act. Your personal information does not belong on Google.

ljp_206 4y ago

I would be happy to start from a definition of doxxing and explain why it is not a good thing, but I am curious as to why you might not find the prospect of your address and phone number being revealed disturbing. Very boring, non-unique people get death threats all the time online. Even though the rate of online threats turning to violence against random users is demonstrably low, would you not be troubled to know your location was known to unknown potential harassers? Even disregarding physical assault, a potential attacker could make life online very difficult if they understood a few things about one's identity. I also ask this as someone who is skeptical of the prospect of anonymous employment, so I acknowledge there is certainly a spectrum of perspective on this issue. "As long as you are not in some unique position..." is reasoning that is very close to "as long as you have nothing to hide..."

tgv 4y ago
The first line on that page is literally "don't doxx yourself for work". You are only informing your employer of a few vital stats. The employer keeps that information private. There's no death threat involved.
- 0xPersona 4y ago
  Well it's not just your employer who knows your legal identity at work. It's potentially the entire organization, and more.

morpheuskafka 4y ago

I think the vast majority of people greatly overestimate how difficult it would be to find someone's address. If you either own property or vote in the US, its usually trivial to find you via the county GIS/tax database and the state voter records. At least it is here in NC. If you rent and don't vote, it's a bit harder, but still lots of data brokers and other sources to look to.

syzygyhack 4y ago

Bit of a myopic take, don't you think? Everyone but the most extreme recluse is probably going to have run-ins with less-than-savory characters at some point in their lives no matter what they do or how they act. Your personal information does not belong on Google.