3 ms·

By what measure is someone's name private?

by rglullis 4y ago

unreal37 4y ago
Right? The government publishes it in birth records! It's public from the first month you are born.
- isbvhodnvemrwvn 4y ago
  Some governments. My birth certificate won't be public until long after I've died. My death certificate until long after my children have. These threads show how little the US values privacy, but it does not necessarily apply to other countries.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Your government adds your usernames to your birth records? Strange.
BoppreH 4y ago
The username <-> full name association might be private. One reason is that I would not want to explain to a clueless employer why the first result for my real name is an account in Hacker News.
- Tao3300 4y ago
  If that keeps you from getting a job, we call that dodging a bullet.
- WesolyKubeczek 4y ago
  Why do you think you would want to even apply to a job at a clueless employer with an affinity to ask stupid questions like that? Why wouldn’t you just walk away upon hearing such a question?
- heartbreak 4y ago
  This is the second time I’ve seen you emphasize the “Hacker” in HN and imply that its association with you would cause problems with employers. Surely you can come up with a better example than that. Anyone who thinks HN is somehow related to criminal activity could be corrected by merely viewing the site once (or any number of third-party articles written about the site). Meanwhile you had your full CV linked on your pseudonymous website, Streisanded yourself, and are disparaging the HN community repeatedly in your comments.
  - Macha 4y ago
    > Anyone who thinks HN is somehow related to criminal activity could be corrected by merely viewing the site once (or any number of third-party articles written about the site). Depends when they visit. I can see someone uninformed arriving on the days of heartbleed, meltdown, defcon, CCC, the equifax hack, etc., and incorrectly drawing the conclusion that is for the criminal kind of hacking.
LudwigNagasena 4y ago
By the same measure that your age, marital status, etc are private. Especially on the Internet.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Stampo00 4y ago
Rumpelstiltskin certainly thought his name was private information. There's actually quite a bit of folklore suggesting that knowing a person's (or creature's) name gifts you with a kind of power over them. And like most folklore, there's a grain of truth to that. It's a lot harder to gossip about someone in a way where they'd gain a reputation if you don't know their name. People who do shady things don't come up with aliases because it's fun. In the same way, I doubt as many people would donate large sums of money to hospitals, universities, and other institutions if they didn't get buildings named after them in return.

By what measure is someone's name private?

unreal37 4y ago

Right? The government publishes it in birth records! It's public from the first month you are born.

isbvhodnvemrwvn 4y ago
Some governments. My birth certificate won't be public until long after I've died. My death certificate until long after my children have. These threads show how little the US values privacy, but it does not necessarily apply to other countries.
pessimizer 4y ago
Your government adds your usernames to your birth records? Strange.

BoppreH 4y ago

The username <-> full name association might be private. One reason is that I would not want to explain to a clueless employer why the first result for my real name is an account in Hacker News.

Tao3300 4y ago
If that keeps you from getting a job, we call that dodging a bullet.
WesolyKubeczek 4y ago
Why do you think you would want to even apply to a job at a clueless employer with an affinity to ask stupid questions like that? Why wouldn’t you just walk away upon hearing such a question?
heartbreak 4y ago
This is the second time I’ve seen you emphasize the “Hacker” in HN and imply that its association with you would cause problems with employers. Surely you can come up with a better example than that. Anyone who thinks HN is somehow related to criminal activity could be corrected by merely viewing the site once (or any number of third-party articles written about the site). Meanwhile you had your full CV linked on your pseudonymous website, Streisanded yourself, and are disparaging the HN community repeatedly in your comments.
- Macha 4y ago
  > Anyone who thinks HN is somehow related to criminal activity could be corrected by merely viewing the site once (or any number of third-party articles written about the site). Depends when they visit. I can see someone uninformed arriving on the days of heartbleed, meltdown, defcon, CCC, the equifax hack, etc., and incorrectly drawing the conclusion that is for the criminal kind of hacking.

LudwigNagasena 4y ago

By the same measure that your age, marital status, etc are private. Especially on the Internet.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

Stampo00 4y ago

Rumpelstiltskin certainly thought his name was private information. There's actually quite a bit of folklore suggesting that knowing a person's (or creature's) name gifts you with a kind of power over them. And like most folklore, there's a grain of truth to that. It's a lot harder to gossip about someone in a way where they'd gain a reputation if you don't know their name. People who do shady things don't come up with aliases because it's fun. In the same way, I doubt as many people would donate large sums of money to hospitals, universities, and other institutions if they didn't get buildings named after them in return.