4 ms·

Though, doxing seems to have a peculiar asymmetry. The doxee is revealed but the doxers remain anonymous (in some cases, Anonymous). It seems that Chinese "dox

by long 14y ago

Though, doxing seems to have a peculiar asymmetry. The doxee is revealed but the doxers remain anonymous (in some cases, Anonymous). It seems that Chinese "doxers" are more open about their own identities.

theevocater 14y ago
That is a very interesting thing especially considering that one would assume that a western 'flesh searcher' would live in a country where political dissent is not punishable by disappearing.
- fluidcruft 14y ago
  It seems to me that having your ID out there is probably somewhat defensive against disappearing. I mean, someone who's anonymous could just be charged with "possessing child porn" and that's pretty much all anyone would hear, goodbye. Imagine if Julian Assange's wikileaks work had been anonymous--he'd be gone already and nobody would know.
- veidr 14y ago
  One wouldn't assume that of the USA anymore, I'd think; the US government has been disappearing people since 2001, not to mention killing US citizens with drones who are alleged to have created and published propaganda (but not to have committed direct violence). So far, such incidents mostly relate to the USA's ongoing state of war, not other kinds of "regular" corruption. However, as groups like Wikileaks and Anonymous butt up against, e.g., the state department and the military industrial complex, I think their members are wise to protect their identities. I think the difference might stem more from the fact that in the USA (and pretty much all advanced Western democracies) we still have a lot more ability to remain anonymous than do people in China.
  - pyre 14y ago
    The origin of 'doxing' on 4chan was to do things like convince a female that was 'attention-whoring' on the forum to do things like post nude photos of herself. Some people would immediately try to figure out who she was, in some cases they would do things like send the nude photos to work, school, and/or family, in addition to telling everyone in the forum the name/address/etc of the target. In this sense, it makes sense for the dox'ers to want to remain anonymous. You're convincing someone to do something, then turning it on them to attempt to ruin their life. So 'doxing' is more specifically about destroying someone's anonymity (or pseudo-anonymity if they maintain an alias), at least in it's origins.

by long 14y ago

theevocater 14y ago

That is a very interesting thing especially considering that one would assume that a western 'flesh searcher' would live in a country where political dissent is not punishable by disappearing.

fluidcruft 14y ago
It seems to me that having your ID out there is probably somewhat defensive against disappearing. I mean, someone who's anonymous could just be charged with "possessing child porn" and that's pretty much all anyone would hear, goodbye. Imagine if Julian Assange's wikileaks work had been anonymous--he'd be gone already and nobody would know.
veidr 14y ago
One wouldn't assume that of the USA anymore, I'd think; the US government has been disappearing people since 2001, not to mention killing US citizens with drones who are alleged to have created and published propaganda (but not to have committed direct violence). So far, such incidents mostly relate to the USA's ongoing state of war, not other kinds of "regular" corruption. However, as groups like Wikileaks and Anonymous butt up against, e.g., the state department and the military industrial complex, I think their members are wise to protect their identities. I think the difference might stem more from the fact that in the USA (and pretty much all advanced Western democracies) we still have a lot more ability to remain anonymous than do people in China.
- pyre 14y ago
  The origin of 'doxing' on 4chan was to do things like convince a female that was 'attention-whoring' on the forum to do things like post nude photos of herself. Some people would immediately try to figure out who she was, in some cases they would do things like send the nude photos to work, school, and/or family, in addition to telling everyone in the forum the name/address/etc of the target. In this sense, it makes sense for the dox'ers to want to remain anonymous. You're convincing someone to do something, then turning it on them to attempt to ruin their life. So 'doxing' is more specifically about destroying someone's anonymity (or pseudo-anonymity if they maintain an alias), at least in it's origins.