4 ms·

Forwarding a complaint onto the end user is standard practice these days. It seems that every few months there is a story like this where someone sends an abuse

Forwarding a complaint onto the end user is standard practice these days. It seems that every few months there is a story like this where someone sends an abuse complaint then is surprised when the hosting company sends it to the end user. For any large enough company it's unlikely a person will even read your complaint before it gets forwarded on. Most complaints are designed to be sent to the end user so it's no surprise companies automate this process.

masklinn 12y ago
Forwarding the complaint itself is normal, forwarding the identity of the complainer?
- microcolonel 12y ago
  Anonymous complaints are an ethical issue. If you have no recourse then complaints become pernicious. Also, they forwarded some pretty basic details, an email and a name. They weren't sent her SSN, mailing address, or anything like that, so it's no more identity than she associates already with her email address, as far as I can tell. You need to be able to contact a complainant, otherwise there is no resolution, only a complaint.
  - masklinn 12y ago
    > Anonymous complaints are an ethical issue. If you have no recourse then complaints become pernicious. The complaint itself is not anonymous, there is an intercessor which knows the identities of both parties, and who is the recourse. > Also, they forwarded some pretty basic details, an email and a name. They weren't sent her SSN, mailing address, or anything like that, so it's no more identity than she associates already with her email address, as far as I can tell. Oh great, they didn't send enough for a complete identity takeover so I guess everything's… wait what? They sent personal information to somebody who might — if the complaint was well founded (which it clearly was) — take retributive action. That does not strike me as an ethical or sensible move. > You need to be able to contact a complainant, otherwise there is no resolution, only a complaint. No, not necessarily and definitely not if the complaint is simply a well-founded one where the resolution is to fix your shit. And if it turns out you do actually genuinely need to directly contact the complainant, contact information can be asked of the intercessor.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    Contacting a complainant who is complaining about being contacted is probably the wrong thing to do. Email addresses are personal information and companies should work to best current practice, not just whatever they can get away with under the lax laws of their jurisdiction.
- devicenull 12y ago
  Yes, that's also normal. We send out a ton of abuse complaints daily, and we get responses directly from the end user in most cases. It's fairly rare that the provider acts as a middleman (and even then, it's generally just automated prodding of the user if they don't respond quickly).

masklinn 12y ago

Forwarding the complaint itself is normal, forwarding the identity of the complainer?

microcolonel 12y ago
Anonymous complaints are an ethical issue. If you have no recourse then complaints become pernicious. Also, they forwarded some pretty basic details, an email and a name. They weren't sent her SSN, mailing address, or anything like that, so it's no more identity than she associates already with her email address, as far as I can tell. You need to be able to contact a complainant, otherwise there is no resolution, only a complaint.
- masklinn 12y ago
  > Anonymous complaints are an ethical issue. If you have no recourse then complaints become pernicious. The complaint itself is not anonymous, there is an intercessor which knows the identities of both parties, and who is the recourse. > Also, they forwarded some pretty basic details, an email and a name. They weren't sent her SSN, mailing address, or anything like that, so it's no more identity than she associates already with her email address, as far as I can tell. Oh great, they didn't send enough for a complete identity takeover so I guess everything's… wait what? They sent personal information to somebody who might — if the complaint was well founded (which it clearly was) — take retributive action. That does not strike me as an ethical or sensible move. > You need to be able to contact a complainant, otherwise there is no resolution, only a complaint. No, not necessarily and definitely not if the complaint is simply a well-founded one where the resolution is to fix your shit. And if it turns out you do actually genuinely need to directly contact the complainant, contact information can be asked of the intercessor.
- DanBC 12y ago
  Contacting a complainant who is complaining about being contacted is probably the wrong thing to do. Email addresses are personal information and companies should work to best current practice, not just whatever they can get away with under the lax laws of their jurisdiction.
devicenull 12y ago
Yes, that's also normal. We send out a ton of abuse complaints daily, and we get responses directly from the end user in most cases. It's fairly rare that the provider acts as a middleman (and even then, it's generally just automated prodding of the user if they don't respond quickly).