How NOT to use Goodreads (and other social sites)

[Al "Tank"]

Linda wrote: "Linda wrote: "...Let us all have a moment of (sarcastic) silence out of respect for the sudden departure of one of the leaders of the above-mentioned SPA "support" group, who either spammed once too often or spammed the wrong thread. As a result, she and her 5-star reviews, her likes, her Listopia votes and her Goodreads author account are no more. ..."

Gone and unlamented!

[D.C.]

Linda wrote: "Renee wrote: "I moderated a dog forum for a decade (had to take a break . . . new owners, too many drama llamas) and one of the ways I brought a few of the more determined spammers/trolls to their ..."

I had assumed GR could chase down the IP addresses. Maybe they can't? Shouldn't that be pretty standard for a large website owned by a giant corporation?

And I agree, posting personal details is never, ever appropriate because it is potentially dangerous. And just think about what could happen if you got it wrong? Or if a bunch of other people jumped on the same bandwagon and did it to anyone they didn't agree with? It's one of those things that might seem like a good idea initially but is just plain not morally defensible.

[Al "Tank"]

IP addresses are hard to nail down. Most are temporary. Every time you cycle your modem, your host will assign you a new internal IP address. If we were to ban the host's IP address, we'd block EVERYONE who rides on that line (think of banning CenturyNet's IP addresses, you'd block hundreds of thousands of innocent people).

It's a rare person who has his own, permanent IP address.

[Renee E]

Linda wrote: "Renee wrote: "I moderated a dog forum for a decade (had to take a break . . . new owners, too many drama llamas) and one of the ways I brought a few of the more determined spammers/trolls to their ..."

I was careful, just enough to let them know I had more, and that it wasn't that difficult for anyone to look them up, so maybe pissing people off on the internet wasn't a good idea. I actually do know where to draw a line, after years doing investigative work for lawyers and even working in the bail bond field.

All it takes is letting 'em know you know, and the well-being of real members, especially the youngest and oldest (we ran the gamut from 12 to 75) always came first, and for some reason the worst of the trolls and scammers would target them. Nope. Not happening. I will burn someone a new one for that, totally unapologetically. They get a warning and after that it's on them.

No one screws with my people.

And yes, Al is right about someone having a unique, permanent IP address.