When is private information not private? When you are “looking for a good time.” Take this ./ article for example. A graphic artist in Kirkland, Washington, Jason Fortuny thought it would be an interesting experiment to post to craigslist as a woman looking for a male partner. From the waxy.org article, he received :

178 responses, with 145 photos of men in various states of undress. Responses include full e-mail addresses (both personal and business addresses), names, and in some cases IM screen names and telephone numbers.

He then posted all the responses—unedited and in their entirety—on Encyclopedia Dramatica.

The fallout from this experiment may be deep, the personal destruction total. By sharing their personal details to an anonymous craigslist poster, have responders agreed this information is not private? Is Fortuny liable for the inevitable damages, resulting from divorces, firings, etc., because he posted the responses for the world to see? It will be interesting to see how—and if—this plays out in our legal system.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 11th, 2006 at 1:45 pm by Peter Hesse and is filed under rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.