BLOG BIZ: Warning to Debito.org Commenters about being cyber-stalked; don’t use your real name as moniker anymore
Posted by debito on May 22nd, 2011
New novel IN APPROPRIATE by ARUDOU Debito
UPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito
DEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free
Hi Blog. Let me devote today’s blog entry to a fear being expressed by Debito.org Readers. Got this comment a few days ago:
///////////////////////////////////////////
May 18, 2011
Hi Debito,
I just wanted to let you know that last week on ‘tepido naruhodos’ page, I saw a thread that included a large amount of communication between some posters about the posters on debito.org. They were discussing that of that date they had collectively identified 63 debito posters through e-mail addresses and social media sites.
I don’t know if you were aware of this, or if it was brought to your attention.
The posts on that subject disappeared at some point around the weekend.
Quite frankly, I think that they are a strange bunch. I think tepido naruhodo/Ken YN/LB lives in my area, but I can’t identify and confront him on this issue.
I don’t know if you might want to warn your readers that they might be stalked, or if you have ideas for other action? – Anonymous
///////////////////////////////////////////
COMMENT: Thanks for letting me know. I don’t read sites that are only out there to trash me personally. I would not have heard about this unless others took the time to stick their head in Internet garbage. Thanks for doing so.
Yes, I have been cyberstalked by these creeps (and others; there is even a site devoted to the possibility of my being Jewish merely because I’m an activist) for many years now. And I am sorry that these creeps are now trying to use the same tactics towards other posters on this site. How vicious.
And hypocritical. These creeps decry their lack of freedom of speech on this blog (I no longer approve their posts here; one look at the tone and commentary on the Tepido et.al sites will give you an indication why), yet are taking action not only against me, but also against others who express themselves here, just because they don’t agree with Debito.org Readers or with me personally.
I’m no certified mental health specialist, but I would say that these anonymous creeps (who remain mostly anonymous, of course, to evade any semblance of responsibility or maturity) have an unhealthy obsession with me personally and the issues on this site. Makes one wonder if they devote any time to having a real life away from the keyboard.
As for those primary anti-Debito.org people we can actually identify (in the same spirit of exposure that they decide to employ), the organizer of the Tepido site is run by blogger (see photo here and you’ll get a decent impression of what kind of boy we’re dealing with) and Panasonic computer nerd Mr Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson (aka Ken Y-N, see his Linkedin Profile here, since he checks mine obsessively). There is also toy store employee Mr Lance Braman, who coyly goes by “LB” wherever he leaves his droppings, you might want to keep an eye on if you enjoy foamy self-mutilating performance art. Try tracking their obsessive one-note postings on other perfectly legitimate discussion sites, such as Japan Probe, Japan Today, Mutantfrog, etc.. These two are the only ones with the balls to show themselves; now just imagine what kind of creeps, the slime that stalk other people, still keep themselves underground…
(As an aside: I have also heard that the new Google Chrome browser software doesn’t allow access to Debito.org. I know somebody who works at Google, maybe I should ask him what’s with that. Freedom of speech and all that, right, Google in China?)
As for dealing with these cyberstalkers: I suggest that Debito.org Readers, when you post, from now on avoid using your real name. Choose a unique moniker and stick with it (I generally remember them). Your comments are welcome. Just protect yourself from the shit I have to deal with on a daily basis. Goes with the territory, some might say, but I disagree; it didn’t used to be like this. But the Internet has become a haven for bullying and few people are doing much about it. So protect yourself and keep your privacy intact.
Thanks. Arudou Debito
May 22nd, 2011 at 2:45 pm
what a bunch of dicks
May 22nd, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Well, thank goodness I’ve been using a alias this whole time. Thanks for the heads-up.
May 22nd, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Well – as I was kind of defending Japan in my opinions about the book cover…what will I get do you think? They’ll give the secret handshake and invite me into the fold? With friends like that…
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:29 pm
“But the Internet has become a haven for bullying and few people are doing much about it.”
Perhaps it’s a generational divide, I grew up with computers, BSSes and the internet, but I find your comments about the internet rather grating. What can be done exactly, mass censorship? The consequence of easy global communication is, strangely enough, easy global communication. You could blame the internet, but, how would you react were this occurring in your place of business? Indeed, it doesn’t sound like they’ve broken any laws, just acted in an impolite manner.
Can’t say I agree that anonymous posting is about trying ‘to evade any semblance of responsibility or maturity’ either. It would have made posters here safer against cyberstalking.
What would be really nice would be some information on which poster’s have been identified and what information has been compromised. The comment about poster identification doesn’t mention that only those who used their real names are affected. Indeed, this shouldn’t need to be mentioned, but any pseudonym you use on the internet can be linked to every other use of that pseudonym – unless it’s a common one or it’s not attached to any personal info, you can still be tracked down.
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Oh my god! Thanks for the photo link! I do know this ‘houlier than thou’ scumbag Tepido Naruhodo. Now I can confront him directly.
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:52 pm
@Protoph
“What would be really nice would be some information on which poster’s have been identified and what information has been compromised.”
Don’t worry such a thread never really existed, I think Debito’s source is pranking him.
– We’ll let the source comment, thanks. Anyway, given the nature of these creeps (and their past stalking tendencies), I think monikers are a reasonable safeguard for the Commenters as well.
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Are email addresses published? Has the database been hacked?
– They are not published (nor are IPs), and I don’t think there has been a hacking.
May 22nd, 2011 at 6:03 pm
I hope you took a copy of the positing Debito as they now appear to be denying it!
It’s pretty easy to cross identify people once you have their alias, I don’t think any hacking has taken place.
May 22nd, 2011 at 6:59 pm
This latest tirade is getting into “defamation of character territory. I’d suggest getting a lawyer experienced in internet cases like this – anonymous posters, moderators who choose to allow defamatory speech on their websites, and so on. ”
I found this statement to be bizarre. They got a whole site dedicated to bashing and defamming debito, but then flip the script to try and accuse debito of defamming them? Whats up the Eido Inoue and the other naturalized Japanese over there? Attacking one of their own? Its a strange world.
May 22nd, 2011 at 8:34 pm
It was me that tipped Debito off. They were discussing how they had used e-mail addresses and social networking sites to identify ‘about 63′ posters on debito.org. It was a discussion amongst posts on a thread. I think tepido naruhodo deleted all the comments, because they all disappeared (I think tepido has been sharing the e-mail addresses of posters on his site with his stalking friends). But they are a strange bunch of semi-obsessed japan apologists, and spend all their time speculating about Debitos location and relationships. I didn’t like the idea that they might identify and cause trouble for innocent posters here, in the real world.
May 22nd, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Meh I don’t pipe in all that often. I probably will when I finally reach Japan and by then I’ll have a cool nickname.
Given what Debito said about IPs and emails not being published I think everyone is pretty safe unless they republish their comments somewhere else with more personal info.
Of course here I am changing my display name… better safe than have your identity stolen…
May 22nd, 2011 at 9:11 pm
its funny watching them go bizerk wondering who “zeke” is. Talk about paranoia.
May 22nd, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Shame on them if true. Anyway thanks for the hint – will be leaving comments with alias from now on
May 22nd, 2011 at 10:37 pm
Notrace Mike. Some people enjoy the status quo. Also if you really want a good example of how stupid people can be/are just read about the end of the world in the news and just follow the current american political talk going on in general.
Debito: the internet will always be a cover for those who feel they have a right to bash anyone they disagree with. It’s how bullies work, until you actually punch one in the nose. As for my mail well this is my ‘business mail’ which means it is not my actual one I use for personal use. When I sign up for a site or some such I use this mail. So all spam and idiots can try to do what ever they want.
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:23 am
Google Chrome has been showing debito.org just fine. Looking at it in Chrome right now.
– Good, glad to hear. Thanks.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:37 am
this is an absolute disgrace,but not what id call a surprise.
is it worth getting the police involved?
i believe you successful sued someone on the net before (?)
just a thought.
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:35 am
Those characters pay attention to my blog quite a lot. I really don’t know what to say, because there are always unusual people around, and you can’t police the internet.
What’s more troubling, as the months have passed, is that a few of the tepido regulars (I count this at about 12 people whenever I get a mention on their site) have branched out into writing a slam blog about other people who have an internet presence. One of these is a WordPress blog called “Japan Blog Review”, which recently took shots at both Debito and Glenski (of GaijinPot fame). None of my contacts in the restaurant industry know the one writer, an alleged entrepreneur, and the other one is a mystery as well. Outside of “independent” sources that could easily be created by one’s own computer, there’s no confirmation that these critics even exist. But plenty of evidence that ties the writing back to the tepido gang.
I came to the conclusion that Ken Yamamoto-Nicholson really just wants to be somebody on the internet, and he hit on the idea of going after one of expat Japan’s well-known bloggers. I do not see this blog, or its commenters, as particularly controversial; but that wouldn’t stop somebody from trying to make like the site is. And for overreach, I suppose that won’t stop yet others from doing a stalking of those who post.
Besides trying to limit invasions to your privacy (which you don’t really control anymore in the days of giant search engines), the only other thing the commenting community can do here is sit back and wait. Someone who builds a site off personally attacking regular users of another site is going to screw up inevitably. When he does, it will hurt.
May 23rd, 2011 at 7:25 am
I come to this site to learn about and reflect on things; I don’t expect to agree with everything but I do find much of this site, it’s author, it’s contributers, help me understand things from new perspectives. While I often get down about things when I read this site, I still think it’s a duty to make myself aware of uncomfortable realities.
I’ve looked at the tepido naruhodo thing and am aghast: it seems to come out of a kindergarden and has no value whatsoever. Why would anyone read it?
I would defend their right to put up and post even their most insubstantial and trivial pollution, even though I don’t find anything of consequence or interest on the site. After seeing this topic, I just looked and for example there is some sort of ad hominem attack on Debito with a picture of a middle aged man dressed in a costume (cosplay) that comes directly out of something you’d be embarrassed to admit you’d done in front of your shogako sensei. Infantile.
But IF someone is actually doing what is claimed, identifying posters, then that’s different.
And what a nasty bunch of losers.
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:55 am
I was rather surprised to find one day that one of the guys at Tepido built an entire post around one little comment I made on here once (a comment that wasn’t even about Japan, BTW). I even had to leave comments there asking (I think) LB to please portray my comments in the correct light if he plans on using them again in the future, as I felt they’d been taken out of context. It was weird to see how they used my non-Japan-related comment to attack you, Debito-san, as if they were just looking for anything to twist it into an anti-Debito tirade.
May 23rd, 2011 at 8:56 am
I believe that James Grey is mistaken in his assertions. If he’s comfortable with it, I would like to here more about the posts he read.
If his goal was to lower the readership of tepido, it has worked on me. I’ll no longer be participating in discussion at tepido or here. There must be a better way to discuss merits of integration vs accommodation. If you have read my criticisms of your views Debito (at tepido), I want to stress it’s always the view and not the person. I don’t condone personal attacks on anyone (be it you, Ken, LB or James Grey). I have wondered why your views appear to have gotten more extreme in recent months, as I feel it’s troubling. I wish you rethink your statements that people shouldn’t marry Japanese people, and that tourists shouldn’t come to Japan as a form of economic sanctions. I believe they are not statements of a person who likes Japan and wants to make it a better place.
I hope this issue gets resolved.
All the best.
May 23rd, 2011 at 9:32 am
Even though they spend most of their time on the attack, I find they get quite sensitive when they are called out. They defend themselves with long boring rantsl, just look at Inoues lattest post. Brother Inoue should start his own blog about Japan instead of joining the nitpickers against Debito. Im starting to see holes in their armor over there.
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:39 am
I may be naive here, but what’s the issue these peculiar people have with someone who’s standing up for civil rights and basic decency?
I’ve been following Debito’s activities for what must be two decades and see nothing but good. Writing as someone who moderates a very large Japan-related website as part of my job, I too despair at some of the anonymous commenters.
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:39 am
To be honest, I’m not particularly bothered. I think it is prudent to assume that anything you put online could be linked back to you, and moderate yourself accordingly.
If anyone wants to waste their time tracking me down (not that it would take very long!), go ahead and knock yourselves out
May 23rd, 2011 at 10:47 am
I agree with PKU.
If someone is identifying posters on a site they hate, then that’s different.
The act of a nasty loser.
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:53 am
I can remember my first time going about on the internet. The advice that was given in the media(when I trusted it) was, that you NEVER use your real name or give your real name but to use some kind of handle or online name. When filling out tedious online forms and when signing up for something, I don’t use my real name. And why the hell should I? I’m not required too.
You should also use a throw away email addresses or use an email address that you wouldn’t even care about losing and only use your personel email address for important things, like paypal or banking accounts.
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Seeing as how this message will not go through, those that see it take it seriously. The internet is all about anonymity, USE IT. Never Post your real creds, or names, or anything online. IP addresses that are logged, just be trustful that Debito will not publish these things, lest anyone does use Proxies, and Tor, or other such tools, and get your IPs reassigned, or do it yourself. The fact that I like Debito means I should not have to take these measures, and IMO Debito is just great. View it while you can.
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:24 pm
I tried reading the tepido site once and it was nigh incomprehensible. It seemed to be written by and for 13-year olds.
When those types of people are against you, then you know you must be doing something right.
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:43 pm
James Grey: Please tell us if this the post you mean.
http://tepido.org/flyjin-or-strawjin/419/comment-page-1#comment-5113
If so, you would have taken undue advantage of the hospitality of debito.org and misled its readership. You may also have embarrassed its host greatly.
If it is not, please give us the URL for the post you read so we can judge for ourselves.
May 23rd, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Have you got Ken`s address so I can go and stalk him in reality instead of hiding behind a computer? Or I ll just go and complain to his mum.
Just kidding (maybe…)