Grumph, Mumble, Growl

[ravan]

Well, Michele's dad came by the house yesterday. I'm glad I was at work. He never could be bothered to come visit her while she was alive...

They plan on having the wake for her at BayCon. That means I have to go.

BayCon still demands your real name to put on your badge, along with your city of residence, to be helpful to would-be stalkers and the Ashcroft's goons.

The only privacy protection they offer is not publishing your name on the web or in the program book. Gee, thanks. That's no protection against an Ashcroft "sneak and peek" rifling of the database. It doesn't need to be on the internet - the NeoGestapo can pick your lock, take pictures and copies, and not tell anyone.

Anyone know where I can get a convincing looking fake drivers license?? If I have to do 5 layers of pseudonym to protect myself against unsavory people (in fandom or government), I will. Sheesh.

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get all of us. The *spit* "usa patriot" act and its adherents scare the piss out of me.

Comments

[ertla.livejournal.com]

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get all of us.

Ever use a credit card at a pagan bookstore? Borrow pagan relevant library books? Post "anonymously" on LiveJournal? Any of these are sufficient to identify you as pagan, not to mention the numerous personal acquaintances, some of whom will answer questions.

That ship's already sailed. You are "out", for purposes of government surveillance. If they want you, they can have you, and attending Pantheacon won't make things worse.

Stalkers might be another story. But they'd have a lot of potential targets, at Pantheacon, so why pick you?

[ravan.livejournal.com]

Ever use a credit card at a pagan bookstore?
Nope. Cash.

Borrow pagan relevant library books?
Nope. I only borrow from friends.

Post "anonymously" on LiveJournal?
Ravan Asteris is a pseudonym

Any of these are sufficient to identify you as pagan, not to mention the numerous personal acquaintances, some of whom will answer questions.
Lots of people only know me as Ravan. It is possible to find out my mundane ID, but it should not be easy. Those people who do know it know that I don't want it splattered around.

That ship's already sailed. You are "out", for purposes of government surveillance. If they want you, they can have you, and attending Pantheacon won't make things worse.
I'm talking about BayCon, but Pantheacon is the same story.

Stalkers might be another story. But they'd have a lot of potential targets, at Pantheacon, so why pick you?
BayCon, and it wouldn't be the first time someone's tried, and I heard about it. They whined that they couldn't find "Ravan Asteris" in the Cupertino phone book to a friend of a friend. No one knows why stalkers pick their targets.

[ertla.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you are a lot more careful than most. I'm right out in the open, as a matter of policy, for a large number of reasons.

Sorry about kind of going off on you. I've dealt with too many cute little witchypoos who are boasting one minute, and hiding from the burning times the next; also more sophisticated people who simply have no idea what is and isn't traceable, at what kind of effort.

And as for the Baycon/Pantheacon slip, I don't know what got into me. Maybe the fact the hotel's the same, and I don't often attend Baycon myself.

[ravan.livejournal.com]

Sorry about kind of going off on you. I've dealt with too many cute little witchypoos who are boasting one minute, and hiding from the burning times the next; also more sophisticated people who simply have no idea what is and isn't traceable, at what kind of effort.

Heehee! The funny thing is, I've been this way for a long time. I started using Ravan long before I got on the 'net, and realized that if I wanted to maintain my privacy against stalkers and net.kooks I had to never post anything controversial under my real name. So I have always used Ravan Asteris on usenet, my pagan website, and on livejournal. I've been a privacy nut since before it was fashionable.

My ISP doesn't know my real name, because my roomies and I have a business account and have several different login names associated with it (for people in the house and other friends). Plus we sometimes act as a mailing address for friends who don't have stable housing situations.

I have a web page under my mundane name, but it's purely related to business and geek stuff. Very dull, and no religious references, period.