On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 4:01 PM, WJhonson@aol.com wrote:
Thomas, I was replying to the *general feeling* by some that it is sometimes permissible to track down real-world identities, of those who for, whatever reason, are trying to hide theirs.
I believe it IS sometimes permissible. For instance, if someone is vandalizing, making threats, etc. it is permissible to discover personal information about them for the purposes of preventing the problem. For instance, that's what checkusers do in cases of serious vandalism etc. We may, for instance, discover personal information through those checks, make connections between multiple accounts, announce issues if we feel it necessary, get in touch with ISPs in severe cases, etc.
-Matt