Safety & Security - Trolls are out

Okay folks, the trolls are out.

In trying to find links and information for this blog, I sometimes visit a few of the review boards and other sites. As you can imagine, this blog has been noted on several of them because of who it links to.

Unfortunately, some of the people on the review boards and other blogs aren’t able to handle some of the comments they see on the blogs, or become a bit overly curious about who writes what.

And then they start to troll.

Sometimes you can gather hints that this is what is going on. And it seemed to me over the past week, I was seeing these hints. Now I think it has gone from hints, to confirmed.

If you are a provider with a blog. Please be careful. Look over your blog once again for any personal information. Where you’ve gone, what you’ve done, who you’ve been with, where you advertise, anything at all that is information about you. Remove it. It is not needed and others don’t need to know.

Do searches on yourself. See who links to you and where you are referenced.

Do searches on stalking and cyberstalking and get ideas on how these people work.

Make sure the email address connected with the blog, even if not shared or published on the blog, is not used or shared with anyone else. Ideally, use Hushmail or another encrypted email system.

Use TOR, it is not difficult to install, and helps a great deal to obscure you from the more technically astute stalkers.

Finally, I have to encourage provider bloggers to consider making their blog “by invitation only”. Almost all the blogging sites provide a way where only certain people may have access to the blog. While I am pained on losing out on what people share here, your safety and security MUST come first. Limiting who can see what you say is one option you do need to consider.

See this post for other information and links on blogging anonymously.

Dear Abby - Should I tell him?

Now, I know this particular subject is a reoccurring one in the blogs, but really now, going to an online Dear Abby?

Issues & Opinions - Legal, Philosophical, and Political parts of Sex Work

Courtesy of Compartments, I have this excellent site to point to that has a very good summary and many links dealing with several of the issues around sex work and prostitution in the United States. Thank you very much Compartments! Paul’s Justice Page - Prostitution and Sex Work is now part of the blogroll.

Maintenance and updating still continue for the site, so not all links may be showing up at all times. Again, no one’s link has been deleted. They will reappear as I continue with the changes to the site.

Feel free to leave comments with suggestions for for colors and appearance.  I like the gray because it is easy for me to read, but I know most of you go “blah” at it.

Thanks again for your patience.

Privacy & Security - AboutUs.org

A new Web 2.0 site, AboutUs.org, has its search bot out looking for bloggers. It’s goal is to set up Wiki pages for bloggers where readers will be able to see snap shots of the blogs, with reviews, comments and additional information.  It looks to be a very good marketing tool and resource as it develops.

Fair enough, as writing About pages is something many bloggers struggle with and can be quite a chore. The problem is that AboutUs.org doesn’t stop with just the info on the blog.  It will search and correlate information and references that can reveal personal information about the blogger, including their full name, address with a map, and other personal data in order to create a wiki open for all to see, and it does this without informing the blogger of doing so.  Also, as the information gathered is set up as a wiki, it is open for any one to edit or change, including placing inaccurate or defamatory information on the site.

As of right now, AboutUs struggles with gleaning information from free hosted sites, such as WordPress.com, Blogger.com and LiveJournal. Blogs hosted on personal servers or registered domains are not so immune.

AboutUs provides OptOut information on this page, as well as instructions to code your pages so that its bot will ignore your site.

I recommend taking a hard look and a good read before it causes you trouble.

Sunday Morning Sites to See

Going through some random links this morning, I came across two images that I thought I should share.

The first is some interesting trivia on South Carolina —

The second, which unfortunately I can’t embed here due WordPress.com restrictions, is an educational video produced for the women of South Carolina.  This video requires Flash and is Safe For Work.  I highly recommend taking a look.

Billboard photo courtesy of Feministing.com

Video courtesy of Photobucket.com

The Sex-Worker Library

Amanda Brooks has created a very interesting book list I’ve linked to on the Blogroll here. She has noted many books of interest to those involved in sex work as well as those researching sex work. I highly recommend taking a look. If anyone else has a book list they would like to share, please leave a comment.