Watch what you say....

[Gilgondorin]

....Because if you don't, the government is going to be coming for you:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/avoid-words-prevent-homeland-security-spying-social-networks-211947512.html

Now, I don't know how many of you actually use Facebook and whatnot, but this actually kinda rattled me because half of the words on their list are completely innocuous. That data center that's being built in Utah is really scaring me, because it'll unofficially mean the end of privacy anywhere; once it's completed, it won't matter if half of Facebook writes a jumble of those words. Based on the estimated computing power at that agency, they'll be able to dig through all the false positives easily!

[jared]

How does that saying go regarding those who would give up liberty for security

[SpecOpsDocRet]

....Because if you don't, the government is going to be coming for you:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/avoid-words-prevent-homeland-security-spying-social-networks-211947512.html

Now, I don't know how many of you actually use Facebook and whatnot, but this actually kinda rattled me because half of the words on their list are completely innocuous. That data center that's being built in Utah is really scaring me, because it'll unofficially mean the end of privacy anywhere; once it's completed, it won't matter if half of Facebook writes a jumble of those words. Based on the estimated computing power at that agency, they'll be able to dig through all the false positives easily!

THe NSA has had several up and running for some time now.  This one in Utah is just a new one.

[nerdshooter]

I am generally anti-bigbrother but for some reason this does not bother me all that much. If you are posting things to the PUBLIC internet it will be indexed by all kinds of people (google, MSN, .gov) If we want them to help stop invasions, terrorist, flu pandemics using this PUBLIC data could provide a great early warning system.

Bottom line if you post things PUBLICLY I think you give up your expectation of privacy to the good and bad guys.

[tenring]

Oh for the love of pete...F those fear-mongering [admin edit - word removal] (please see: http://texasgunforum.com/index.php?topic=5799.0 ) at homeland security, they are just trying to justify their existence so they can continue sucking cash off the public tit.

 I'll say what I please, and still have ZERO need to have my  freedom defended by those idiots or any others. I can damn well defend myself, thanks. I won't spend my days being paranoid about some little twit logging my words either.

[Domineaux]

Oh for the love of pete...F those fear-mongering [admin edit - word removal] at homeland security, they are just trying to justify their existence so they can continue sucking cash off the public tit.

 I'll say what I please, and still have ZERO need to have my  freedom defended by those idiots or any others. I can damn well defend myself, thanks. I won't spend my days being paranoid about some little twit logging my words either.

+1 (does it still get me flagged?)

[Gilgondorin]

I am generally anti-bigbrother but for some reason this does not bother me all that much. If you are posting things to the PUBLIC internet it will be indexed by all kinds of people (google, MSN, .gov) If we want them to help stop invasions, terrorist, flu pandemics using this PUBLIC data could provide a great early warning system.

Bottom line if you post things PUBLICLY I think you give up your expectation of privacy to the good and bad guys.

If you were going to plot another super horrible terrorist attack against someone somewhere, do you really think it would be in the middle of everywhere, when just anyone could read it and report you?

Sounds like a crock to me and a way to keep tabs on the public at large, because the guys that are serious about doing stuff like 9/11 didn't trumpet it all over the internet before they did it. Neither did that Seung Cho-Hui kid from the Virginia tech shooting until after it had already happened.

It's totally unreasonable and a poor use of badly needed public funds. I don't like the idea of having all my posts logged in some stupid file either, but I ALSO don't like the idea of the fact that they could be unfairly used to falsely paint a picture of someone being a treasonous, anarchy-mongering psychopath either. The court system is broken enough as it is in all areas of the law (family, criminal, civil, etc). Just try proving your innocence when your judge is Reverend Al Sharpton!

[tenring]

geez, smacked down by my own Texas homey Shipwreck .....<sigh>.......i give up, packing bags for Misty Mountains...

[Gilgondorin]

You know, I didn't think about it until now, but would this be better served in the politics forum?

[Jeb_66]

I am generally anti-bigbrother but for some reason this does not bother me all that much. If you are posting things to the PUBLIC internet it will be indexed by all kinds of people (google, MSN, .gov) If we want them to help stop invasions, terrorist, flu pandemics using this PUBLIC data could provide a great early warning system.

Bottom line if you post things PUBLICLY I think you give up your expectation of privacy to the good and bad guys.

I agree with this and also,  who gives a flying flip about what I post?  Lol.

I also agree that it's a horrible waste of tax dollars though. But that's a different argument than the "big brother" one here.

[Shipwreck]

, but would this be better served in the politics forum?

 

[Gilgondorin]

I am generally anti-bigbrother but for some reason this does not bother me all that much.

I agree with this and also, who gives a flying flip about what I post?

I reiterate:

...I don't like the idea of having all my posts logged in some stupid file either, but I ALSO don't like the idea of the fact that they could be unfairly used to falsely paint a picture of someone being a treasonous, anarchy-mongering psychopath either. The court system is broken enough as it is in all areas of the law (family, criminal, civil, etc). Just try proving your innocence when your judge is Reverend Al Sharpton Sara Brady from the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence!

It's not hard for things to get blown out of proportion:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/09/07/long-island-man-arrested-for-defending-home-with-ak-47/

It was a simple case of self defense, one that could have gone south in either direction (him getting hurt or killed; him shooting at an unarmed group of people). Yet either way he was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment -- even the news caster referred to his firearm as a "high power AK-47". We all know anything in our deer hunting arsenal is much more powerful than an AK-47, unless you hunt with a big-bore pistol or a .223 caliber rifle. It wouldn't be hard for it to slip that someone was arrested in connection with "possible" terroristic inclinations, especially if they happen to be "outspoken critics of the government" with a "previous history of attracting government attention", or in my case, a "hacker", or "potential information security threat" just because I happen to know a little more than the average computer user.

I'll admit, my web presence on the internet is usually set to strictly private, and I never bother with half the stuff they'd be hunting for specifically in any case; therefore, none of this should actually concern me at all. But the idea of writing something as simple as "I feel like crud; I think I have the flu" marking someone's profile for review by a government entity just rubs me the wrong way..... Especially when court cases these days are "Guilty until proven innocent" rather than "innocent until proven guilty".

[Jeb_66]

I understand your point, it just doesn't worry me personally. Lol.

[grumper]

That's a giant pile of horsecrap.

If you posted a hurricane season survival guide you'd get flagged at least 20-30 times.

Gee, you might just mention hurricanes, tornados, twisters, electrical outages, water outages, first responders, FEMA, neighborhood militia, law enforcement, looting, red cross, national guard, emergency response, evacuation, state of emergency, gas leaks, fires, hazardous material, ship channel, bridge, port of Houston, Galveston Bay, service disruption, cancelled flights, downed lines of communication, downed power lines, floods, storms, wave crest height, sheltering-in-place, first aid, relief supplies, emergency broadcasts, and being stuck on the interstate. Ya think??

This has the kenyan dogeater's fingerprints all over it. It seems like whoever put this list together deliberately designed it to red flag inhabitants of certain states in the Gulf of Mexico region which coincidentally sent most of their electoral votes to his opponent 4 years ago.

[tenring]

This about says it all for me.