Jacob Appelbaum: What Has This Man Done? | Hacker News Reader

Jacob Appelbaum: What Has This Man Done?

zeit.de

43 pointsthe_mitsuhiko27 comments

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I found the posts from Suzie Dawson (@Suzi3D) to be quite interesting. Long but worth the read.

https://contraspin.co.nz/the-weaponising-of-social-pt1-the-c...

https://contraspin.co.nz/the-weaponising-of-social-pt-2-stom...

and

https://contraspin.co.nz/the-weaponising-of-social-part-3-th...

Two people published open letters resigning from their involvement in Tor yesterday:

https://www.oneeyedman.net/?p=2581

https://shiromarieke.github.io/tor

Can we get this unflagged? Seems like a decent piece of investigative journalism IMO.

Why is this flagged? Is there a simple way to figure this out?

because this is drama

I dont remember any of the posts Attacking Appelbaum being flagged...

I don't know if Jacob assulted anybody. He might have. He seems like a jerk, but that's not really enough to punish someone.

Also, the article use the word "hacker" wrong.

/nitpick

"Also, the article use the word "hacker" wrong."

How so? They aren't breaking into things (except each other's underoos).

Heh. Sorry. I think I misread the article.

I think people should realize that different people approach things differently nowadays. Careful who you hang out with.

Wow this author really hates anarchists.

Is there a criminal prosecution going?

If there is not, why are we calling person a criminal?

This is my question too. Maybe it is because I do not track news closely. Bunch of people claimed have been harassed by Jacob, okay? Was there any evidences? Was there any trail?

As the news piece explicitly states, there is no an was never a formal investigation as no one ever filed one with law enforcement. Even Mr. Applebaum didn't file a suit against the alleged calumny.

So we have no way of knowing anything. It is just a question of whom to believe (if one wants to believe any side in this play). Some people accuse him, some people defend him. He defends himself. No one can prove anything.

My learning is the same as of some unnamed people in the article. In Germany one should never (esp. after our latest reforms on sexual laws) have sex without written and videotaped consent of the other party, esp. if they do not know the party. And every single consented practice would have to be signed off also.

That nowadays someones reputation can be destroyed with such an ease, I am appalled.

German law has recently merely been changed to require consent. It's still necessary to prove that consent was not given, to find someone guilty of rape.

It seems very unlikely that Appelbaum would be found guilty by a court. I could also imagine that a prosecutor wouldn't even take this to court due to lack of evidence.

As you say yourself, there is no formal investigation. So there is no point to the "learning" you are suggesting. Indeed, we have had recent reforms. And if you oppose them, please do not hide it behind snide remarks. Those reforms, in essence, were as follows: Before the reforms, punishable sexual misconduct was given only in the case the victim opposed it actively. Actively meaning not words, but actual corporal, physical defense actions. What is new after the reforms, is that the victim now has to utter a recognizable will to not suffer the actions.

As we are talking about penal laws, it is still needed to establish proof of this recognizable will.

About reputation: penal laws do not have to do with that. Again, as you state, this can be seen in this case where there is no formal investigation.

Sorry, but as far as I can tell you are not fully correct.

A clearly stated "No" did already suffice before these "reforms".

Also, I read a lot of articles by people way more versed in these topics then me who did really not agree with the way the new version of the law turned out. Even former judges who are afraid of the things to come under these new laws.

Maybe I am wrong, but I do strongly believe in innocent until proven otherwise. At least for me this law feels more like another step in the direction of guilty until proven innocent.

[Edit formatting]

Judging by the undisputed statements in the situation, I don't see much in the way of reputation to destroy.

> In Germany one should never (esp. after our latest reforms on sexual laws) have sex without written and videotaped consent of the other party

I wonder if they have that in uploaded form: cute German girls consenting to have sex. Would be an entertaining watch if you ask me.

Makes me proud for the Russian activist. She's not only acting as responsible person, but also has guts to go vocal against groupthink campaign.

The keypoint here is, that opsec is all about character. Doing sexpartys on MDMA with random strangers does not fit together with being the superman hacker. I would be interested to know who does the real work at the torproject.

Are you saying that his partying put the security of the Tor project at risk? For what reason?

I mean character assassination tactics did not get invented yesterday. A lifestyle like this puts the credibility of any organisation at risk. I wonder why we even need to discuss about this. In no other field would behavior like this be considered acceptable.

A quick scan of history would inform you that what is not acceptable in most fields is talking about sex parties publicly. The existence of crazy parties in various industry and entertainment fields throughout history is very well-documented.

The one exception that proves this rule that comes to mind is Jack Parsons of Caltech.

Check the history of the term "honey trap".

Thanks to Wikipedia, I have a new favorite example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu

I think you're putting superman hackers in an unnecessarily restricted box.

Everybody has a hobby. ;)

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