There is a saying - "What goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  That
could very well be the same for the internet.  In other words, "What
goes on in internet newsgroups, stays in internet newsgroups."  The
difference is, that Vegas refers to secrecy, but internet newsgroups
with archived material, has the opposite effect, and stays, stays, and
stays. . .archived forever!

With that being said, a prudent newsgroup user would be wise to use a
screen name, and/or any anonymizing efforts at their disposal, for any
desired postings.

Why, you ask?  That's easy to explain.  If you are a reasonably young
person, with your whole scholastic, or career life in front of you,
you may not want to have certain material lurking around with your
name associated with it.  After all, various colleges and scholastic
institutions are now Googling names to see what pops up on recruits to
their schools.  Increasingly, employers looking to hire individuals
investigate backgrounds.  And part of that exercise, is to Google the
potential new hire's name.

You may even have beneficial information, which seems benign as you
post it, but someone with less benevolent net etiquette, can twist
things, banter, collect your personal information, while using it
against you.  There are a lot of agendas are out there, and not all of
them are easy to identify.

The internet is still the wild wild west, and internet newsgroups are
the wildest west of all.  Internet law is just beginning to attempt
coming to terms, with all the new exposure individuals encounter with
their use of a computer.  Libel suits will likely increase, as need
be.  After all, the internet should be no more protected against
defamation and libel than any other public forum, or venue.  But,
these things will take time.

In the interim, there is much one can do to be self-protective, and
that is to choose a screen name, and post using only that newsgroup
screen-name.  Procure a "Yahoo" or "Hotmail" account, with that
screen- name.  Never use your primary email address when posting to
newsgroups!

There are individuals, who will urge putting your personal identity,
and information out there. . .But internet newsgroups, is not a place
that you should prudently choose to do that!

As you can see in this newsgroup, we have had our experiences with an
internet rodeo clown.  Wikipaedia has managed to deal with her to a
degree, as has Trash Talk.  This same internet rodeo clown, is
obsessed with "who" is posting behind certain "screen-names."  Rather
than focusing on the message of the postings. She has a history of
contacting children, aging parents, spouses, and employers, when
posters don't see life through her perceptions.  The way to protect
against that, is with the use of an anonymous screen name.

Following are a couple of links to more information about this topic.

Be smart, and be safe!

Thank you!

http://www.abuse.net
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile/antitrollfaqhtm.htm