As far as I understand it, Slate Star Codex was an intellectualist-medical blog which published articles at a pretty high-level and attracted a fairly highly-educated, intelligent community. It was extremely popular, even or because it dealt with controversial subjects at times. A New York Times reporter eventually attempted to write a piece on SSC, and let it be known that he/they/it was going to publish the details of the owner’s full name. In other words, the reporter was going to dox him. SSC took his blog down. It was a big deal on certain parts of the internet for about two minutes, and then everyone probably went back to stressing over the Bat Flu, or something.
SSC has a long article explaining himself at Astral Codex Ten and where he plans to go next with his online persona.
I think the highlight of the piece is this, though:
In the New York Times’ worldview, they start with the right to dox me, and I had to earn the right to remain anonymous by proving I’m the perfect sympathetic victim who satisfies all their criteria of victimhood. But in my worldview, I start with the right to anonymity, and they need to make an affirmative case for doxxing me. […]
I don’t think anyone at the Times bore me ill will, at least not originally. But somehow that just made it even more infuriating. In Street Fighter, the hero confronts the Big Bad about the time he destroyed her village. The Big Bad has destroyed so much stuff he doesn’t even remember: “For you, the day [I burned] your village was the most important day of your life. For me, it was Tuesday.” That was the impression I got from the Times. They weren’t hostile. I wasn’t a target they were desperate to take out. The main emotion I was able to pick up from them was annoyance that I was making their lives harder by making a big deal out of this. For them, it was Tuesday.
It’s bad enough to get kicked in the balls because Power hates you. But it’s infuriating to have it happen because Power can’t bring itself to care.
I don’t really like to comment on #CurrentEvents. But if there’s one thing that everybody, red, blue, or green needs to understand at a fundamental level, it’s this: the media is the enemy. It’s the mouth and the tongue and the teeth of the most evil and least worthwhile people the human race has ever produced, and nothing it says, not the color of the sky or your mother’s last name in her obituary, is true or trustworthy. Every part of the media-entertainment complex is evil, despises you in a totally impersonal way, and derives personal gratification from the thought of depriving you of your free will by making you think and do the things they want you to do. That includes Hollywood. That includes the BBC. That includes Disney.
Delenda est.
Riders of Skaith 