I am a teacher and sometimes use the Straight Dope in the classroom as a teaching tool. Its fun to ask questions and look at the answers and discuss which posts are full of it and which aren’t.
Recently an student accessed personal info regarding my divorce from this board and posted it around the school. It had never occurred to me that a student only needs my username to access all my posts. Stupid me!
Even so, I have only one personal post on this whole board (what a geek). Well a student photocopied this and posted it on lockers around the school. Why they would want to hurt me or embarrass me, I don’t know.
I have my suspicions and have discussed it with my principal. She suggested that I involve the police. I have not ruled that out. Right now it is summer so it is more difficult to investigate but I have a long memory and September is not far away.
I cannot blame anyone for reading my posts if they are a member. That’s what the Dope is about. It was a mistake to allow students to see my username. Bored students with too much free time can make stupid mistakes. I told my principal that I would not mind so much if it were just me. But to drag my innocent family into this. I’m steaming.
I was young once and have made my share of misjudgements. All I want is for the perps to see how hurtful their actions have been and to apologize.
Knowing what you now know, I’m surprised you’ve chosen to post this.
Especially using (what I assume to be) the same account.
For what? You’re the one who chose to make the information public. It’s not the student who made a mistake or misjudgement.
Nobody stole your personal info. It sounds like you gave it away freely.
What you post online is public information, sometimes we forget that.
I assume the OP talking about involving the police is in referrence to harrassment charges, not anything to do with finding personal information on this board.
I also assume the OP posted this in part to warn the suspect that they are on to him or her and to beware that the police may be involved and maybe put a bit of a scare into them - this is, if they are still creeping on the OP’s posts here.
You posted on an open forum, and then you allowed the students to know your user name. As Spock said to Kirk in the movie with the whales, that’s “Double Dumbass” on you.
I assume the OP posted this as a warning to others and nothing more.
And, of course, now the kids that did the deed know they rattled her…so they’ll now be copying and distributing this thread…“Watch Ms. X cry about what we did”.
Kids are sadistic little bastards.
I mention the Dope to my classes (granted, they’re college level) in passing but I would never tell them the name of the board directly, or my username. If someone finds the board and figures out it’s me… they’re a stalker. Nah, but I know I have a job that puts me in the public a little so I do not purposely post tons about my personal life. There’s plenty to discuss with my electronic buddies that shouldn’t put me in awkward situations.
That’s what real life friends are for. In person, with no recording devices.
I’ve posted one or two things that I wish I hadn’t, for the very reason that someone could dig it up and use it to embarrass me or my family. But it would take a significant effort to find it, and I still think it would take a stalker-level research job to positively ID me.
Sorry that it happened, OP… but yeah, maybe it’s time to ask the mods for a new handle and to keep it private.
I’m still wondering why, if you didn’t mind sharing your information here, you even care about your students knowing?
How did they figure out it was you? Like, did you leave the browser open when you were still logged in as your name?
Are those parentheses really necessary?
No 
The OP is obviously trying to scare the kid into coming forth by thinking the police are going to get involved. I am not a fan of scare tactics no matter how deserving.
When you put public information on a board, it’s public and it may be forever. I still can access posts on Usenet (via Google Grooups) I made in 1996.
The only law I can think of that may have been violated is copyright law which is a civil issue.
It’s not harrassment it’s gossip. You made an error and instead of being an adult and sucking it up and living with it, you come on hear hoping the student who posted it will read this and get scared into thinking the cops will come get him and confess.
I’d hate to have a teacher that used scare tactics. Perhaps instead you use the opportunity to address the school community, and how wrong it was to gossip.
This thread immediately reminds me of Ms. Norbury in “Mean Girls”.
Chalk it up as a lesson learned. :smack: Once you post to the Internet, it’s public information. I hope more people would take this lesson to mind and stop posting all their business on public websites and blog boards. :dubious:
On the flip side, I’d hate to be a little shit of a student that deserved having scare tatics used on them.
Evereything I posted is the truth.
I admit my mistake in allowing my usename to be used. It was ignorant and I deserve all the names you call me. It did not occur to me that students could access my posts using my username. Double stupid.
My problem is with the copying and posting of this information as a way to humiliate me.
Did the student do something wrong. Absolutely!
Where do you work? It wouldn’t bother you that your colleagues would dig up dirt on you and make pamphlets for distribution.
Give me a break.
Well, it’s definitely asshole behavior. But you talked about calling in the cops. There’s no reason for that, is there?