# Stories about how what a person did on the internet ruined their lives **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415 "2013-09-22T03:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hay\_Zoos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hay_zoos/32/7308_2.png) [@Hay\_Zoos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hay_Zoos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/1 "2013-09-22T03:31:33Z")
I recently read a story on a forum about this guy who was in Med School that used to make videos of him with dolls or something. Some guys found out his name, face pic, and where he went to Med School. Last I heard, he was kicked out, OUCH. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/2 "2013-09-22T03:36:50Z")
One of the states where I have my pharmacist license listed someone who had her license suspended because she accessed confidential information she shouldn’t have been privy to at the hospital where she worked, and then posted it on Facebook. She had been licensed since 1987 too, so you would have thought she would have known better. :rolleyes: An aside: A “spray your screen” moment was the guy who lost his license because he was caught flashing women in the parking lot of the store where he worked. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hay\_Zoos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hay_zoos/32/7308_2.png) [@Hay\_Zoos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hay_Zoos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/3 "2013-09-22T03:53:05Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > One of the states where I have my pharmacist license listed someone who had her license suspended because she accessed confidential information she shouldn’t have been privy to at the hospital where she worked, and then posted it on Facebook. > > She had been licensed since 1987 too, so you would have thought she would have known better. :rolleyes: > > An aside: A “spray your screen” moment was the guy who lost his license because he was caught flashing women in the parking lot of the store where he worked. :smack: dude that really sucks ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/4 "2013-09-22T04:17:25Z")
> [@Hay\_Zoos](#): > > I recently read a story on a forum about this guy who was in Med School that used to make videos of him with dolls or something. Some guys found out his name, face pic, and where he went to Med School. Last I heard, he was kicked out, OUCH. I’m pretty sure you cannot be kicked out of med school for playing with dolls. Do you mean he was making _pornographic_ videos with dolls or something? I am acquainted with someone who lost her job over a Facebook post. She had some low-ranking position with a charitable organization that provided services to the mentally ill. One of their clients once hit her hard enough to leave a bruise, and she posted a photo of the bruise on Facebook saying what had happened. That in and of itself probably wouldn’t have been a problem, but she included the name of the client and the post was set to public. One of her coworkers saw it and reported her for a confidentiality violation. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/5 "2013-09-22T04:29:26Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I am acquainted with someone who lost her job over a Facebook post. She had some low-ranking position with a charitable organization that provided services to the mentally ill. One of their clients once hit her hard enough to leave a bruise, and she posted a photo of the bruise on Facebook saying what had happened. That in and of itself probably wouldn’t have been a problem, but she included the name of the client and the post was set to public. One of her coworkers saw it and reported her for a confidentiality violation. I used to work with a woman who almost lost her job because when she first joined Facebook, she didn’t realize that the posts could potentially be read by anybody, and she was saying things like “I hate my boss!” :eek: The day she got talked to about this was the day that I was going to pull her aside and tell her that she needed to be careful what she said about work on FB. And she’s now getting a divorce, and if she posts any more man-bashing posts, I’m going to PM her and tell her that this isn’t a very good idea either. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/6 "2013-09-22T04:47:23Z")
There was a NYC restaurateur who was photographed exposing himself on the subway. Once it hit the net he was identified and it destroyed his reputation. [Suspected Subway Pleasurer Arrested - Gothamist](http://gothamist.com/2005/09/01/suspected_subway_pleasurer_arrested.php) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/7 "2013-09-22T05:07:20Z")
I know of several people who have been terminated at the multinational I work for. Stuff like posting photos of the big annual company meeting despite being warned that it was a termination offense in the invitation, during registration, at the event, etc. More like fired for stupidity. I spent at least 30 seconds trying to find the emails sent by an investment banker in Korea maybe 8-10 years ago. The emails were pretty lengthy and entertaining tales about “getting posted to Korea is great, I’ve fucked so many women here, here’s my latest conquest, send condoms, and you guys are losers for not being me.” I remember these as being amusing. He got fired after a month or two. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/8 "2013-09-22T05:16:45Z")
Here’s a [pre-facebook link](http://voices.yahoo.com/drunk-pirates-myspace-cannot-teachers-322740.html) to something so innocent it is scary. A teacher (actually a student teacher) was fired for doing something totally legal, and not at all controversial. She simply posted a picture of herself on Myspace- at a halloween party wearing a pirate hat and holding a cup in her hand. The pic was labelled “drunken pirate”. The woman is over 21 and at a private party. She is not visibly drunk, there is no hint of nudity, and there is no way to know whether the plastic cup in her hand contains beer or water. But the principal of her school decided to cancel her contract and ruin her budding career. When I read this story 7 years ago, I was shocked, and decided to become paranoid about internet security. Who knows when you might one day have a boss who would be offended by your personal life—even when it is totally normal and socially acceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Hay\_Zoos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hay_zoos/32/7308_2.png) [@Hay\_Zoos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hay_Zoos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/9 "2013-09-22T05:33:06Z")
Thing is, the guy I am talking about lost his reputation due to posting on a public forum. Someone got a hold of his pictures and he ended up getting exposed. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/10 "2013-09-22T13:49:57Z")
> [@Hay\_Zoos](#): > > Thing is, the guy I am talking about lost his reputation due to posting on a public forum. Someone got a hold of his pictures and he ended up getting exposed. You never explained what kind of dolls. Do you have a link to the post? ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/11 "2013-09-22T14:26:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I used to work with a woman who almost lost her job because when she first joined Facebook, she didn’t realize that the posts could potentially be read by anybody, and she was saying things like “I hate my boss!” :eek: The day she got talked to about this was the day that I was going to pull her aside and tell her that she needed to be careful what she said about work on FB. One of my employees was infamous for this. She’d call in sick and other employees would show me posts she wrote boasting about the great day she had taking her kids to Great America, complete with photos. Now, my team knew I had a “personal days” philosophy - I saw those days as yours, do what you want; I’m not quizzing you about your illness, saying it doesn’t sound that bad, trying to guilt you in by saying we’re busy or short-handed. Preparing for such eventualities was my job, after all. People showed me her postings because they were terrified she’d blow it for everyone if upper management saw them, but we were never able to convince her this was a bad idea. But she pretty much lived her life on Facebook - anyone browsing it knew every detail of her existence. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/12 "2013-09-22T15:13:39Z")
> [@Hay\_Zoos](#): > > Thing is, the guy I am talking about lost his reputation due to posting on a public forum. Someone got a hold of his pictures and he ended up getting exposed. Exposed as _what_? A guy who makes videos with dolls may be considered dorky and weird, but that is not enough to ruin someone’s medical career. Either this never happened or you’re leaving out the most important part of the story. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/13 "2013-09-22T15:45:10Z")
[This guy’s story](http://www.salon.com/2001/06/08/scarlet_b/) is pretty amusing, it’s about how a former internet obsession with Bigfoot is ruining his love life. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/14 "2013-09-22T16:02:27Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > When I read this story 7 years ago, I was shocked, and decided to become paranoid about internet security. Who knows when you might one day have a boss who would be offended by your personal life—even when it is totally normal and socially acceptable? I work in the non-profit sector, so my general attitude is, if they would fire me over something I posted, they don’t share my values and therefore I don’t want to work for them anyway. That said, when it comes to Facebook, I keep it set to ‘‘Friends Only’’ and there are certain topics I will not discuss. Job frustration is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/15 "2013-09-22T16:14:30Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Here’s a [pre-facebook link](http://voices.yahoo.com/drunk-pirates-myspace-cannot-teachers-322740.html) to something so innocent it is scary. > > A teacher (actually a student teacher) was fired for doing something totally legal, and not at all controversial. > She simply posted a picture of herself on Myspace- at a halloween party wearing a pirate hat and holding a cup in her hand. The pic was labelled “drunken pirate”. > The woman is over 21 and at a private party. She is not visibly drunk, there is no hint of nudity, and there is no way to know whether the plastic cup in her hand contains beer or water. > But the principal of her school decided to cancel her contract and ruin her budding career. > > When I read this story 7 years ago, I was shocked, and decided to become paranoid about internet security. Who knows when you might one day have a boss who would be offended by your personal life—even when it is totally normal and socially acceptable? What, you want drunken pirates teaching our children?? I wish you had decided to become a little less paranoid about internet security and a little more paranoid about pop journalism and believing everything you read on the internet. What you have described is not really an accurate account of the situation. See this [article from The Chronicle of Higher Education](http://chronicle.com/article/Judge-Sides-With-University/42066) > [@](#): > > Prior evaluations had criticized her competence and professionalism in the classroom, the legal decision says, but the school’s discovery of a photograph of Ms. Snyder on MySpace — with the caption “drunken pirate” and a note alluding to her strained relationship with her supervising teacher — precipitated the decision to end her assignment. > > That prevented Millersville from awarding Ms. Snyder a bachelor’s degree in education. Instead, the university reclassified some academic credits and gave her a degree in English, a decision she appealed and lost. When she sued, alleging violations of her free-speech and due-process rights, she sought the degree in education. You may want to go on and read the [report of the legal case (PDF)](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/Decision%202008.12.03.pdf). This does not sound like someone who would have been good teacher material had it not been for one isolated incident. > [@](#): > > Throughout the practicum, Reinking criticized Plaintiff’s competence – especially her ignorance of basic grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage – her inadequate classroom management, her poor understanding of the subjects she attempted to teach, and her inappropriate manner with students. It also appears that she was dismissed for doing what she had arguably been warned not to do: > [@](#): > > During the January orientation, Bray and Wenrich cautioned the student teachers not to refer to any students or teachers on their personal webpages. Wenrich described a student teacher’s dismissal from his practicum after he had posted information about his Cooperating School on his personal webpage. (Tr. May 6, 2008 at 231-232.) Wenrich recounted this incident because she wanted the student teachers to understand that “schools have the prerogative to remove student teachers from their placements.” (Tr. May 6, 2008 at 232:1-3.) Plaintiff remembered that Wenrich directed her not to post information about her students or her Cooperating Teacher on her personal webpage. (Tr. May 6, 2008 at 139-140.) Contrary to the advice and directives she received, Plaintiff sought to communicate about personal matters with her CV students through the MySpace webpage that she maintained throughout her CV placement. On several occasions, she informed the students during class that she had a MySpace webpage. ---
**Author:** ![Hay\_Zoos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hay_zoos/32/7308_2.png) [@Hay\_Zoos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hay_Zoos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/16 "2013-09-22T16:36:33Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > You never explained what kind of dolls. Do you have a link to the post? human sex dolls and he was having sex with them, apparently he put one on video or something ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/17 "2013-09-22T18:51:43Z")
To catch a predator comes to mind. As far as people I know in person, I can’t think of anyone who has lost a job or reputation for it. But a lot of people (myself included) posted stupid shit on the internet in the 1990s, never realizing that stuff was forever. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/18 "2013-09-22T19:18:06Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > [This guy’s story](http://www.salon.com/2001/06/08/scarlet_b/) is pretty amusing, it’s about how a former internet obsession with Bigfoot is ruining his love life. I Google my potential dates and have stopped contact if I find out that they are advocates of stupid bullshit. One that comes to mind is a professional nutritionist who bases her recommendations, in large part, on the eye color of the client. > [@chappachula](#): > > Here’s a [pre-facebook link](http://voices.yahoo.com/drunk-pirates-myspace-cannot-teachers-322740.html) to something so innocent it is scary. My mom is a semi-retired grade school teacher but has for over ten years consulted to the school district helping to train new teachers. She always tells them to be very careful and keep their private stuff hidden. People are pretty aware of it now but back in the myspace era she’d easily find some unbelievable stuff out there. She didn’t look to rat them out but to tell them, “look at what I was able to find. Hide that shit.” ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/19 "2013-09-22T19:18:12Z")
There was a blog I loved reading by a dude that well…he was an enormous and outlandish drug addict. I still remember watching him IV LIDOCAINE :eek: He was just hilarious and willing to be a lab rat for a myriad of substances no matter how ill advised. Well he made little effort to hide his identity, or even the identity of the shady doctors and pharmacists facilitating his chemical adventures. Apparently he was exposed and there was fallout including criminal charges and people got fired or in trouble with their medical licenses and he got fired, he pulled the whole blog down. He put it back up but doesn’t do any more drug posts, and the old ones have been HEAVILY edited. [http://sixthseal.com/](http://sixthseal.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/20 "2013-09-22T20:04:52Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > One of the states where I have my pharmacist license listed someone who had her license suspended because she accessed confidential information she shouldn’t have been privy to at the hospital where she worked, and then posted it on Facebook. > > She had been licensed since 1987 too, so you would have thought she would have known better. > > An aside: A “spray your screen” moment was the guy who lost his license because he was caught flashing women in the parking lot of the store where he worked. > [@Hay\_Zoos](#): > > dude that really sucks um… Do you mean, it sucks that they broke the law, or it sucks that they were caught, or it sucks that they were punished for breaking the law? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415.md?page=2)