# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/81 "2013-09-25T12:31:23Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > [This guy.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Agk3kbDwEY)He loved COD and wanted nothing more to be a fighter pilot. He worked hard to attain his dream, and was well on his way there. A lapse of judgement and the desire for quick cash led him to do upload videos of himself partaking in a particular activity that cost him all that. And after all this time he posts another narcissistic video while killing ‘bad guys’. For a seemingly smart guy he still really doesn’t get why the AF let him go. _Hint: Hearts & Minds_ ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/82 "2013-09-25T12:43:21Z")
I was once PM’d and threatened with being fired from a company I didn’t work for ON THIS VERY BOARD because I used words in a pit thread that this person insisted were ‘internal’ terms used only by her company. I demonstrated that they were in fact, common industry terms and ignored the threat. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/83 "2013-09-25T13:16:57Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I was once PM’d and threatened with being fired from a company I didn’t work for ON THIS VERY BOARD because I used words in a pit thread that this person insisted were ‘internal’ terms used only by her company. I demonstrated that they were in fact, common industry terms and ignored the threat. So someone saw a Pit thread, assumed you had to work for them because you used language that they thought was only used at their company, and threatened to fire you? Who did they think they were firing? Or did they demand you unmask yourself first? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/84 "2013-09-25T13:37:51Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I know any number of people who I think have hurt their careers and are totally oblivious to it. Not because of any one dramatic incident, but a slow chipping away of respect because they made public a persona that was significantly more sexual, or more emotionally petty/dramatic, or was more politically radical than what they present at work. There’s a reason we tamp those things down at work. Frankly, we used to tamp it down pretty much all the time. What is appropriate cocktail party conversation? - not politics - not religion. You weren’t supposed to talk about people’s careers in a social setting in any detail. We aren’t supposed to talk about how much we make or what we spend our money on. When asked “how are you” it isn’t supposed to be an invitation to a 45 minute description of your pilonidal cyst. When sharing information about someone else, you are only supposed to share what they would be comfortable with you sharing. You’d better hope you have a good book or movie to talk about - or that there has been something interesting happening with the weather. You can have conversations that are outside of these “rule”- but you have them with your intimate friends and relatives. The internet changed those rules - initially, most places were like here - where most of us are fairly anonymous. And that means I can share things here that I would NEVER bring up in a social setting or at work. Then Facebook came along, and our habits are oversharing and our identity is known. And suddenly “I’m going to call in sick today and go shopping” becomes something that you used to share with your best friend - and now you’ve just shared it with 300 people - including your boss. (Answer to the question - the kids in Steubenville - stupid all the way around. Not that they didn’t deserve to have their lives ruined, but stupid.) ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/85 "2013-09-25T14:04:36Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > He also went on to say: [http://gawker.com/164750/new-york-mag-subway-flasher-even-weirder-than-you-thought](http://gawker.com/164750/new-york-mag-subway-flasher-even-weirder-than-you-thought) > > Yup, Dan Hoyt is a real piece of shit. Just remember me next time there’s a bad roommate thread!\* Just last night my wife got a friend request from her boss on Facebook. It freaked her out because she doesn’t friend work people, so her boss definitely searched for her. I told her to ignore it, and if it comes up, just say you’re never on Facebook. Oh, and to change her settings so her friend list is not visible (because we have weird friends). \*To be fair, at the time (and it was a long time ago), he was a nice guy and never did anything remotely weird. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/86 "2013-09-27T01:53:23Z")
I’m pretty sure the woman in [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzm0nh2Q1ak) is going to start having many bad days in the not too distant future. It actually happened in 2011 but the video is making a comeback. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/87 "2013-09-27T17:03:07Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > \ > Ah! First on the second page! I hate that! I love it when that happens - I rule all! Fear me! ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/88 "2013-09-27T21:00:12Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m going to climb out on a limb and say that I don’t think that’s the whole story. :dubious: It’s what we have. Make up whatever fantasies you like in the absence of more information. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/89 "2013-09-27T21:04:40Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I think you’re confusing ‘warning people about the distinct possibility of negative repercussions’ with ‘joining in with pitchforks and torches to hunt down those who dare show any personality on social media.’ > > Because otherwise, if you’re advocating that people just let that freak flag fly no matter what, you are encouraging them to go ahead and get themselves fired by NoHumor MegaCorp. What I advocate is negative legal repercussions for No Humor Corps when they fire people for things set on private social media. Perhaps a well-established principle that employees can sue if fired for such reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/90 "2013-09-27T21:34:19Z")
I wouldn’t say she’s “ruined” her life, but [Levy Tran](http://saylevy.tumblr.com/) is certainly embarrassed after [participating in a music video by Day Above Ground](http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/08/01/asian-girlz-racist-band-ripped-for-music-video/). ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415/91 "2013-09-28T00:58:55Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Don’t most of us have brown eyes? Do we all get the same recommendation? > My SO’s family are always talking about people who cause themselves this kind of trouble, and then they extrapolate it to think they should never put anything on the web, ever. I want to tell them, putting pictures of your grandchildren is not going to come back and bite you on the ass. Posting things about your day won’t, either, and you can password-protect things and CYA. But they won’t/don’t listen, preferring to gasp at the horror stories. > > Ah! First on the second page! I hate that! I get that people can be kind of on the paranoid side, but on the other hand, looking at how people shot themselves in the foot, I kind of don’t blame them. Something I’ve learned is that you really never know how something you might have said will pan out. My wife and I _never_ talk about work on Facebook. Some people are really candid and like to air their dirty laundry all over the place. I don’t think its reasonable to whine about Big Brother if someone doesn’t know how to keep their mouth shut. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-about-how-what-a-person-did-on-the-internet-ruined-their-lives/669415.md?page=4)