System Operator Revealing Real Identities

[Mattseeker]

Dear Forum Members,
This is my first post on The Law Forums. I belong to several online forums, and like many others in Cyberspace I use identities that do not reveal my real name. Recently, however, the system operator of oe forum I belong to, out of anger, revealed my real name to the forum members. Of course, I was very disturbed, since I had created the handle specifically for privacy, as others do. Other members on the forum raised the possibility that the system operators violated some kind of law. I was wondering if anyone here might offer a comment on this.

To be fully accurate, I have two identities on the forum in question: one is my real name, the other is a handle. I chose to stop using the full-name identity because I had become uncomfortable revealing my full name.

The irony here is that I teach technical writing and communication. One of the things I cover in class is legal issues around communication.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Dear Forum Members,
This is my first post on The Law Forums. I belong to several online forums, and like many others in Cyberspace I use identities that do not reveal my real name. Recently, however, the system operator of oe forum I belong to, out of anger, revealed my real name to the forum members. Of course, I was very disturbed, since I had created the handle specifically for privacy, as others do. Other members on the forum raised the possibility that the system operators violated some kind of law. I was wondering if anyone here might offer a comment on this.

To be fully accurate, I have two identities on the forum in question: one is my real name, the other is a handle. I chose to stop using the full-name identity because I had become uncomfortable revealing my full name.

The irony here is that I teach technical writing and communication. One of the things I cover in class is legal issues around communication.

I'm not sure it is a violation of any law. However, you can look at the operator's terms of service and see whether the forum operated violated his own policy. Most importantly for you, I would think this violates the "unwritten rules" of forum operation and not a violation of law. That alone would be more damaging to the forum owner because it would have a "chilling effect" on driving away other users who will be worried about what other personal information might be revealed by the forum operator.

Good luck to you and be assured we are very reasonable people here!