Wild West 2.0: How to Protect and Restore Your Online Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier

Harms to Quiet Enjoyment

Some false or malicious Internet content prevents you from quietly

living your own life without interference from others. An innocent-

looking blog that lists your e-mail address might not embarrass

you—it is just an e-mail address—but it might make you vulnerable

to spam. Similarly, a site that lists your political contributions might

not be news to anybody who knows you, but if it lists your full name

and address (as many political contribution sites do), it creates a risk

of harassment and unwanted efforts by scam artists to separate you

from your money. After all, if you were willing to give $500 (or even

$2,000) to a political candidate, a scam artist might think that you

have enough money to be worth targeting with an in-person ...