Is ISR actually anonymous?
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applebutter
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:13 pm
Is ISR actually anonymous?
Is ISR actually anonymous? My current school recently had some bad reviews, and I have heard they are going to sue ISR to release the name and IP address of the person that posted the review. I didn't post the original review, but everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else. I just want to make sure if I post something there can't be any legal blowback on me.
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
How about instead they spend their energy resolving the issues that have caused people to post in the first place . . .
Just an idea
Just an idea
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wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
Many admin/owners have apparently tried/threatened to sue and nothing has come of it. I wouldn't worry about it.
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1175
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
Just post from a public computer and not your own, and register with a email address that can't be traced back to you. If you want to be extra cautious, have someone you know pay for it with his/her credit card and reimburse him/her. Just make sure he/she isn't your Facebook friend, so can't be linked to you easily.
But I wouldn't worry too much about the school being able to obtain any of the information.
Also, maybe time to look for a new school?
But I wouldn't worry too much about the school being able to obtain any of the information.
Also, maybe time to look for a new school?
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Heliotrope
- Posts: 1175
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
Or...
Find someone on the forum who's also afraid to post, and both post each other's review.
Or find someone on the forum who is willing to post on your behalf, if that's allowed.
Just know that ISR can see from where the review is posted (so they can flag them as suspicious) - perhaps ask them for permission?
Find someone on the forum who's also afraid to post, and both post each other's review.
Or find someone on the forum who is willing to post on your behalf, if that's allowed.
Just know that ISR can see from where the review is posted (so they can flag them as suspicious) - perhaps ask them for permission?
Response
You are asking two very different questions; one is anonymity and the other is legal repercussions.
To explore anonymity, you are anonymous in the sense that on the public forum you need to register to post, but you can use any email address including a free service. You could make any email address you want. However, for the reviews and evaluations you do not need to register at all, thus no email address, you can choose to list an email address when submitting a review, but it is not required. You can register and login and post a review or evaluation, and this can speed up the approval and posting time, but you dont have too. You can register and pay for membership to accesses the members forum, and again you can use any email address for registration including a different email. Your username you choose is connected to your registration, and the membership registration is connected to the payment method you use for membership. You could use a prepaid debit or gift card to pay your membership fee. Again though, you do not need to register or pay for membership to submit a review or evaluation, nor do you need to use your registered username in submission of a review or evaluation. In that context you are as anonymous as your patience would allow.
So what could an IS obtain, well they could get access and user logs with a subpoena, even though ISR doesnt maintain logs, the ISP would have some access data but all that would show is when certain IP addresses were assigned to what users at certain times when they accessed the site. These wouldnt correlate with review and evaluation submissions as those arent done immediately upon submission. Essentially if no one is monitoring than the information is very minimal. Its not anonymous though, an IS could get something, whether they could attach it to you is a holly other matter.
@WT123 is incorrect, the reason we have a members forum is because of IS efforts. They basically defamed themselves, then had their lawyers came knocking, and the issue with a lawsuit is that they are expensive to defend against and the ISs are many and ISR is one. So could they exert enough pressure to get compliance from ISR, or could they get a judge to issue a subpoena to get data, sure, would it be useful, maybe, would it be a smoking gun pointing to you, not if you arent the least bit careful.
If youre really worried you could use a VPN or similar.
Now what that means to your IS is another story, they probably have a very low threshold for "proof" they likely dont need very much to convince themselves that X IT is the poster, could some of the IP data push them a certain way, sure. Could they then use that or anything or nothing and dismiss an IT for it, sure. Your IS is looking for someone thats guilty, they dont actually have to be guilty.
To explore anonymity, you are anonymous in the sense that on the public forum you need to register to post, but you can use any email address including a free service. You could make any email address you want. However, for the reviews and evaluations you do not need to register at all, thus no email address, you can choose to list an email address when submitting a review, but it is not required. You can register and login and post a review or evaluation, and this can speed up the approval and posting time, but you dont have too. You can register and pay for membership to accesses the members forum, and again you can use any email address for registration including a different email. Your username you choose is connected to your registration, and the membership registration is connected to the payment method you use for membership. You could use a prepaid debit or gift card to pay your membership fee. Again though, you do not need to register or pay for membership to submit a review or evaluation, nor do you need to use your registered username in submission of a review or evaluation. In that context you are as anonymous as your patience would allow.
So what could an IS obtain, well they could get access and user logs with a subpoena, even though ISR doesnt maintain logs, the ISP would have some access data but all that would show is when certain IP addresses were assigned to what users at certain times when they accessed the site. These wouldnt correlate with review and evaluation submissions as those arent done immediately upon submission. Essentially if no one is monitoring than the information is very minimal. Its not anonymous though, an IS could get something, whether they could attach it to you is a holly other matter.
@WT123 is incorrect, the reason we have a members forum is because of IS efforts. They basically defamed themselves, then had their lawyers came knocking, and the issue with a lawsuit is that they are expensive to defend against and the ISs are many and ISR is one. So could they exert enough pressure to get compliance from ISR, or could they get a judge to issue a subpoena to get data, sure, would it be useful, maybe, would it be a smoking gun pointing to you, not if you arent the least bit careful.
If youre really worried you could use a VPN or similar.
Now what that means to your IS is another story, they probably have a very low threshold for "proof" they likely dont need very much to convince themselves that X IT is the poster, could some of the IP data push them a certain way, sure. Could they then use that or anything or nothing and dismiss an IT for it, sure. Your IS is looking for someone thats guilty, they dont actually have to be guilty.
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wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
PsyGuy wrote:
> @WT123 is incorrect, the reason we have a members forum is because of IS efforts.
> They basically defamed themselves, then had their lawyers came knocking, and the
> issue with a lawsuit is that they are expensive to defend against and the ISs are
> many and ISR is one. So could they exert enough pressure to get compliance from
> ISR, or could they get a judge to issue a subpoena to get data, sure, would it be
> useful, maybe, would it be a smoking gun pointing to you, not if you arent the least
> bit careful.
=================
What part of what I said was incorrect? Have any schools/admin/owners forced ISR to give up information on the writers of reviews? Is there any evidence that they are close to doing so?
Reviews have always been on the paid side, so what does the paid forum have to do with this conversation?
> @WT123 is incorrect, the reason we have a members forum is because of IS efforts.
> They basically defamed themselves, then had their lawyers came knocking, and the
> issue with a lawsuit is that they are expensive to defend against and the ISs are
> many and ISR is one. So could they exert enough pressure to get compliance from
> ISR, or could they get a judge to issue a subpoena to get data, sure, would it be
> useful, maybe, would it be a smoking gun pointing to you, not if you arent the least
> bit careful.
=================
What part of what I said was incorrect? Have any schools/admin/owners forced ISR to give up information on the writers of reviews? Is there any evidence that they are close to doing so?
Reviews have always been on the paid side, so what does the paid forum have to do with this conversation?
Reply
@WT123
You didnt write that, you wrote "Many admin/owners have apparently tried/threatened to sue and nothing has come of it..."
The result of having to create a members forum is something, not nothing, a hole would be something, but nothing has and always will be nothing. That is where you are incorrect.
You didnt write that, you wrote "Many admin/owners have apparently tried/threatened to sue and nothing has come of it..."
The result of having to create a members forum is something, not nothing, a hole would be something, but nothing has and always will be nothing. That is where you are incorrect.
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applebutter
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:13 pm
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
For sure time for a new school.
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
About 2 years ago, I let the headmaster at the time know a negative review of the school and of him had just been posted on ISR and guess what? I immediately came under suspicion.
It really amazes me how strongly heads and schools react to bad reviews. I think teachers take bad reviews with a bigger grain of salt than most heads/schools do.
It really amazes me how strongly heads and schools react to bad reviews. I think teachers take bad reviews with a bigger grain of salt than most heads/schools do.
Discussion
@Doctor
My experience has been that leadership have overly developed feelings of control and superiority they dont tolerate subordinates who speak against them.
My experience has been that leadership have overly developed feelings of control and superiority they dont tolerate subordinates who speak against them.
Re: Is ISR actually anonymous?
@PG
True and some of those whom I worked for felt as CEOs themselves. A transparent and strong board is hard to find, but there are a few (imagine McKinsey consultants far more smarter than the school admin) who keep a leash on these folks.
True and some of those whom I worked for felt as CEOs themselves. A transparent and strong board is hard to find, but there are a few (imagine McKinsey consultants far more smarter than the school admin) who keep a leash on these folks.