Curious - Is this Forum Evidence?

[tamc9395]

I know there are many opinions being shared and all of us appreciate it, but could some/all of the posts being provided be used against us in the future?

[longtooth]

You can be sure the antis are reading the pro-gun boards as sure as we monitor theirs.
Would they? Sure.
Has it ever happened as legal evidence. I dont know of it. That does not mean it has not happened.

Our Founding Fathers were willing to stand by what they said. Many died for it.
Dont print anything you are not willing to stand for.

[tamc9395]

You can be sure the antis are reading the pro-gun boards as sure as we monitor theirs.
Would they? Sure.
Has it ever happened as legal evidence. I dont know of it. That does not mean it has not happened.

Our Founding Fathers were willing to stand by what they said. Many died for it.
Dont print anything you are not willing to stand for.

I agree, but I was still curious. There are several posts that seem to be self incriminating and others that oppear to be "vigil-anti" like. Not a criticism - just an observation.

[Pete92FS]

I think this is something Mr. Cotton should answer. The majority of the posters on here have their "handle" they like to go by but is there any way "Big Brother" can search this site and figure out who is really posting. My honest opnion is "YES".

[Zee]

I assume I'm not invisable and act/ type accordingly. My interest in CHL issues wouldn't fly with everyone I deal with so this forum adds a little cover for that reason. I would never bare my soul or give a confession in a place where I have no control or I'm unsure who I'm talking with.

[57Coastie]

I know there are many opinions being shared and all of us appreciate it, but could some/all of the posts being provided be used against us in the future?

Absolutely, if it meets the relevant rules of evidence in a particular forum, and there are several hurdles which must be jumped to get them entered into evidence.

Look at the news most every day of emails which are used as evidence. I see that some 20 million emails "lost" by the Bush II administration have been found, and their contents are beginning to trickle out. Perhaps a few of them will end up as evidence in a court some day.

These forum postings differ from emails in one significant way -- it might be possible to get a relevant forum post entered into evidence easier than an email. Passwords locking strangers out of your account, coupled to the ability to track a posting to the sender quite easily, could give a potential prosecutor a real advantage.

As we speak there is an active post on the forum in which a CHL-holding member possibly admitted the commission of a crime involving the use of his handgun. I stress the word "possibly," but I simply cite it as perhaps an example of why a poster should consider this issue if appropriate. As well, I concur wholeheartedly with Longtooth where he suggests that the antis may review this forum looking for evidence -- possibly for a legislative forum rather than a court.

In my prior employment my business had a firm rule: "Before you click the 'Send' button, assume that the entire world will read this email, and always recognize that usually the 'Delete' button deletes nothing from your computer."

Jim

[Keith B]

Actually, the Web crawlers (automated programs that keep search engines up to date) index the information off of the forum fairly quickly. Just Google texaschlforum or a particular unique phrase from one of our posts and chances are you will have it come up in the search.

So, whether or not the actual anti's sit and read the forums regularly I don't know (but I bet SOME do), but you can sure find a lot of the forum posts with an Internet search and that could lead them straight to the forum and peak their interest.

Who knows, maybe they will start reading our posts and have a change of heart. Hey, it's Christmas; it could happen. It happened for one Grinch already!!!

[92f-fan]

Assuming you haven't posted identifying information, think through how a prosecutor would tie entries here to you ?

If you didn't use your legal name as your handle a Google search wouldn't help. Even if you did - depending on your name and what they serached for they will likely get thousands to millions of results. How much time and expertise do they have to wade through that ?

Assuming the prosecution was very technical and sure you were doing bad things on the Internet, they could attempt to subpoena every IP address you have been assigned and then subpoena every forum in a fishing expedition but I doubt that kind of fishing expedition would be approved.
IMO
Some how you would likely need to be tied to content here via offline means. In other words it would likely have to come up in interrogations.

Once all those hurdles were managed they would need to prove that the content was yours, was unaltered and was true.

Edit - one other offline way they could tie you to content here is if they took your PC and investigated your email - where they would likely find multiple emails from multiple forums. They would still need to tie that content to you and subpoena charles and the ISP to attempt to do that

[57Coastie]

Assuming you haven't posted identifying information, think through how a prosecutor would tie entries here to you ?

If you didn't use your legal name as your handle a Google search wouldn't help. Even if you did - depending on your name and what they serached for they will likely get thousands to millions of results. How much time and expertise do they have to wade through that ?

Assuming the prosecution was very technical and sure you were doing bad things on the Internet, they could attempt to subpoena every IP address you have been assigned and then subpoena every forum in a fishing expedition but I doubt that kind of fishing expedition would be approved.
IMO
Some how you would likely need to be tied to content here via offline means. In other words it would likely have to come up in interrogations.

Once all those hurdles were managed they would need to prove that the content was yours, was unaltered and was true.

"True??"

Keith is right, but you of course are entitled to your opinion. BTW, I just Googled "92f-fan" and got 8 hits, most of them being your contributions to this forum. If someone deludes himself by suggesting that his or her real name cannot be identified, he or she does so to their possible serious risk.

Like all of us, I respect Chas. and his tireless endeavors for us, but I will stick my neck out and guess that if asked he would confirm that with the law the way it has been demonstrated to be today it is quite likely that he might have to comply with a subpoena requiring him to identify you, given the right case. Let there by no misunderstanding. being the confirmed Liberal with a capital "L" that I am, I am distressed by the fact that most courts will do this today, but that doesn't change the fact that most will. I could probably prove this to your satisfaction by credibly saying here that I intend to kill a public figure, which, of course, is not the case. I would not be surprised if the NSA or DHS read the post before you did and I soon heard a knock on my door, if it were not shattered and broken open.

One's opinion is one's own, and all are at liberty to express them, but others are certainly not required by the 1st Amendment to agree with them.

I stand by mine.

Jim

[MoJo]

One acronym - - - ISP. You can be tracked through your ISP address. Don't say anything you don't want used against you. The Internet is not anynomous.

[chabouk]

Assuming you haven't posted identifying information, think through how a prosecutor would tie entries here to you ?

Oh, that's the easy part (more on that in a second).

The big variable is how many identifying clues you leave. For example, if someone rushes to post details about a defensive use of force, and includes details about time and location that would make the connection for someone (like a LEO or prosecutor) who knew the rest of the story.

If the post piqued their interest to the point that they wanted to use it in court, they would issue a subpoena to the forum owner and hosting service for the user's IP address(es), and they would get it. Then they'd subpoena the ISP to identify the name(s) on the account(s) associated with that IP, and they'd get that too. If a name or household matches up with someone they've already taken a statement from: Easy-peasy. Next step: if the story told in public differs significantly from the version told to the police, and the prosecutor thinks he can make something of it, the jury will get to decide.

[chabouk]

BTW, there are ways around this, such as TOR, but anyone knowing those answers already knows enough that they wouldn't ask the question.

[USA1]

Excuse me while I go and delete every post I've ever made.

[joe817]

Excuse me while I go and delete every post I've ever made.

Boy I'm sure glad I've NEVER posted anything that could be remotely conceived as personal.

[USA1]

Excuse me while I go and delete every post I've ever made.

Boy I'm sure glad I've NEVER posted anything that could be remotely conceived as personal.

I save and print all PM's