Nine years after hackers targeted Ashley Madison, the dating site for wannabe adulterers, many people still don't grasp what was truly chilling about the scandal, says Annalee Newitz

Found via the author’s Mastodon Post

Generally, the media has focused on the (mainly) men whose names and desires were taken from the company’s subscriber database and shared with the world. […] Ashley Madison was never really about that. Avid Life Media, its parent company, wasn’t in the business of sex, it was in the business of bots. Its site became a prototype for what social media platforms such as Facebook are becoming: places so packed with AI-generated nonsense that they feel like spam cages, or information prisons where the only messages that get through are auto-generated ads.

  • Onno (VK6FLAB)English
    432·
    6 months ago

    Thank you for your kind words.

    I have been writing for most of my life. You can for example read (a copy of) the Alt.Best.Of.Internet FAQ I wrote in 1994. [1]

    [1] https://www.itmaze.com.au/articles/aboi-faq

    I tend to write how I speak and attempt to create enough context so a casual reader on the topic can come away with something whilst still discussing the complexity for someone more versed in the subject.

    I have written articles about identity theft, authentication over the phone, as well as other technology issues relevant to the public at large. [2]

    [3] https://github.com/ITmaze/articles

    I also write a weekly article about the hobby of amateur radio and have done so for over 13 years. It’s published as an audio podcast, with email, video and Morse code versions. [4]

    [4] https://podcasts.vk6flab.com/

    As for the suggestion of a TED talk, I’ve considered it, but haven’t found a topic worthy of the platform.

    As a radio amateur I publish using my callsign, VK6FLAB, as an IT professional, it’s under my company, ITmaze.

    Some other articles:

      • Onno (VK6FLAB)English
        3·
        6 months ago

        I re-read it and loved the: “Always fasten your seatbelt on the Information Highway”, but I’m fairly certain that Malinda McColl wrote it (as part of the mini FAQ on which I expanded with her blessing).

      • pirat@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        🛜5️⃣9️⃣9️⃣ and 7️⃣3️⃣ to both of you!

        No callsign though… (yet?)

    • pirat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      It’s published as an audio podcast, with email, video and Morse code versions.

      Any chance of a SSTV version? 😂

      • Onno (VK6FLAB)English
        3·
        6 months ago

        As it happens it’s already on my radar.

        That said, I’m not convinced that the YouTube video version is worthy of being transmitted on SSTV, given that it’s a waterfall display of the audio.