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On Wed, 06 May 2009 09:15:13 +0100, Invisible wrote:
> scott wrote:
>
>> It's funny, because just the other day one of my friends sent me an
>> invite. So I made an account, and I seem to be automatically
>> "connected" to my friend, but I have no idea how to find or add you...
>
> Yeah, my dad is similarly bemused. And so was I when a college at work
> added me a few years back.
>
> The site is pretty unintuitive, for sure.
Just takes a little practice. The point to start with is in creating
your profile - start listing things like languages you program in, the
more information you can provide the better.
Have a look at my profile or others' profiles for the type of information
that's of interest.
Jim
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On Wed, 06 May 2009 11:02:26 +0100, Invisible wrote:
> The NNTP headers of your message record your IP address. A quick WHOIS
> query of the RIPE database tells me that this address belongs to a very
> well-known major electronics manufacturer. It also gives a location -
> Germany. (This vaguely fits what I remember you saying.)
Yup. But you also post from work. ;-)
Jim
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"scott" <sco### [at] scott com> wrote:
> > The NNTP headers of your message record your IP address. A quick WHOIS
> > query of the RIPE database tells me that this address belongs to a very
> > well-known major electronics manufacturer. It also gives a location -
> > Germany. (This vaguely fits what I remember you saying.)
> >
> > Searching LinkedIn for a "Scott" located in Germany working for this
> > company gives me a single hit - somebody working in the Munich area as a
> > Senior Engineer, in the "automotice" field, educated at Cambridge. So it
> > seems fairly likely that's you then.
>
> Easy detective work, isn't it :-)
Hey, speaking of it: I didn't bother to do the NNTP header and WHOIS detective
work, so I'm not sure what that company may be, but what the heck: "well-known
major electronics manufacturer" doesn't sound too bad. As it happens, I'm
currently searching for a new job opportunity as an embedded SW developer in
the automotive business; any vacancies at your company these days?
I currently live in Cologne, so if your company should happen to have a
subsidiary near Ford Cologne with development activity there... hey, that could
be a major hit.
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On 6-5-2009 12:02, Invisible wrote:
> scott wrote:
>
>> It's funny, because just the other day one of my friends sent me an
>> invite. So I made an account, and I seem to be automatically
>> "connected" to my friend, but I have no idea how to find or add you...
>
> Heh, well well, let me see now...
>
> The NNTP headers of your message record your IP address. A quick WHOIS
> query of the RIPE database tells me that this address belongs to a very
> well-known major electronics manufacturer. It also gives a location -
> Germany. (This vaguely fits what I remember you saying.)
>
> Searching LinkedIn for a "Scott" located in Germany working for this
> company gives me a single hit - somebody working in the Munich area as a
> Senior Engineer, in the "automotice" field, educated at Cambridge. So it
> seems fairly likely that's you then.
>
> But I need to pay money to send you an invite. ;-)
No, I have never paid anything. Unless things changed recently. I think
there is a suggestion that you do, but that may be just to fool those
that not regularly work with computers. ;)
[Apparently this is an anti-spam feature. I like that; charging people
> money is a "feature".]
>
> I'm not actually sure what information you'd need to be able to make
> contact. Maybe just my real name? (Which, as Gilles points out, is
> unfortunately trivially findable...)
It is easy to find for a Gilles, I would never had found it. Yet that
also means that anyone with not so good intentions probably would have
found it too. While you though you were still safe. You can trace it
back to one simple mistake you made. Here in the newsgroup you have been
careful not to give your family name. I decided not to bother to try and
hide my RL identity. The effect is the same I guess.
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Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Wed, 06 May 2009 11:02:26 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>
>> The NNTP headers of your message record your IP address. A quick WHOIS
>> query of the RIPE database tells me that this address belongs to a very
>> well-known major electronics manufacturer. It also gives a location -
>> Germany. (This vaguely fits what I remember you saying.)
>
> Yup. But you also post from work. ;-)
Yes... At least our IP data doesn't have my email address on it. (It
used to, BTW...!)
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> The site is pretty unintuitive, for sure.
>
> Just takes a little practice. The point to start with is in creating
> your profile - start listing things like languages you program in, the
> more information you can provide the better.
>
> Have a look at my profile or others' profiles for the type of information
> that's of interest.
I doubt anybody is ever going to rival the sheer volume of connections
you have...
(Power-law distribution, much?)
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> But I need to pay money to send you an invite. ;-)
>
> No, I have never paid anything. Unless things changed recently. I think
> there is a suggestion that you do, but that may be just to fool those
> that not regularly work with computers. ;)
Well, *some* profiles you can just connect with, others demand you pay a
fee. I think it's a configuration option somewhere in the account
settings, but whatever...
> It is easy to find for a Gilles, I would never had found it. Yet that
> also means that anyone with not so good intentions probably would have
> found it too. While you though you were still safe. You can trace it
> back to one simple mistake you made. Here in the newsgroup you have been
> careful not to give your family name. I decided not to bother to try and
> hide my RL identity. The effect is the same I guess.
Carefully hiding my real name and my employer... and yet, it turns out
to be trivial for anybody who actually cares to discover this
information. (By *multiple* routes.) How precarious life is. :-/
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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On Wed, 06 May 2009 19:25:41 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> I doubt anybody is ever going to rival the sheer volume of connections
> you have...
You'd be surprised. I have people in my connections list that have
thousands of personal connections.
I am selective in who I connect to - some of my direct contacts aren't,
though.
I've also been on the thing for a few years now, too.
But browse the network - see any companies or job titles that look
interesting?
Jim
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On Wed, 06 May 2009 19:23:18 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> On Wed, 06 May 2009 11:02:26 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>>
>>> The NNTP headers of your message record your IP address. A quick WHOIS
>>> query of the RIPE database tells me that this address belongs to a
>>> very well-known major electronics manufacturer. It also gives a
>>> location - Germany. (This vaguely fits what I remember you saying.)
>>
>> Yup. But you also post from work. ;-)
>
> Yes... At least our IP data doesn't have my email address on it. (It
> used to, BTW...!)
Yes - actually, I knew that. :-) That's how I managed to send a
connection request to someone with your name in your city by mistake.
You sure you didn't sign up before there? Seems an unusual name to see
two of in the same city.
Jim
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On Wed, 06 May 2009 19:28:24 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> But I need to pay money to send you an invite. ;-)
>>
>> No, I have never paid anything. Unless things changed recently. I think
>> there is a suggestion that you do, but that may be just to fool those
>> that not regularly work with computers.
>
> Well, *some* profiles you can just connect with, others demand you pay a
> fee. I think it's a configuration option somewhere in the account
> settings, but whatever...
I think that's a feature of one of the paid accounts - to limit the
requests coming in to people who only know your e-mail address (for
example).
> Carefully hiding my real name and my employer... and yet, it turns out
> to be trivial for anybody who actually cares to discover this
> information. (By *multiple* routes.) How precarious life is. :-/
Well, to people who talk to you regularly, you've given enough clues.
Years ago, I managed to track down a deadbeat dad who'd gone AWOL (with
one of his kids) from the US military. His fatal mistake? Having a
CompuServe account with a membership in a D&D gaming forum that used his
character name - a unique name (not something like "Caspian", but
something that he'd created) that a friend of mine who gamed with him
knew.
Turned it over to the authorities, and his ex-wife got to see her
youngest son for the first time in something like 10 years...to this day
she doesn't know that I was the one who found him.
Jim
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