Ashley Madison (cheating / affair website) hacked

[Coach]

Originally Posted by nik-

Context: it's important. We were obviously talking about cheating. Stop being ridiculous.

Seriously, if this is the path you're taking in this discussion, just stop now.

Thing is, we're not necessarily talking about cheating. The site is advertised as such but it has been continuously noted that belonging to the site does not=cheating. There are a variety of circumstances that could cause someone to open an account and they don't all contain cheating.

But we ARE talking about something cut and dry illegal on the other side. And when that illegal act leads to exposed private information, which also leads to broken families and possibly people taking their own lives, you open up a whole can of worms that wouldn't have otherwise been exposed in this way.

[Poe969]

Take it easy....we don't need to start name calling here.

You said it's not the hackers responsibility, you also said it wouldn't have happened had the hacker done what they did. You're contradicting yourself with that.

[BlackArcher101]

I see this no different than when someone has nude photos released by someone else, and spread among the internet and then get's publicly harassed and bullied and kills herself as a result. Did she kill herself because she decided to take said photo or was it the act of said person releasing it to the public triggering bullying & harassment that did it. Saying the people who released the photo and harassed her are not at fault because she's the one that chose to take the photo in the first place is just wrong.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Poe969

Take it easy....we don't need to start name calling here.

You said it's not the hackers responsibility, you also said it wouldn't have happened had the hacker done what they did. You're contradicting yourself with that.

Yes, and I'm sure you will agree that it also wouldn't have happened if the man didn't sign up for the website in the first place.

Or the website wasn't created in the first place.

Or would have been impossible if Al Gore didn't invent the internet in the first place.

No one is arguing what the hackers did was illegal and just ####ty. But they aren't the only responsible party. Especially when dealing with a man who left a suicide note about the depression he was struggling with.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by nik-

Context: it's important. We were obviously talking about cheating. Stop being ridiculous.

Seriously, if this is the path you're taking in this discussion, just stop now.

No, we are talking about private, albeit embarrassing, information being illegally obtained and released into the public with a wanton disregard for the effects that would have on people's personal lives.

[nik-]

Well, I just disagree that it's their fault and I can see the differences in an event being the catalyst for something happening and it being their responsibility.

I guess there's really just no more to say, no one is going to change anyone's mind here.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by nik-

Context: it's important. We were obviously talking about cheating. Stop being ridiculous.

Seriously, if this is the path you're taking in this discussion, just stop now.

You earlier said you were not making a moral judgment about cheating. You 100% are. In your view, someone who cheats on their spouse has lost their right to privacy. So you don't blame the hackers for violating that right and the consequences that came from it.

So that's your view. Be consistent about it.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by nik-

no one is going to change anyone's mind here

The Internet defined in 9 words.

[Strange Brew]

And BTW I'm not suggesting the hackers be charged with murder. But if they can sleep at night after this, then I would suggest their morality is seriously in question.

[Poe969]

I'm not saying they're the only ones responsible either...the guilt of having the affair falls squarely on the guy who had the affair. Being outed publicly falls directly on the hackers. So did he kill himself because he had an affair or did he kill himself because his information was made public?

Not one party is 100% at fault but this all started from Nik's comments about "They didn't force the guy to try and have an affair. " No one forced the guy to have an affair, but because this guy was dealing with mental illness being "outed" most likely forced him to kill himself.

[karl262]

Imagine the repercussions of a hack on the NSA and a subsequent data dump in similar fashion.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

You earlier said you were not making a moral judgment about cheating. You 100% are. In your view, someone who cheats on their spouse has lost their right to privacy. So you don't blame the hackers for violating that right and the consequences that came from it.

So that's your view. Be consistent about it.

How much of a right to privacy can one really expect on a public dating site though?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

What if it was a webm of you just powerhousing a fleshlight with a close up photo of Delta Burke's triceps taped to it whilst singing along to Fifth Harmony's "Top Down", wearing a turquoise snakeskin onesie and a bolo tie?

Not that I'd be worried about that but hypothetically speaking would that be embarrassing enough? Asking for a friend.

This post is made even better by the avatar.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by nik-

Well, I just disagree that it's their fault and I can see the differences in an event being the catalyst for something happening and it being their responsibility.

I guess there's really just no more to say, no one is going to change anyone's mind here.

I have to agree with nik on this one. To suggest that the "outing" caused or even led to a suicide seems to be a gross oversimplification of a complex issue.
What the hackers did was wrong, probably illegal, but that is the case whether someone committed suicide or not.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by opendoor

How much of a right to privacy can one really expect on a public dating site though?

Well that is a practical point and speaks to the stupidity and maybe desperation of some the site's users, and to adulterers in general.

But the hackers had no legal or moral "permission" to release this information. It is a very slippery slope which is what many of the examples that have been posted are meant to demonstrate.

The initial post that precipitated this discussion was something to the effect "how can the hackers live with themselves". Based on what I have read in here, I presume they consider themselves morally superior to those people that have been exposed by their actions. I find that rather sickening.

[GGG]

The guy mentioned AM in the suicide note. So it clearly was part of the reason