Over the last year and a half or so, we have had issues with a handful of profiles on our Forum. All of them had similarities that we drew comparisons from over time. The problems escalated recently, and we were able to put more pieces together.

We reached a trigger point when one of these profiles sent some harassing/threatening PM'* using a new profile and IP masking service to a member of our Forum. This was while he was using yet another profile to contact the Site Owner making some pretty wild and outlandish claims.

During this period of time, the Gearheads and Moderators had hot topics on the problems in their respective Forums. Several pages of comments and complaints about these profiles in both areas.

The Staff pulled together and quickly (within 24 hours) tracked the member and many of his profiles to his location and personal information. We were able to determine without a shadow of a doubt:

6 different profiles
5 different email addresses
Mulitple IP addresses/masking services
First, Middle, Last name
Date of Birth
Current address and 3 previous addresses
Employer
Home telephone number

The person'* employer was contacted by Staff 2 days ago (there were employment-related concerns that we pursued for the benefit of the member in question, his employer, and our Forum).

This member has decided to refrain from using our Forum in the future.

__________________________________________________ _________

The point of releasing the vague information publicly is so that members of our Forum understand that under NORMAL circumstances, your privacy here is assured. It is a primary concern of the Staff. But we all need to understand that there are situations when this Privacy is forfeited by a person'* actions. This isn't the first time we've had to do this, and it won't be the last.

This is a good time to remind each of you that every disciplinary action dealt with on this Forum is entirely above-board and documented in the Staff areas of this Forum. The Site Owner is fully aware of all issues and resolutions, as are the Admins. In most cases, the entire Moderator team is also aware. And in cases like this one, the Gearheads are as well. It was their difficulties with the person in question that triggered Administrative action.

The good news is that we are able to reach resolutions in all cases.

Please do not PM Staff members for more specific information. This information is still private, and will remain that way assuming there are no further issues.

Thanks also go out to the Site Owner for his help and support with this episode.