I am being sincerely honest, but am I missing something? Why do people put symbols i.e. xan~ax etc.? I mean I will do if for the schedule 2 drugs (only so I don't get lectured about it), but even then, the website is public. Are we hiding from something? I read some things about search bots but what threat do those bring. Also why do people say NEVER sign for a package? I have signed for packages twice before. There is nothing wrong for signing for a package which contents are unbeknownst to me. I would never say return to sender. Call me a cop magnet if you want but I don't see any threat from using this forum. Is it that dangerous that one must use a safe-mail account? I use gmail. Does that make me prone to being caught? I use my real name and address and phone number at moneygram. I just so happen to have friends in Baja California North to whom I so willingly give money. I'm not at all trying to insult anyone but what is so dangerous?
Your points are valid Smittles, from my point of view anyway. This is a commonly discussed topic, that is the use of symbols and other code words, not signing for packages, using one's real name vs a pseudonym, etc. There are a wide range of opinions and rationals where these matters are concerned, and there are members and friends that I respect very much who have vastly different feelings on the matter than I. While I don't have quite enough time to author one of my famous mega-posts at the moment, I will offer the following:
1. Google the name John Gotti and read about his ultimate conviction that led him to his final stay in prison, where he ultimately died. He was convicted when a jury determined that, despite using various code words, there was simply nothing else he could have been talking about on the wire tap than what he was accused of. Point being, reasonable doubt is not created via code language.
2. There is simply no email service that is absolutely safe, and that insulates one from LE. If the company is based in the US, is a member of the EU or NATO, or is a diplomatic partner of the US, they can be gotten to if US LE is determined to gain access. Gmail is one of the few email providers that does not include sender IP addresses in the message header, so it's better than most, in my opinion anyway. I can't speak to safe-mail, having never used it, but I can tell you that any number of "safe" email providers have caved in to US LE like a cheap tent.
At the end of the day, it's really all about using common sense and maintaining discretion, and different approaches work for different people. Very few people have the expertise and resources to outwit LE forever, and to make themselves completely bulletproof. Absolute internet and ordering privacy is very, very difficult to create and maintain, but a great deal of the associated risk can be mitigated through some simple and inexpensive safeguards.
This is actually a good discussion thread, and I'd like to encourage this discussion to continue, so I'll post more later.....
Jewy
