

We searched for Porn. We found you - napolux
http://incautious.org/

======
niggler
5 bucks says that searching for your phone number actually adds you to the
list

~~~
naftaliharris
Those were my thoughts too. If you click on the "paintings" tab, they only
show you three of them, (not the 100,000 claimed), and it looks like they
dressed them up manually.

Also, by paying them 10 Euro to search for your phone number, you've already
self-identified as a sucker, so the unscrupulous people running this site will
I'm sure be happy to take advantage of that.

------
polshaw
I think the primary point of this site is not to blackmail or make money, but
make a point; 'art'. I don't see any of the offerings appealing to anyone
(while they'll take your money, i'm not sure they are intended to), and the
charge to search the database serves as a privacy guard (which isn't present
on equally-functional google).

About artIsOpenSource;

AOS, Art is Open Source, is an international informal network exploring the
mutation of human beings with the wide and ubiquitous accessibility and
availability of digital technologies and networks. We move across arts and
sciences, using technology, communication, performance, art and design, to
instantiate emotional actions and processes that are able to expose the
dynamics of our contemporary world. We do this in academic, artistic, business
and activist domains and, actually, we are focused on moving fluidly among
each of these spaces.

~~~
h2s
If this is art, and "Art is Open Source", then I want to see some damn source
code. Either that or something to reassure me that this isn't somebody co-
opting positive terms like "art" and "open source" to add an air of legitimacy
to what looks a lot like a very seedy act of passive mass blackmail.

~~~
milkshakes
I think you're missing the "point". I doubt that they are actually trying to
blackmail anyone.

Hell I would be surprised if there is even a database.

I think they built a polished site around a theoretical concept in order to
provoke an emotional response.

It would appear that they have succeeded.

Of course, this is simply my interpretation.

If they really are trying to build a business around distributed extortion,
this is not a sustainable MVP.

~~~
wedtm
I'm going to murder your family.

Don't worry, I'm probably just provoking a response from you, but to be sure,
you can send me $1,000 and I promise I won't murder you, if I was going to.

~~~
milkshakes
you know, i wrote a slightly sarcastic response to this, but then i deleted it
because i can't be sure you're not serious. now i'm seriously considering
calling the police, just to make sure you're not actually a crazy person. i'm
not sure what point you were trying to make, but i am sure there's a more
effective way to make it.

~~~
glitchdout

        i can't be sure you're not serious
    

really?

...

~~~
milkshakes
can you?

------
jere
I'm more curious who actually buys these as paintings. Because it's kind of
like a reverse version of those Who's Who scam's:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Who_scam>

And the point there is you're an idiot if you buy a membership to be listed
because nobody else is buying it. Except here you'd only pay to be removed if
you thoughts thousands of people were buying the "paintings."

~~~
unimpressive
Your link is broken.[0]

Heres a working one:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Who_scam>

[0]: At the time of writing.

~~~
jere
Thanks, I didn't realize HN was removing the single quote.

------
vxNsr
I wanna call shenanigans but it goes to paypal... Also 10 euro to search the
database and 1000 to remove someone? This is possibly the best blackmail scam
ever, even better is to post a friend's number to a porn site with some
deliciously scandalous line and hope they find it.

~~~
throwaway420
The best/worst part about this is that spending 1000 euros doesn't remove the
comment from the internet, it just removes it from the little private list
they have. But that's not publicly visible because they're charging 10 euros
to check if your number is in this list, so paying 1000 euros essentially gets
you nothing. As poor of a "scam" as this is, I'd bet somebody out there has
already paid 1000 to remove it from their list.

Despite what all of those reputation management services promise you, I don't
think that you can remove stuff from online like this. Between normal social
networks where people post private information unaware of what they are doing,
things like <http://www.dirtyphonebook.com> that are designed to destroy
privacy, and Google caching everything and making it permanently available for
anybody in search, you really have to be smart about what you put online
before you put it online. Personally I'd recommend giving up on social
networks altogether and just using throwaway accounts and pseudonames, but
thats just my personal thing.

~~~
ams6110
This is the tip of the iceberg. My mode of operation is to assume that
anything I post on the internet will eventually if not immediately become
public. And remember it stays there forever. I think a lot of people who are
in their 20s now will learn this to their dismay when they try to do something
like run for public office in another 10 or 20 years time and everything they
posted on social networks while they were in college comes back to haunt them.

~~~
ifyoubuildit
The issue of running for public office comes up a lot, but what about kids
seeing all of their parents social network activity 20-30 years down the line?

~~~
anonymous
> EWww, people used to be HETEROsexual?

There is actually a short sci-fi story about a future where homosexual
relationships are the norm and people are grown artificially. I can't remember
the title or author and apart from the premise, there wasn't anything
interesting in it.

~~~
kynan
Possibly you're thinking of The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
(<http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21611.The_Forever_War>)?

~~~
zem
almost certainly not - that's a novel, and one of the all time greats of the
genre.

~~~
tempestn
Yes, but aside from the word 'short', it fits perfectly. If parent can't
remember any details, it's possible they misremembered the length.

------
salvadornav
Funny that so many are taking this so seriously. I thought it was a brilliant
reflection on Internet privacy.

~~~
ndesaulniers
Yes! The whole point is listed in the About section:

"After all, just like they say at Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram and all
the other social networks whenever they sell your profile hundreds of times
each day: It's only business!"

------
ndesaulniers
Best line: "After all, just like they say at Facebook, Google, Twitter,
Instagram and all the other social networks whenever they sell your profile
hundreds of times each day: It's only business!"

------
h4pless
Constructive criticism: When people want to buy a painting, have them pay the
$50 upfront to look through the database of available comments minus the phone
numbers and let them choose the comment they want printed to canvas as art.

Aside from that, I don't understand what there is to be upset about. First
off, who cares if someone has your number on their physical wall? If you
posted your phone number to a public site, it will receive a lot more exposure
there than hanging on some persons wall. Also, they claim to only produce one
piece of art per comment so really they are only adding one more venue for
viewing the number to an infinite amount of exposure via the web. And most
likely, the people that the phone number is being publicly displayed to on
porn sites are the people you wouldn't want to have your number. So how
about... if you don't want people to have free access to your number in
connection with some dirty thing you said online, don't post your flipping
number on a porn site with your dirty comment, you silly goose!

With regard to this being extortion, the "erase a number from our database for
1000€" thing is a joke, whether intentional or not. The certificate of Unicity
(the hell?) stipulates that they will sell a painting of your number only
once. So if somebody ever buys a painting with the number: they just erased
your number from the database. And if I plug the number of comments in their
database, the number of people willing to buy one of these painting, and the
number of places you and all of your aquaintences go that might publicly
display the art in to my handy probability calculator, the odds that you or
anyone you know would ever see the painting containing your phone number are
25 jagillion to 1. Not to mention that if you live in the US or anywhere
outside of Italy really, the cost of shipping a 70x100cm canvas would be
prohibitively expensive for many. So the only people being extorted are going
to be the extremely gullible.

Anyway, it's time to get off the computer and party like an Irishman. Happy
St. Patrick's Day.

------
napolux
After doing a WHOIS and looking at the links in the site looks like an art
initiative from a (not so smart, name and phone number are in the WHOIS)
Italian guy.

~~~
dzuc
They aren't exactly hiding that: <http://www.artisopensource.net/#team>

~~~
napolux
Nice haircuts.

------
codesuela
Sounds straight up illegal to me

~~~
ams6110
What laws do you think it violates?

~~~
codesuela
Blackmail, extortion, defamation, libel

How would they proof that the original comment wasn't libel? I doubt the have
cross refrenced commenters IP addresses with the numbers listed. And if you
relay libel (especially with malicious intent) it is still libel or maybe even
blackmail.

~~~
praptak
What if their database is empty?

~~~
PeterisP
Well, then charging $10 to view it would clearly match the definition of
fraud.

~~~
praptak
Yes, but it's hard to prove. And they could stuff it with a few fake numbers
so it's not technically empty.

------
charonn0
I would accept this as artistic expression if and only if they don't actually
accept any money. If they wanted to make a statement about internet privacy
then they chose the douchiest possible way of going about it.

------
dendory
These guys are going to be sued out of business, or worse..

~~~
selter01
expelled!

------
janesvilleseo
Seems to be similar to the "Remove Your Mugshot" scams that are floating
around online.

------
lignuist
What about people who frequently leave their neighbour's/coworker's/ex
partner's/employer's/... phone numbers on porn sites?

~~~
charonn0
People do that frequently?

~~~
lignuist
Well, most people do it only one or two times. :)

------
asadjb
If someone did pay the €10 or the €1000, I'm pretty sure they would get a
_very_ memorable and expensive lesson in online privacy.

I just hope that that's what this is about and not just a get-rich-quick
scheme. That would be just sad...

------
jrabone
I wonder how many people's ISPs are still inserting their mobile numbers into
the HTTP request headers? (remember
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3508857> ?)

------
acqq
Read the rationale from the authors:

[http://www.artisopensource.net/2013/03/17/incautious-
porn-a-...](http://www.artisopensource.net/2013/03/17/incautious-porn-a-
voyage-into-privacy/)

------
olgeni
At times like these I feel the urge to check that my passport is still valid.

------
ameister14
I really want one of these paintings now. I wonder if I can get the exclusive
distribution rights to sell them in Brooklyn and the Mission district. I'd be
willing to bet they'd sell like hotcakes

------
LAMike
Is this satirical? Or are they seriously trying to blackmail people

~~~
napolux
Looks like "art" that want you to think about your online privacy

------
SourPatch
This is a totally brilliant way of illustrating the cost of social media. It's
interesting how many people are calling this blackmail and completely missing
the point.

------
jjsz
Reminds me of SafeShepherd since they delete data like this. The data brokers
still have the data, it's not like they're going to remove it from their
system.

------
mesozoic
Extortion. How lame.

------
rodrigoavie
This is amazing! Ahahahah, very good.

------
refiammingo
Awesome ... but if I'm so stupid to left my acutal phone then I deserve public
Ludibrium :)

------
logn
Extortion is always a solid business plan.

------
unimpressive
How do you certify a screenshot?

------
cpursley
What a bunch of pricks.

------
zunky
Blackmail. Moving on.

------
armenarmen
up there with the mugshot sites and their paid removal.

------
jayarcanum
Uh, extortion.

------
hardikj
i don't think this is legal

------
tzisc
XD

------
wedtm
Alright, so I wanted to see how this played out. So I paid to see if my number
was in the "database". I got to the checkout, paid, and dead ended.

No return link, no anything. No instructions on the site how to continue.

So, for anyone else wondering, that's what happens when you search.

~~~
samstave
Scams like this are the source of my support for vigilante justice.

I hope that whomever just scammed you out of ten euros gets swift, repeated
hits to the knees by baseball bats.

~~~
lovemenot
People like you are the reason we need the rule of law. I am not defending the
scammers, but vigilantes are insidious. You may claim you were being ironic,
but a mob with its passion inflamed by a sense of righteousness has no time
for subtlety. Please tone it down before innocent people get hurt.

------
drivebyacct2
I'd like to see the Ven diagram of people who post their cell phone number and
porn sites... cross.... people who will ever stumble across this site, let
alone pay 10 euro to search, let alone pay 1000 euro to remove their
name/number.

~~~
kokey
For €1000 I would have expected them to include at least one kitten in a
bottle.

------
nishithfrrole
Isn't this direct blackmailing?

~~~
napolux
Seems so. (this is not a service of mine, I've found it on the Internet)

------
Buzaga
conceptual stuff, nice.

a note: this idea of buying paintings of porn comments actually seems pretty
good(despite the phone numbers part), I mean, it makes a good gag gift... I
know plenty of people who would gift this type of thing and some that would
actually put it on their walls, given it's not absolutely gross...

\- what the hell is this on your wall? \- internet comments art. \- :¬| ...
:¬o cool

