Re:How I got my username on nearly every site
by onli on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @09:41AM
(#20459345)
I read your comment before reading the article. I fully agreed with you, but then got surprised: It's not a fair comment at all. The author clearly states his discomfort with the short reaction times and he did nothing shady to get the username, he just followed the protocol defined by the services or politely asked. That's not as entitled or a dick move as you make it seem.
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Re:How I got my username on nearly every site
by nikanj on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @09:48AM
(#20459422)
”It was so easy to break into these houses, and I felt discomfort with the low quality of locks used”
All of that fluff does nothing to cover up what an absolute dick move this was.
Re:How I got my username on nearly every site
by onli on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @09:51AM
(#20459456)
No, breaking in a house is completely illegal and most of the time unethical. Claiming a username for yourself has a long tradition (fortified by sci-fi and cyberpunk novels of the 80s and 90s) and is not at all that clearly a bad thing.
Re:How I got my username on nearly every site
by jegs on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @11:04AM
(#20460207)
It's social engineering. Even I felt uneasy seeing how the author was able to take usernames. However, this isn't very different from other white/black-hat hackers getting into others' accounts by simply contacting support and providing minimal proof.