I deliberately avoided reading this thread for quite a while, because I could see where it was going. It's pretty depressing how willing (and even enthusiastic) we can be, in dehumanizing other people.

I have been deliberately vague, in specifics, because even a bit more specific could lead to people figuring out some of the identities of the folks I have known. I have enough respect for these people, and for the extreme damage that can be done, if it leaks, that I'm willing to take shots from the "Give us concrete examples, or you're a liar!" crowd.

Here's an example of how tools could be misused. One of the things that I've done, over the years, is design a Web-driven, decentralized system for aggregating 12-Step fellowship (drug recovery) meetings. It's pretty much becoming the de facto world standard.

In some nations (I'm looking at you, Philippines), people can be killed, just for being drug addicts. In other nations (I'm looking at you, Mexico), drug rehabs and recovery gatherings can be targeted by mass-murderers, in efforts to kill just one member.

It's entirely possible that the tool I wrote could become a "murder menu" for these places, and that is not a thought that I take lightly.

Nevertheless, those are "might," scenarios, and there's no question at all, that the tool has saved many, many lives.

I don't think that it's being used in the Philippines, but they are considering using it in Mexico.

I did my due diligence in the design of the tool. A number of compromises needed to be made, in order to ensure that it would be adopted by its intended user base, but it's pretty hard to abuse. Also, the team that took over after I turned it over, includes a number of security experts, so I leave it in good hands.

I can't tell you what to do, but, if you feel that you have done all you can, legitimately, to secure it, then you can probably confidently release it, maybe with some published guidance, outlining risks.