a cautionary tale from the blogosphere

[Guest guest]

Last summer, there was a Web ring of a couple dozen or so blogs

written by physicians, nurses, students and other medical folk.

Postings would frequently veer toward personal and emotional trauma

and baggage.

One series of posts to a blog written by a young female doctor

involved harrassment she was receiving from her hospital, flashbacks

to an abusive trauma, and dispair that her life was in turmoil.

Then the posts stopped.

The blog was silent. The rest of the Web ring buzzed as people tried

to glean enough identifying information to locate the hospital, then

narrow down the staff. IT folks got involved with tracing the site

registry. Lots of bandwidth of worry that the young doctor had been

fired and/or attempted suicide.

Eventually, a team of physicians-with-connections uncovered the blogs

author.

Alive and well. But not a physician. The whole blog had been fiction.

The psychiatrists enjoyed a volley on the typer of personality who

would do something like this. Most of the other bloggers shuddered.

Anyone can post anything on the Internet. Anything posted on the

Internet can be read by anyone.

Google yourself. It's scarey.

Pam

(mom to Quantell, 16, dx 1996, tx 2001, dx recurrence with AIH

overlap 2006)

[Guest guest]

There was a mother posting on a preemie moms group back when was a baby. She was a member there for quite some time, telling us about her child, the delivery, hospitalization, different problems, illnesses, milestones, etc. Even posted pics of her baby. Some point along the way, one of our members saw her posting on a DIFFERENT group, for parents of children with some other issue - USING PHOTOS OF ONE OF OUR KIDS and claiming that child as her own. This woman had no child. She simply wanted attention and sympathy from those around her and was using other peoples' kids' stories and photos to gain that sympathy and attention. Sad and pathetic. Ami amnce wrote: Last summer, there was a Web ring of a couple dozen or so blogs written by physicians, nurses, students and other medical folk. Postings would frequently veer toward personal and emotional trauma and baggage.One series of posts to a blog written by a young female doctor involved harrassment she was receiving from her hospital, flashbacks to an abusive trauma, and dispair that her life was in turmoil.Then the posts stopped.The blog was silent. The rest of the Web ring buzzed as people tried to glean enough identifying information to locate the hospital, then narrow down the staff. IT folks got involved with tracing the site

registry. Lots of bandwidth of worry that the young doctor had been fired and/or attempted suicide.Eventually, a team of physicians-with-connections uncovered the blogs author.Alive and well. But not a physician. The whole blog had been fiction.The psychiatrists enjoyed a volley on the typer of personality who would do something like this. Most of the other bloggers shuddered.Anyone can post anything on the Internet. Anything posted on the Internet can be read by anyone.Google yourself. It's scarey.Pam(mom to Quantell, 16, dx 1996, tx 2001, dx recurrence with AIH overlap 2006) Ami mom to - 8 yrs - Double Lung Tx 2/26/2006, PSC - Pre-Liver Tx, Central DI, Steroid Induced Diabetes, HypoT, GERD, High BP, ADD, Anemia, Osteopenia, Gastroperesis, Varices mom to Emma - 13 yrs - Migraines, otherwise healthy stepmom to - 14 yrs - ADHD, ODD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[Guest guest]

Some point along the way, one of our members saw her posting on a DIFFERENT group, for parents of children with some other issue - USING PHOTOS OF ONE OF OUR KIDS and claiming that child as her own.

My goodness, that IS frightening!