Vanity Fair Editor Sues Twitter Troll For Giving Him A Seizure

[Zarathustra[H]]

What is it about this forum that makes it basically the tech section of Bretibart? This thread takes the cake today, it really does.

For whatever reason this site has just attracted a lot of unsophisticated mothbreathers.

No one with any kind of reasonable intelligence can read Drudge or Breitbart and actually believe that garbage. It takes a special kind of stupid, prone to self delusion, and we have plenty of it on here.

 

[Ranulfo]

Darn them triggering mothbreathers! Darn them all to heckfire!

 

[Ur_Mom]

Classy. Victim blaming.

Sure, if I forgot my car unlocked and left a my phone in plain view on the passenger seat, I'd feel pretty dumb for not taking better precautjons, but 100% of the blame still lies with the person who stole it.

This was a deliberate attack, not just a random coming across of a video that happened to contain siezure triggering material, and the assailant needs to face the full force ofthe law.

Victim blaming? Ok, dude.

It's like the anti-vaxxers and getting a cold from someone.

Yes, the guy that did it was a dick (which I said). He's to blame. BUT - if you could prevent that from happening, wouldn't you? I would. Be prepared. Some people are dicks, and you need to protect yourself from them.

Do you run anti-virus software? Why? It wouldn't be your fault if you got infected. When it comes to health, it's even more important. Do you lock your doors? If someone walks in an unlocked door, they are still at fault. But, why leave it unlocked? Take precautions.

If you can't understand that, sure. I really do blame the victim in that case. Don't be naive and believe everyone is a good person. Protect yourself.

 

[LigTasm]

For whatever reason this site has just attracted a lot of unsophisticated mothbreathers.

No one with any kind of reasonable intelligence can read Drudge or Breitbart and actually believe that garbage. It takes a special kind of stupid, prone to self delusion, and we have plenty of it on here.

Ah yes, the old classic standby "if I don't agree it has to be fake news". I'm guessing the real truth is delivered to you by CNN, huh?

 

[Azphira]

Reminds me of this

 

[Exavior]

I think it would be a little closer to putting a container of peanut butter on a table with a big sign that says "You deserve an allergic reaction to peanut butter" in front of the peanut butter and then taking offense that upon eating the peanut butter you did indeed experience and allergic reaction.

Here's a safe version.

Here's a link to the illegal assaulting version

The difference between the two is exposure. He was surprised by the imagine by scrolling through posts and BOOM there it was. it wasn't like he was given advanced warning like with your example and then selected to play the imagine. It was something that was thrust at him.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Ah yes, the old classic standby "if I don't agree it has to be fake news". I'm guessing the real truth is delivered to you by CNN, huh?

CNN is pretty low quality, but its better than not following news at all. The same can not be said for Breitbart, Drudge, etc. And yes, these sites are full of completely fabricated news, or with the truth stretched so far that it is unrecognizable. This is not an opinion. This is fact.

The truth is, there are reputable sources of news that editorially skew both conservative and liberal. And there are sources of "news" that are completely bogus on both sides as well.

If you are looking for reputable news sources that have a conservative slant, check out The Hill, the Fiscal Times or (to a lesser extent) the Wall Street Journal or the Economist (not less reputable, but rather less conservative, but still right of center.

This guide should be helpful if uncertain:

If you want to get a sample of how crazy the shit on Breitbart or Drudge and other sites from the bottom right sounds to reasonable well informed people, try loading up some of the sites on the bottom left to see what the similarly crazy left leaning sites are saying. This is the left version of what Breitbart types sound like to everyone else (well, without the scary hateful racist clan shit you find on Breitbart...)

 

[Master_shake_]

huffington post meets high standards...uh huh.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

huffington post meets high standards...uh huh.

Higher standards than Fox News, so I'd say that's fairly accurate

But both are still in the "Good for confirming your existing opinions but bad for convincing others. Be careful how much time you spend here" category, which also seems accurate to me.

 

[adrift02]

Am I the only one who immediately clicked through to the gif after reading about this, just to see if I'd get a seizure? It's like the big red button you can't help but push. I think the editor did the same thing... again.

Just made the defense's case -- NBD.

 

[LigTasm]

This is not an opinion. This is fact.

You wouldn't know a fact if it hit you in the face if you're trusting the sites in the center of that graph. Seriously, you need to wake up and understand what is going on with the media in this country.

What is absolutely hilarious is the way you've promoted sources that literally got caught both lying and colluding with the DNC over the last year. It shows how awful your bias is and you don't even seem to know it.

 

[ymer]

What a ridiculous and pathetic claim.

Unfortunately the country is now so pathetic and pussyfied that the lawyers catered to his stupid claims instead of laughing and ridiculing him.

 

[Zepher]

inducing an epileptic seizure in a controlled situation over and over should cause the afflicted person to gain an immunity to the seizure inducing flashing.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

You wouldn't know a fact if it hit you in the face if you're trusting the sites in the center of that graph. Seriously, you need to wake up and understand what is going on with the media in this country.

What is absolutely hilarious is the way you've promoted sources that literally got caught both lying and colluding with the DNC over the last year. It shows how awful your bias is and you don't even seem to know it.

The "liberal media" is and always has been complete and total myth, invented for political gain by by a bunch of Republican congressmen in the late 80's. They've even admitted to it on the record...

And you keep believing your fake news sites reinforcing distrust for the only trustworthy news outlets.

You are sad.

Of course my little neo-nazi online conspiracy theory den is correct. Can't you see the conspiracy?

 

[LigTasm]

The "liberal media" is and always has been complete and total myth, invented for political gain by by a bunch of Republican congressmen in the late 80's. They've even admitted to it on the record...

And you keep believing your fake news sites reinforcing distrust for the only trustworthy news outlets.

You are sad.

Of course my little neo-nazi online conspiracy theory den is correct. Can't you see the conspiracy?

I am sad, I'm sad that people actually buy into this stuff. I'm sad that folks like you completely lack the ability to think critically about anything that doesn't confirm their bias. I don't follow or subscribe to any of those sites listed, I compare individual articles about the same topic if I want to get an idea of what the actual truth might be, something you could do but seem to be unwilling to even try to understand anything that again doesn't confirm your preconceived bias.

Just so you can remember, since I'm guessing you're salty about Hilldawg, that these are the names of the journalists that conspired with the DNC throughout the entire campaign, check out who they work for

 

[Ranulfo]

Higher standards than Fox News, so I'd say that's fairly accurate

But both are still in the "Good for confirming your existing opinions but bad for convincing others. Be careful how much time you spend here" category, which also seems accurate to me.

See, I'm the opposite from you although I figure I trust Fox far less than you do HuffPo. These days I trust no mainstream media, they've all been caught in too many lies. Your picture of media outlets and their political stances is highly amusing. The Beeb is neutral? Insert Bender laughing jpg here. Have you heard of the Journolist? Might want to look that one up. I think the best part is the "your local lib/con newspaper". One media conglomerate owns the local newspapers in all the major towns in the valley I live in, Gannett News.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I am sad, I'm sad that people actually buy into this stuff. I'm sad that folks like you completely lack the ability to think critically about anything that doesn't confirm their bias. I don't follow or subscribe to any of those sites listed, I compare individual articles about the same topic if I want to get an idea of what the actual truth might be, something you could do but seem to be unwilling to even try to understand anything that again doesn't confirm your preconceived bias.

Just so you can remember, since I'm guessing you're salty about Hilldawg, that these are the names of the journalists that conspired with the DNC throughout the entire campaign, check out who they work for

View attachment 12939

First off. I am not fan of Hillary Clinton. I found her unlikable. I think she has been unfairly demonized for decades through one politically manufactured faux scandal after another, and I strongly feel the vitriol towards her is completely uncalled for, but I would never have desired to vote for her for president (or for any other office for that matter)

That said, I find it amusing that I am being lectured on my sources by someone posting an unsourced infographic, presumably thrown together by the reddit amateur hour conspiracy theorist du jour crowd.

Either way it is a moot point. Journalistic organizations are free to have editorial opinions. They have as long as our nation has existed, and this is an important part of our first amendment rights. If a publication's editorially responsible staff have an opinion they are free to pursue it. The above amateur hour compendium of names, even if it is true, is - however - neither evidence of some sort of vast media conspiracy, or evidence of the so called "liberal media". This was an exceptional year, win which informed arch conservatives and liberals alike felt like it would be an unprecedented disaster for this country if Trump were to win the white house, and if this is reflected in their editorial pages, or the content they editorial decisions they made regarding which stories to pursue, and which not to, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I'll agree with you in this. Editorially there was a strong consensus in the media in this election, unlike there has been in any election prior against one candidate, namely Trump. This came from both those whoa re traditionally conservative and liberal. It should really say something when those responsible for finding and reporting on information across the political landscape have such an unusual coalescence. When the people whose job it is to known the truth and report on it all agree on something, the rest of us should probably listen. Unfortunately we didn't, and I hope the price we pay for it won't be too dear.

They believed that a Trump presidency would be potentially the biggest disaster this country has ever seen, and judging by everything we have seen thus far since the elections, they were probably right.

 

[ChoGGi]

Am I the only one who immediately clicked through to the gif after reading about this, just to see if I'd get a seizure? It's like the big red button you can't help but push. I think the editor did the same thing... again.

Just made the defense's case -- NBD.

The law has a tendency to pay attention to intention.

 

[LigTasm]

That said, I find it amusing that I am being lectured on my sources by someone posting an unsourced infographic, presumably thrown together by the reddit amateur hour conspiracy theorist du jour crowd.

.

This image is information directly copied from a wikileaks email written by DNC chair John Podesta in 2015. The rest, you're blowing hot air to cover lying, bought and paid for media outlets that reinforce your beliefs. Nothing will change your mind, so I'm done talking to you about it. I can't imagine being so willfully ignorant though, it makes zero sense.

 

[dgz]

Wow, you're celebrating an assault and blaming the victim?

This is how societies go down, you know. Once this shit becomes the norm, you've already lost.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

This image is information directly copied from a wikileaks email written by DNC chair John Podesta in 2015. The rest, you're blowing hot air to cover lying, bought and paid for media outlets that reinforce your beliefs. Nothing will change your mind, so I'm done talking to you about it. I can't imagine being so willfully ignorant though, it makes zero sense.

You know what they say, don't believe everything you read online.

Ditto. Your willful ignorance is why our country may be on the verge of going back 50 years in time to the bad old days.

I hope you are happy.

"Yeah, the truth is right there in unconfirmed leaked emails, which now both the FBI and CIA agree were intentionally orchestrated by the Russian government to elect Donald Trump and weaken the U.S. on the international stage. Cant you see the truth? The unconfirmed emails from sketchy sources are right there, and they are analyzed and sifted through by the best amateurs Reddit has to offer, and they don't have any biases at all, believe me!"

I cant believe anyone could be so naive.

 

[LigTasm]

You know what they say, don't believe everything you read online.

Ditto. Your willful ignorance is why our country may be on the verge of going back 50 years in time to the bad old days..

Not one single email that was leaked has been proven to be false. Even your current president admits they are real. Its OK though, keep that head in the sand while the rest of us live in the real world and move ahead.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Not one single email that was leaked has been proven to be false. Even your current president admits they are real. Its OK though, keep that head in the sand while the rest of us live in the real world and move ahead.

Look, I've read many (not all mind you) of those emails and I have seen nothing wrong in them what so ever. Every campaign in the history of the country has found news publications editorially inclined towards them and shared information and stories about their opponents and otherwise collaborated with them.

The Clinton campaign may have had a larger pool to draw from than usual due to the fact of who her opponent was, but other than that, this is how a campaign is run.

It's not like the campaign was providing the journalists with false information that they were just rubber stamping without researching. These were real, factual stories.

Just like with Benghazi, Death Panels, and the birther movement this is just another instance of a collective conservative freakout over absolutely nothing, except this time it was instigated by the Kremlin to undermine our democracy.

Ronald Reagan would be rotating in his grave...

 

[alxnet7227]

Not one single email that was leaked has been proven to be false. Even your current president admits they are real. Its OK though, keep that head in the sand while the rest of us live in the real world and move ahead.

The Podesta emails were pretty eye-popping. One had a CNN contributor sending debate questions in advance to the Clinton campaign. Others had journalists at Politico and WaPo sending stories before publication either warning or asking for approval from the Clinton camp. Then there were the CNN chyrons either fact checking or interpreting Trump quotes during news broadcasts. The most telling image linked a number of mainstream news chiefs and media moguls with either spouses or relatives that worked for the Obama administration/Clinton camp:

 

[LigTasm]

The Podesta emails were pretty eye-popping. One had a CNN contributor sending debate questions in advance to the Clinton campaign. Others had journalists at Politico and WaPo sending stories before publication either warning or asking for approval from the Clinton camp. Then there were the CNN chyrons either fact checking or interpreting Trump quotes during news broadcasts. The most telling image linked a number of mainstream news chiefs and media moguls with either spouses or relatives that worked for the Obama administration/Clinton camp:

Thats all fake m8, planted by the russians or so I hear.

 

[collegeboy69us]

Wow, you're celebrating an assault and blaming the victim?

This is how societies go down, you know. Once this shit becomes the norm, you've already lost.

So if I made a shirt that says "Proud to be a nerdy white guy" - and take a stroll through one of the more sketchy parts of town, and get my ass beat or killed... would you still sing the same tune? I mean, I wasn't breaking any laws, I was expressing I'm proud to be who I am... but it was 100% preventable due to common sense on my side. Or would you magically reverse stance and say "well he had it coming... look what he wore"


If you suffer from a known condition having "auto play" turned off is common sense. What's next? This same guy taking a stroll down time square in NY and suing everyone with a flashing billboard or sign?

 

[DocSavage]

So if I made a shirt that says "Proud to be a nerdy white guy" - and take a stroll through one of the more sketchy parts of town, and get my ass beat or killed... would you still sing the same tune? I mean, I wasn't breaking any laws, I was expressing I'm proud to be who I am... but it was 100% preventable due to common sense on my side. Or would you magically reverse stance and say "well he had it coming... look what he wore"


If you suffer from a known condition having "auto play" turned off is common sense. What's next? This same guy taking a stroll down time square in NY and suing everyone with a flashing billboard or sign?

How would anyone know what the video is with autoplay turned off? That's about the silliest fake solution I've heard and you know none of you browse the web with everything turned off.

edit: and that flashing animated gif gives me a fucking headache. All you guys who love that blinky shit are the target group for this:

 

[fadedlogic]

Wow...

You guys are jerks.

I don't care if this guy is a horrible whiny editor.

The fact that someone did something to purposefully cause bodily harm to another human being is sick.

This is no different than if I knew you have a deadly allergy to something, followed you and threw what you were allergic to all over you.

The fact that this was done across country and done electronically makes no difference.

Jesus, people...give a crap for your fellow man.

This is assuming he is telling the truth; which given his track record , should be taken with Dead Sea full of salt grains of doubt.

 

[DocSavage]

This is assuming he is telling the truth; which given his track record , should be taken with Dead Sea full of salt grains of doubt.

So you are on the side of a known troll who likes to send annoying, potentially medically dangerous, trollish gifs? Or are you stating that the editor never actually received said gif?

I hope the judge throws the book at this troll.

As an aside, are you troll defenders also in defense of those swatter trolls?

 

[Scizyr]

So you are on the side of a known troll who likes to send annoying, potentially medically dangerous, trollish gifs? Or are you stating that the editor never actually received said gif?

I hope the judge throws the book at this troll.

As an aside, are you troll defenders also in defense of those swatter trolls?

Posting an image is protected free speech, regardless of intent. People prone to epileptic seizures should take precautions when browsing the web. It is incredibly foolish to think the web is a safe place for anyone. Trying to regulate or control it will always backfire catastrophically. I use twitter and have auto-play for gifs and videos disabled, and I'm not even prone to seizures. This guy got what he deserved by using the web like a retard. I don't feel sorry for people who die in car crashes that don't wear seat belts.

And I don't see anything wrong with swatting. It exposes the ineptitude of law enforcement and there hasn't ever been a case where someone was injured from swatting. If someone was injured, it would be the fault of law enforcement for feeding the troll.

 

[Ur_Mom]

Wow, you're celebrating an assault and blaming the victim?

This is how societies go down, you know. Once this shit becomes the norm, you've already lost.

Why learn self-defense? Why have police officers? Because there are bad people out there. Protect yourself. The guy that sent that GIF is to blame. However, it shouldn't have happened twice. One time, I get it. You get a virus, you have an allergic reaction to something, you get robbed, you get beat up for wearing women's clothing, you hated the new Star Wars... whatever. Protect yourself from it happening again. If it happens again and again, something is wrong.

"My house got broken into 8 times last month!"

"You need new locks!"

"Locks?"

Wouldn't you think something was wrong? I fully agree that he wasn't at fault for what happened. That was intent to hurt the guy. But - it happened before. It'll happen again eventually. Unless he does something to protect himself. You can't go your whole life expecting someone else to take care of you and protect you. You won't survive. This guy just doesn't have any locks on his house, lives in the ghetto (the internet), pisses people off, then wonders why his house gets broken into and he can't stop it....

 

[Darunion]

Posting an image is protected free speech, regardless of intent. People prone to epileptic seizures should take precautions when browsing the web. It is incredibly foolish to think the web is a safe place for anyone. Trying to regulate or control it will always backfire catastrophically. I use twitter and have auto-play for gifs and videos disabled, and I'm not even prone to seizures. This guy got what he deserved by using the web like a retard. I don't feel sorry for people who die in car crashes that don't wear seat belts.

And I don't see anything wrong with swatting. It exposes the ineptitude of law enforcement and there hasn't ever been a case where someone was injured from swatting. If someone was injured, it would be the fault of law enforcement for feeding the troll.

Incorrect, just as me posting your social security number and address and full name is not 'protected free speech' because it is damaging another person. Your lack of compassion is why no one helps anyone on the side of the road or even holds a door anymore. I have seizures and there really is only so much you can do, things like haunted houses I can easily avoid, but when scrolling by and there is some blinky shit, can't help that. Thankfully I get enough of a reaction time to turn away, not true with some. Though after happening once I would take extra measures to ensure it does not.

If you walk to work the same way and I splash mud all over you at the same spot, should you walk a different way or am I to blame for this? We all shouldn't let these trolls push people around and have to hide because some mouthbreather made a gif to send around to induce seizures. Fuck that. I shouldn't need special software to protect myself from people like that.


Side note: When did we become so binary with placing judgments on situations we have no facts for? We all like to play judge and jury when we aren't even in the trial or slightly in the information loop?

 

[fadedlogic]

So you are on the side of a known troll who likes to send annoying, potentially medically dangerous, trollish gifs? Or are you stating that the editor never actually received said gif?

I hope the judge throws the book at this troll.

As an aside, are you troll defenders also in defense of those swatter trolls?

That's a mighty big assumption; never said such a thing.

I just question anything Eichenwold puts forth without verification given his recent track record. I have no doubt an imbecile sent the gif, that is a proven fact. The seizure just seems, to me, like a convenient excuse to disappear for a few days after a very public meltdown. I would wish no one harm for expressing an opinion, whether or not I agree with it.

This is a small microcosm of our current state of affairs, the erosion of any kind of civil discourse without blaming, naming, and shaming a different viewpoint. Perhaps social media magnifies that erosion with access and "anonymity"

Tragically sad and something I hope will be bottoming out so we can start having intelligent, uncomfortable conversations that will build consensus.

 

[dgz]

Why learn self-defense? Why have police officers? Because there are bad people out there. Protect yourself. The guy that sent that GIF is to blame. However, it shouldn't have happened twice. One time, I get it. You get a virus, you have an allergic reaction to something, you get robbed, you get beat up for wearing women's clothing, you hated the new Star Wars... whatever. Protect yourself from it happening again. If it happens again and again, something is wrong.

"My house got broken into 8 times last month!"

"You need new locks!"

"Locks?"

Wouldn't you think something was wrong? I fully agree that he wasn't at fault for what happened. That was intent to hurt the guy. But - it happened before. It'll happen again eventually. Unless he does something to protect himself. You can't go your whole life expecting someone else to take care of you and protect you. You won't survive. This guy just doesn't have any locks on his house, lives in the ghetto (the internet), pisses people off, then wonders why his house gets broken into and he can't stop it....

I didn't say anything about the receiver of this gif. I am not familiar with him, nor do I care that much about your domestic politics. It's not my place to take sides.

My post was directed at the people who are celebrating this act. As one who has witnessed his society crumble over the last 3 decades, I am telling you guys are making a huge mistake tolerating this vile shit. No matter how you feel about the victim, or what he may have done, going back to the primitive in relatively peaceful times is very dangerous and irresponsible.

Such behaviour is highly contagious. First page is disgraceful, to say the least.

 

[DocSavage]

That's a mighty big assumption; never said such a thing.

I just question anything Eichenwold puts forth without verification given his recent track record. I have no doubt an imbecile sent the gif, that is a proven fact. The seizure just seems, to me, like a convenient excuse to disappear for a few days after a very public meltdown. I would wish no one harm for expressing an opinion, whether or not I agree with it.

This is a small microcosm of our current state of affairs, the erosion of any kind of civil discourse without blaming, naming, and shaming a different viewpoint. Perhaps social media magnifies that erosion with access and "anonymity"

Tragically sad and something I hope will be bottoming out so we can start having intelligent, uncomfortable conversations that will build consensus.

I didn't realize this person (Eichenwald) was politically involved. Ok, no wonder so many people are in favor of the troll. LOL.

edit: Oh, and nothing against your post, I kind of agree with it.

 

[Ur_Mom]

My post was directed at the people who are celebrating this act. As one who has witnessed his society crumble over the last 3 decades, I am telling you guys are making a huge mistake tolerating this vile shit. No matter how you feel about the victim, or what he may have done, going back to the primitive in relatively peaceful times is very dangerous and irresponsible.

We tolerate a lot of things we probably shouldn't in modern times. From seizure inducing tweets sent maliciously to government corruption to racism of all cultures...

 

[Scizyr]

Incorrect, just as me posting your social security number and address and full name is not 'protected free speech' because it is damaging another person. Your lack of compassion is why no one helps anyone on the side of the road or even holds a door anymore. I have seizures and there really is only so much you can do, things like haunted houses I can easily avoid, but when scrolling by and there is some blinky shit, can't help that. Thankfully I get enough of a reaction time to turn away, not true with some. Though after happening once I would take extra measures to ensure it does not.

If you walk to work the same way and I splash mud all over you at the same spot, should you walk a different way or am I to blame for this? We all shouldn't let these trolls push people around and have to hide because some mouthbreather made a gif to send around to induce seizures. Fuck that. I shouldn't need special software to protect myself from people like that.


Side note: When did we become so binary with placing judgments on situations we have no facts for? We all like to play judge and jury when we aren't even in the trial or slightly in the information loop?

I disagree with the comparison between exposing personal information and an animated image. If someone has depression there shouldn't be laws against sending that person an image that might make them more depressed. Also there are no laws against posting someone's full name, address and SSN. Not sure where you got that.

You're also making a composition logical fallacy saying I lack compassion. I hold doors for people and help people on the side of the road. I carry a kit in my vehicle in case of breakdowns and I tend to use it more for other people than myself. You're under the assumption that people who play egregious pranks are apathetic and possibly sociopaths, but that's not the case. Using one of your examples, If I saw someone not hold the door for someone else, if I had the opportunity where I could hold the door for that person I would instead shut the door on them and lock it from the inside and walk away.

If you splashed mud on me I would be immediately upset but I would then laugh it off, thinking "you got me," then go about my day.

 

[RMCO]

A Twitter user may be held liable for assault after sending a Vanity Fair and Newsweek writer an auto-playing animation that gave him a seizure. I thought you could opt out of videos and GIFs that play automatically…

…this is the second time someone tweeted him a seizure-inducing animation this year. Back in October, Eichenwald wrote in Newsweek that someone pinged him with a video of "flashing circles and images of Pepe flying toward the screen" after he wrote about how the President-Elect's businesses could undermine national security. He was able to drop his iPad before the animation triggered a seizure that time, though -- he wasn't so lucky this time. In a series of tweets he sent out after the event, the editor announced that he's taking a Twitter break to pursue a case against @jew_goldstein.

That's all fine and well, but I'm still waiting for him to answer Tucker Carlson's questions.

 

[fadedlogic]

I didn't realize this person (Eichenwald) was politically involved. Ok, no wonder so many people are in favor of the troll. LOL.

edit: Oh, and nothing against your post, I kind of agree with it.

all good in the neighborhood, and we did it without name calling! Christmas wishes do come true! Cheers.

Yeah, the guy had an epic Twitter meltdown after a disastrous television appearance, and then he deleted it(to late, as always)

 

[Darunion]

I disagree with the comparison between exposing personal information and an animated image. If someone has depression there shouldn't be laws against sending that person an image that might make them more depressed. Also there are no laws against posting someone's full name, address and SSN. Not sure where you got that.

I stand corrected, it could fall under libel but that would be a civil case you would have to initiate, it only becomes criminal if someone uses the SSN that I posted.

I do agree, there shouldn't be laws micromanaging things like this, people should just be better people, but we can't force that.