Roger, anonymous posters are a serious problem - not just on SI, but in general on the Internet.
I recently posted a $100 reward for information leading to the identity of a spammer who uses one of my domain names in his return addresses. (This was written up by CNET, appeared on MSNBC, etc.)
While it's an unconventional approach, I felt that the $100 would be cheaper than a lawyer.
In this case, though, there is real money involved, and the brokerage can certainly afford a lawyer. They really should simply file a lawsuit against "Pulvia" (or "Does 1 through 20)" and then get discovery against SI to reveal his real name.
The problem with this, of course, is that SI may not really have his real name. They require it, but of course there are ways around that.
If that fails, then, I'd support the reward approach.
I think that it may be necessary at some point for stock-related discussion sites to require level 2 or level 3 client certificates (these verify the true identify of the user) of posters. A harsh measure, but it would also likely create a much more hype-free zone. |
