"geolocate" app for tagging "irresponsible" gunowners

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I think you have to be at their location to flag it. I think it's a joke and the kind of thing Bloomberg or his chronies would dream up.

Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!
 
Another thought. When that newspaper published the names and addresses of CCW permit holders, it was despicable, but it wasn't technically an invasion of privacy because CCW permit-holder records are publicly available.

HOWEVER, by publishing the names and addresses of people you think may have guns, even if they're not CCW holders (say, home-defense shotgun owners), or even if they turn out to not have guns at all, this app-maker is probably risking liability for invasion of privacy. Let's say my neighbor who I hate (this is a hypothetical--I actually have awesome neighbors) happens to have an unlisted number and address because her estranged ex-husband is stalking her. Nevertheless, I know her name and address because I live next to her. I "tag" her in this app with her name and address and a false statement that she's an "irresponsible gun owner" because I'm ticked off at her over a property-line dispute. Her information, previously held privately, is now publicly available. I wouldn't swear by it, but that smells like a tort to me.
 
Is this dumb thing still up on Google? I'd have thought the little flap generated would be enough to scare the G men (Google men :D) into taking it down. I recall a "locate an abortionist" or some such identically controversial nonsense app getting yanked down almost immediately (obviously out of concern for the safety of those tagged).

A lot of crazies think we are all murderers, too, after all...and even more thieves know we have expensive and portable toys.

TCB
 
Basically, it's an app that allows one to anonymously libel people, if one desires.

"A guy that is highly prone to violence lives here, he's a total lunatic and terrorist."

How about:

"A guy that molests his children and does and deals heroin lives here."
 
22-rimfire said:
I think you have to be at their location to flag it. I think it's a joke and the kind of thing Bloomberg or his chronies would dream up.

Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!
Click to expand...

There are apps in Google Play Store that allow you to spoof your GPS location.
 
it looks like they are trying to combat the fake postings. they are now limiting you to one marking per 24 hours.

I use my posting for today for my fellow citizens of the dangerous cache of weapons at the Denny's next to where I am currently eating, and about how I get the feeling that the customers over there about to come over here throw down with the Subway customers.
 
I flagged it. Also noticed it has a 1 star rating. Over 2,000 1 one star votes compared to 40 five star
 
Two thought quickly come to mind:
1) No worries: next to no one is going to download or use this app.
2) System easily foiled by folks simply tagging every home as a gun owning home....then app is useless!

No realistic worry here...if this app is even real.
 
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Basically, it's an app that allows one to anonymously libel people, if one desires.
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My thoughts exactly. My initial reaction to this is to wonder how long before a law abiding gun owner files suit for libel. I'm sure there has to be some way to trace the person who posted. Might have to subpoena the records from the company that put out the app, but hey, civil litigation isn't my field of law so I don't profess to have any expertise in it.
 
Basically, it's an app that allows one to anonymously libel people, if one desires.
Click to expand...

The Internet, circa ~1990, right? :D

Seriously, though; why hasn't the app been taken down by Playstore admins, yet? They're the ones who need to be making the call, and taking the heat; not some random agitator who said something on the internet. The massive number of people reporting the app, its lack of legitimate utility, and obvious potential for abuse all indicate it should be struck from Google's servers if they value their reputation.

TCB
 
barnbwt said:
The Internet, circa ~1990, right? :D

Seriously, though; why hasn't the app been taken down by Playstore admins, yet? They're the ones who need to be making the call, and taking the heat; not some random agitator who said something on the internet. The massive number of people reporting the app, its lack of legitimate utility, and obvious potential for abuse all indicate it should be struck from Google's servers if they value their reputation.

TCB
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Inertia, trust me apps that openly infringe copyright can take time to remove and thats with a rights owner reporting it. Apps just getting user reports is going to take a while.

Comedy question has the Biden's residencies beeb tagged yet? lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
Seriously, though; why hasn't the app been taken down by Playstore admins, yet? They're the ones who need to be making the call, and taking the heat; not some random agitator who said something on the internet. The massive number of people reporting the app, its lack of legitimate utility, and obvious potential for abuse all indicate it should be struck from Google's servers if they value their reputation.
Click to expand...

The app is offensive to a group of people and so it should be removed? I'd rather Google only removed stuff which was illegal or dangerous. Leave the morailty to the users.
 
MErl said:
The app is offensive to a group of people and so it should be removed? I'd rather Google only removed stuff which was illegal or dangerous. Leave the morailty to the users.
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I agree but google has and does take down "offensive" apps. Until they change their policy they should treat this one the same as the others
 
HA. Turns out this dude is just a massive troll. The app has been shut down and the site now shows this message:

What is the Gun Geo Marker?

It is two things. First, it is a speculative design experiment “in the wild” that is to suss out what the parameters of a successful gun safety app might be. For example, the experiment showed that there is great potential for “local use only” mapping applications, or using GPS to constrain use of mapping interfaces only to the place in which one stands.

This has applications for public data of a sensitive nature as it disallows arbitrary global browsing, keeping all information into its local context. Also, the ontology for marking dangerous guns owners feels like an excellent start.

An aspect of the project which did not work – nor did I expect it to in this particular case – was the use of anonymous marking of sites. Simply stated, the project suffered numerous hacking attacks that filled the database with false info, not to mention that anti-gun-safety types have also used the app itself as a tool for mischief. It is both sad to see, but also something that I grudgingly admit I have a certain level of respect for as an electronic activist myself. The issues of hacking and intentionally false data might be solved by an organization with sufficient resources through using authentication and some type of verification regimen to ensure the data is of high quality.

Secondly, the App was a honeypot. As a gun owner myself, I am all too aware of a smaller component of the community that sees any attempt at improving gun safety as an affront to their second amendment rights. Reasonable regulations that do not interfere with anyone’s second amendment rights – such as universal background checks and trigger locks when guns are unattended in the presence of children – are needed to help abate the gun violence epidemic in this country. But some places in the United States seem committed to going in the opposite direction, as in Florida where a law was passed preventing medical doctors from asking about gun safety in the home as they might about swimming pool safety.

So, the project is also a culture-jamming exercise intended to draw out earnest expressions from the radical anti-gun-safety community, expressions that will now become part of a second phase of the project which involves aesthetic manifestations. The app itself will remain online for a time so that people can play with the user interface, after which it will morph into a purely “documentation” application about the project.

Brett Stalbaum
Click to expand...
 
An aspect of the project which did not work – nor did I expect it to in this particular case – was the use of anonymous marking of sites. Simply stated, the project suffered numerous hacking attacks that filled the database with false info, not to mention that anti-gun-safety types have also used the app itself as a tool for mischief. It is both sad to see, but also something that I grudgingly admit I have a certain level of respect for as an electronic activist myself. The issues of hacking and intentionally false data might be solved by an organization with sufficient resources through using authentication and some type of verification regimen to ensure the data is of high quality.
Click to expand...

So what exactly is a "anti-gun-safety" type?

Is it someone who is against the NRA (not the NRA-ILA)? You know that organization that has standardized courses in safe firearm use?

Is it someone who believes that inaccessible or locked firearms are of marginal use in a defense situation? Is it someone that believes that even children should be able to defend themselves? (after all, a 17yr old high school senior is still a child)

Or is it just a "When did you stop beating your wife?" term designed to portray anyone that argues against him as a monster.
 
HA. Turns out this dude is just a massive troll. The app has been shut down and the site now shows this message:
Click to expand...
I understand he's gone back to his usual occupation of hiding under a bridge and waiting for the Three Billy Goats Gruff.;)
 
The issues of hacking and intentionally false data might be solved by an organization with sufficient resources through using authentication and some type of verification regimen to ensure the data is of high quality.
Click to expand...

And with that "high quality" data using "authentication" and "verification", both the reporter (of libelous/slanderous info) and the company that collects and distributes such info, can be sued.
 
And just how can you tell the data is "high quality?"

If I say my neighbor is a dangerous nutcase with a gun, you can verify who I am, you can verify I live near him. You can verify that's his address.

But the one thing you cannot verify is my claim that he's "a dangerous nutcase with a gun."
 
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