In which fair warning is given

[lady_schrapnell]

Anyone without an LJ account who replies to my posts will have seen the notice that I have enabled the option to log IP addresses. What people won't have seen is that I have also installed StatCounter, which logs the IP address of people who read my LJ (aside from LJ friends). Of course this doesn't allow me to find anyone's email address, name, or phone number, nor would I want to. I check out the stats from time to time, as it's fun to see that someone in Russia is reading my LJ (::waves::), or to wonder if the person in City X in State/Country Y owns Blog Z. (Because it's LJ, I can't see the entertaining search engine or 'came from' paths.) Presumably nobody cares about being a reader from Ithaca, NY or the like.

On the other hand, if you read my LJ and draw attention to yourself (for example by emailing a friend of mine about what you think you've read here), especially if you live in a place far less populated than, say, NYC or London, chances are extremely good that I'll then know that that IP address (on StatCounter's log and/or with a comment) in that relatively un-populated place is you. It's a big world and I've not the slightest objection to anyone choosing to read my LJ, for whatever purpose. This is just a friendly reminder that your anonymity may not be as complete as you might wish it to be.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Do yuo have to reinstall the web counter thingie every time you post, and for all comments? (I haven't a clue how that would work for a blog.)

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I've been planning to put in a statscounter but feared it would be difficult. My fear has been justified. I did, however, eventually remember that I live with a programmer so hope is not lost :)