The dispute here, then, is whether doxing is a concept like murder[1] (with intent built into the definition) or homicide (which is defined solely by the nature of the act and its consequences).
I feel like we’re still talking past each other a bit here. I don’t dispute that doxxing can mean any revealing of information about someone, it could be used even when no foreseeable damage is implied and someone just wanted to remain private. The strict definition is not the question.
The non-central fallacy is when a negative affect word is used to describe something where the word is technically true but the actual thing should not have that negative affect associated with it. Martin Luther King fits the definition of a criminal but the negative affect of the word criminal (the reasons why crimes are bad) shouldn’t apply to him.
The problem I have using “dox” here is that some portion of the word’s negative affect doesn’t (or at least might not) apply in this case. An alternative phrasing would be “reveal Scott’s true identity” or, to be snappier, “unmask Scott” which are more neutral. dontdoxscottalexander.com’s title is Don’t De-Anonymize Scott Alexander which I think is better than my ideas.
The problem I have using “dox” here is that some portion of the word’s negative affect doesn’t (or at least might not) apply in this case.
But the pitch for the non-central fallacy is that this is an intentional deviation. For example, if everyone everywhere has always talked about “the criminal, MLK” then saying MLK is a criminal wouldn’t be non-central anymore, it would just be the way he is described.
I’ve never heard any other term except doxxing for deliberately revealing another person’s identity on the internet; it is even common use when describing accidental cases. As a practical matter and according to our (or at least the American-centered internet) norms it is a fundamentally malicious act.
I feel like we’re still talking past each other a bit here. I don’t dispute that doxxing can mean any revealing of information about someone, it could be used even when no foreseeable damage is implied and someone just wanted to remain private. The strict definition is not the question.
The non-central fallacy is when a negative affect word is used to describe something where the word is technically true but the actual thing should not have that negative affect associated with it. Martin Luther King fits the definition of a criminal but the negative affect of the word criminal (the reasons why crimes are bad) shouldn’t apply to him.
The problem I have using “dox” here is that some portion of the word’s negative affect doesn’t (or at least might not) apply in this case. An alternative phrasing would be “reveal Scott’s true identity” or, to be snappier, “unmask Scott” which are more neutral. dontdoxscottalexander.com’s title is Don’t De-Anonymize Scott Alexander which I think is better than my ideas.
But the pitch for the non-central fallacy is that this is an intentional deviation. For example, if everyone everywhere has always talked about “the criminal, MLK” then saying MLK is a criminal wouldn’t be non-central anymore, it would just be the way he is described.
I’ve never heard any other term except doxxing for deliberately revealing another person’s identity on the internet; it is even common use when describing accidental cases. As a practical matter and according to our (or at least the American-centered internet) norms it is a fundamentally malicious act.