Keep your clothes on and keep pictures of your big ol’ fish to yourself.
So might be the advice this week from a former successful high school football coach and an alleged salmon poacher who both chose to share something they perhaps shouldn’t have with all their Facebook friends.
Apparently both men had a little something they were proud of and thought it a good idea to share some pictures of their “trophies.”
For Paul Withee, it didn’t work out so well.
Withee was the football coach at Foxcroft Academy for 19 years and led the team to three state championships. Last March he was hired to coach the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School football team.
He resigned last week after a parent at the school spotted a naked picture of the coach on Facebook.
Withee said the picture was meant to be shared with just one particular friend, but he accidentally posted it to his more public Facebook wall.
There’s a part of me that wants to feel sorry for this guy, who did have the guts to tell one reporter, “I’m embarrassed, I’m ashamed and I’m humiliated.”
But what the heck was he thinking?
And speaking of men and egos and pride, there also was the story of the brilliant and boastful ice fisherman who apparently posted a picture of his more than 25-inch-long salmon allegedly poached from Second Hadley Lake in Washington County within the past few weeks.
Under state and federal regulations the fish is too big to keep, and now the Maine Warden Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating.
The fisherman might not attract the same kind of media attention — Boston.com, New York Daily News and Huffington Post them — that Withee did because keeping an oversize fish is probably not as compelling as a middle school teacher posting nude pictures online, but still it was clearly an unwise Facebook move.
Social media are a new and dangerous world, especially to us middle-age folks who remember a time when our personal conversations were over landlines and there was no hard evidence of it to be plunked down upon our boss’s desk in the morning — or the counter of our local law enforcement agency — or perhaps the desk of our spouse’s divorce attorney.
Divorce lawyers are reporting a huge surge in the number of divorce cases involving social media as either a component in the breakdown of the marriage or as a way in which the couple gather evidence against one another.
According to an article written by Richard Adams and published in The Guardian, some American lawyers are demanding to see their clients’ Facebook pages as a matter of course before starting divorce proceedings.
Another article stated that 8 percent of American companies reported firing an employee because of something that was posted on a social networking site.
Remember the term “drunk dialing”?
Today it’s all about drunk Facebooking and emailing, and it’s much more dangerous.
A couple of years ago there was some buzz about the development of software that users could install on their personal computers or handheld devices to help save them from themselves.
Sort of a voluntary online sobriety test that could be set to come on during the hours the user might be under the influence. If the user tries to send an email or post a message during those hours, a test such as typing the alphabet backwards must be passed to gain access.
It certainly wouldn’t save everyone from himself.
Pride and ego and stupidity don’t always need to be fueled by liquor.
They can make a mess of things by themselves and today if your fish is too big or your pants come off under the wrong circumstances — there is likely to be proof.
You are just writing about the obvious risks. Let’s not forget that facebook exists to make money and it does that by tracking every move that you make on the internet. It knows more about your interests, surfing and shopping habits, likes and opinions than anyone in your life. And it uses that information to steer advertising to you and change the things that you see online. Most importantly, anything you put on facebook – an imagine, an idea, a poem – becomes their property the minute you paste. Pay attention to the news some time and notice how many photos of crime victims and perpetrators (for example) they show with the caption ‘ courtesy of facebook’.
Why anyone would want to give away that much information, just to track down some high school boyfriend is beyond imagination.
“Let’s not forget that facebook exists to make money and it does that by tracking every move that you make on the internet.”
False. Facebook doesn’t know what you do online. It knows only when you click on an ad on its own site.
“Most importantly, anything you put on facebook – an imagine, an idea, a poem – becomes their property the minute you paste.”
Also false.
Really? I recently downloaded a photo from Facebook from my daughter and sent the picute to the Email account of two people who wanted it. These two people had Facebook accounts only for viewing pictures, used names on the account I couldn’t guess and didn’t allow any access to their account. Shortly after they opened the pictures I had “people you may want to be friends with” from their “secret accounts”.
Did you change the name of the file before you sent it? Below is how it looks when you right click on a picture and save it as a file. This is the default format that Facebook uses.
396266_10151285621145117_302201620116_22753280_1430393264_n.jpg
Now with just that simple information I can find out who posted it. You might not know how but I do as do a lot of others. There is tracking information in the file name.
There is a user ID in those numbers. You just have to know what the proper numbers are and then how to use Facebook to look it up.
The information is easy to find using Google on how to do this but changing the file name before you share the picture will remove the tracking information.
I wonder if someone will take the time to figure out what Facebook account posted the said picture. The information is there to figure it out and it is not hard to do so.
Go for it…LOL
It all depends on the individuals privacy settings.
Agreed Ryan. If these accusations were true, Facebook wouldn’t be as popular as it is. There would NOT be MILLIONS of people using it. Facebook has outsourced Myspace!
Sorry man. You are the wrong one. Facebook’s tracking cookie is widely known and understood.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-18/tech/30413265_1_facebook-facebook-servers-privacy-concerns
The claim was that Facebook is “tracking every move that you make on the internet.”
This is false, as the article you cited bears out: “Keep in mind that Facebook isn’t tracking your entire browsing history, just your visits to sites with ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ buttons.”
That’s because those buttons actually reside back at Facebook’s servers and are merely pulled from Facebook every time a Web page calls for them.
That’s a far cry from Facebook tracking your every move online. Facebook doesn’t know when you write an e-mail to someone, or to whom you’re writing; nor does it know when you are browsing the iTunes store using iTunes. It doesn’t know which Netflix movies or shows you watch.
In all actuality, the cookie data is so enormous in volume that no human at Facebook is ever going to look at it, unless your data has been suboenaed.
True, they charge an exorbitant price for tinfoil hats, and then to add insult to injury you have to give them your home address to have it shipped.
That’s why I got off Facebook.
I’m still waiting for someone to develop a “retrieve” button that let’s us grab an unopened email back from the recipient’s folder. But I doubt that app is on its way.
yes it is
With all the monitoring of social networking sites these days it should be common knowledge to be very careful of what pictures or information you post of yourself. What was supposed to be a joke/prank for a single other person to see cost that person their career. There is usually always someone out there willing to exploit someone else for any number of reasons.
Thanks for the chuckle! Reason I don’t participate in Facebook. I think it’s great for business owners, but pretty addictive to a lot of people. I can’t get through a social conversation without someone mentioning something someone posted on Facebook. Don’t think I’m missing anything, plus I still have a job!
Great article Renee- Well said.
If the coach at Oxford Hill was stupid enough to post a picture of him in his “proudest and all glory moment” , he deserves to be fired……IDIOT
He didn’t get fired ….he stepped down….IDIOT
After the party is over and these crazy sometimes obscene postings are forgotten go apply for a job. The first place headhunters go is your Facebook page. Then for sure its not a big joke anymore. You can seriously compromise your future employ-ability. Head hunters say better nothing at all to scan.
he might have taken it down, but fb still has it and may sell it ,its what they do.
Was it that ‘pretty’?
Lol probably not but fb would sell their soul they mine and sell anything their is a market for anything once its on their it becomes their property
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You obviously don’t understand Facebook’s terms of service or copyright law.
“Sell it”? No, facebook can’t do that.
To quote mark zuckerbergowner of fb id sell my mother To make money
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As I said, Facebook doesn’t own the rights to your photos, or anything else you post.
If you’re going to quote Zuckerberg, you could at least provide a source and a date.
You are dead wrong but that’s ok keep dreaming sources won’t work for your fantasy world
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It is you, sir, who is “dead wrong.” Facebook does not own any of your data, nor has it ever claimed to own users’ data. In fact, right near the top of the terms of service is this: “You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook…”
That you can’t provide a cite for the quote you attribute to Zuckerberg indicates you made it up.
Roflmao you are such a sucker numerous stories on it Google it dummy even after you delete its still on their server they sell it too marketers
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No its because a man convinced against his will is of his own opinion still good luck
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Stupid is as stupid does.
First of all, Ms. Ordway, I usually enjoy reading your column. Not this time! The person who caught the fish was NOT:
1. Poaching
2. Boasting
3. An egotistical person
4. Drunk Facebooking
He went ice fishing and caught a fish. He and several other people did not know what kind of fish it was. That is why he posted it on Facebook. To see if any of his friends……on his friends list, (private profile) knew what kind it was. He is a very quiet, hard working, unassuming man, who does not drink, do drugs, collect welfare or unemployment. He now knows he caught and kept an oversized fish. It was NOT done intentionally! He and his wife are being repeatedly questioned by wardens and federal agents……and now being ridiculed in the media. One would think that he committed the crime of the century! You cannot “poach” an oversize fish!
I really wish you people would find your jollies somewhere else……..instead of at the expense of someone’s innocent mistake. Posting a pic of an oversized fish was a stupid mistake. He didn’t know, but should have, that there is a size limit. Posting a naked pic is NOT an innocent mistake!
I hope, Ms. Ordway, that someday, you are not put in the position of having to defend a friend or family member, who has done something completely foolish, and possibly illegal, and gotten ridiculed in the public light! Maybe you and Tom Walsh should have gotten the whole story, from both sides, before putting this in print! And since the fisherman’s name is not being released, this should have never been published!
Why do you lump people on welfare or receiving unemployment in with drunkards and druggies? I hope you never have to receive either type of assistance.
That said, if you’re going to fish, you best know what the rules are — and that includes knowing what the fish look like so you don’t break any rules. So yes, he did inentionally take an oversized fish. (You even said he “knows he caught and kept an oversized fish.”) And yes, you can poach an oversize fish. Although there is no statutory term “to poach,” “to poach” is defined in the dictionary by Merriam-Webster as “to take game or fish illegally.”
I didn’t lump these people “together”. I was merely making a statement, before someone assumed one of these things, like some are known to do on these sites! It’s already assumed (in this article and in posts on the other one recently published), that he was “drunk Facebooking”…..which he wasn’t.
You are right. He should have known the laws. But I ask you this, would you like to have people making assumptions at a mistake you made? It’s over and done with, but I see the media isn’t going to let it go.
I did not say he “knew he caught and kept an oversized fish”, I said he NOW knows…..And I stand corrected on the “poaching” definition. I read it somewhere else and took the meaning of it differently.
As I was raised, if you’re going to hunt or fish you need to know the rules. It’s been many years since I did either but as I recall I received a book of regulations at the same time I got my license. If he didn’t know what he was catching he should have released it, just as if a hunter doesn’t know what he’s aiming at he needs to take his finger off the trigger.
There are 10,000 lakes and ponds in Maine and they all seem to have different rules. It’s crazy and confusing.
How is it confusing, you look at the law book and see what the rule are for the body of water you are fishing. It’s not like back in the day when you could only fish on day “x” of week “x” on month “x”. Now that would be confusing.
He sure fooled you with that line. The small , paperback leaflet available where your purchase your permit is filled with information to help identify the fish you catch. Perhaps you just woke up and didn’t think this through clearly or perhaps you’ve been conned !
I agree. I know this young man and he knows he made a mistake. Why does BDN feel the need to make a mockery out of the incident? People commit far worse crimes than this and receive less publicity!
First of all how did collecting welfare or unemployment get in to this?? And I don’t even fish and I know that there is a size limit. And even tho putting a naked picture on the computer is STUPID, he didn’t mean it to go public, he made a mistake just as the fish guy did!!!! The computer should be to look up information, playing games and talking to friends and family that are a long ways away!!!
If I knocked on your door and asked you for your most personal information about you and everyone you know including:
birthdays,
pictures,
spouses,
sexual orientation,
religion,
home address,
high school graduation date
where you work,
where you used to work, and anything else…
Then told you I would use this information to sell to marketers to try to sell you more stuff…… Would you hand it all over? Why do it on Fakebook?
You have handed your most personal information over to a marketer to try to sell you more stuff.WAKE UP.
Your 100% right and let us not forget the scammers that just love to get this information as well as Law enforcement.
I’ve had people that I know say “I’ll set you up a facebook account” and I keep telling them “What part of “NO” don’t you understand”.
That information is already out there.
How do you think broadcast radio and television work? They’re free because stations sell their audience to advertisers.
If you like this please press like below. Thanks
Crapola…..
Do some research and find out what GOOGLE knows about you, you’re habits,you’re net worth, and almost everything you do online. I am thinking it may be time to say — it all and go off the grid all-together.
Google is merely a search engine. It only tells you where to go for the information.
I will keep it simple for you, read this then google what does google know about me and educate yourself. http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/opinion/ghitis-google-privacy/index.html Google and Facebook just to mention the 2 biggest know and store on their servers much more information tthan you think.
So according to you, Google knows when you brush your teeth, what toothpaste you use, when you go shopping, etc.? You did say Google knows your habits.
But Google doesn’t know that stuff.
Nor does Google know how much money you make.
Nor does Google know when you check your e-mail or download a song from iTunes or Amazon. nor does it know of every story you read in this newspaper’s online edition.
The opinion piece you cited does not claim that Google knows “almost everything you do online.”
Renee – Excellent article.Save copy(s) of all documentation/records from your Employer. They often don’t or claim that they do not have them after they “downsize” you.Divorce Lawyers – Their operating procedure is consistent w/ the old Frank & Ernest lines about completing your tax return. ” A. How much did you make ? B. How much do you have left ? C. Send B. “CONGRESS has been “Attorneys” for the last 40 years. These allegeded “smartest” people often have trouble w/ the truth. The new buzz word for the truth is transparency. One can’t help but notice the speeches on CSPAN this year are all about bipartisanship, the Economy, Jobs, Healthcare & cutting Social Security. Our “elected” have “borrowed” 1/2 of the Social Security $$.No action, talk only for the past 3 years. The party’s over in NOVEMBER.
With regards to FB, it’s also good to remind people that whenever you go away on a trip, mention it in the past tense. NEVER say you’ll be going off somewhere and say when you’ll be away. Potential thieves are also watching. Talk about your trip AFTER you’ve returned and mention that you’ve come back from your trip. Just a heads up.
Whenever I’ve seen a friend post something like “At Tiffany’s for the big party,” I’m tempted to comment “I’m breaking into your house”!
I’ve heard it said that one stops maturing when they take their first drink. Just a guess but from what I have seen of Withee he has some issues going. Who in their right mind, with a huge gut hanging, would want to show it off let alone think it is a turn on. Let me guess. Someone that imbibes too much for one.