Virtual Witchhunts

"Note to self: erase profile entitled USMCJock."

The SLDN is spreading the word that identifying yourself as military and gay in an online profile is a violation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. According to the organization, it knows of ten cases since May 2004 of service members discharged based on such evidence, including

a Farsi linguist, a doctor, an intelligence analyst and a communications officer. Three of the ten have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, including Jeff Howe, an Army artilleryman who served two tours of duty in Iraq before being outed by a profile posted at Connexion.org, an online LGBT community site.

The advocacy group has also released precautions for service members using online sites. Tips include not accessing such sites using a military computer, posting photos, or "using terminology ... which may reveal that the poster is a service member." They might also add not appearing in pornos entitled Bareback Barracks Buddies 3 (NSFW, duh).

Meanwhile, in other news about cyber-warefare, CNet's police blotter snares a 24-year Navy veteran for running "two Web sites in which he posted photos of himself and his ex-wife (who had married another naval officer) having sex and, in the words of the court, engaging in fetish activities."