Doxxing an Imaginary Person?

This morning, Google pulled a video from YouTube belonging to my nonprofit Three Rings. This was a bit of a surprise.

YouTube screenshot with message: this video has been removed for violating YouTube's policy on harassment and bullying.
Harassment and bullying? Whut?

Apparently the video – which is a demo of some Three Rings features – apparently fell foul of Google’s anti-doxxing rules. I’m glad that they have anti-doxxing rules, of course.

Let’s see who I doxxed:

Yup… apparently doxxed an imaginary person with two structurally-invalid phone numbers and who’s recently moved house from Some Street to Other Street in the town of Somewhereville. 😂

(Maybe I’m wrong. Do you live on Some Street, Somewhereville?)

Let’s see what YouTube’s appeals process is like, shall we? 🤦

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The Last Post for the Nightline Association. How does that make you feel?

This is a repost promoting content originally published elsewhere. See more things Dan's reposted.

Fellow geek, Nightline veteran, and general volunteering hero James Buller wrote a wonderful retrospective on his experience with Surrey Nightline, National Nightline, and the Nightline Association over most of the last three decades:

  • In 1997 I left a note in the Surrey Nightline pigeon-hole to volunteer and eventually become the Coordinator
  • In 1998 I emailed the leaders of National Nightline with a plea for support.
  • In 2000 I launched the first National Nightline website and email list
  • In 2003 I added the bulletin board online forum
  • In 2006 I led governance reform and the registration project that led to the Nightline Association charity
  • In 2007 I set up Google Apps for the recently established nightline.ac.uk domain
  • In 2008 We sent news via an email broadcast system for the first time
  • In 2025 All the user accounts and the charity were shut down.

So here’s my last post on volunteering with the confidential mental health helplines run ‘by students for students’ at universities, then the overarching association body.

I began volunteering with Aberystwyth Nightline in 1999, and I remember the 2000 launch of the National Nightline mailing list and website. It felt like a moment of coalescence and unity. We Nightline volunteers at the turn of the millennium were young, and tech-savvy, and in that window between the gradual decline of Usenet and the 2004-onwards explosion in centralised social networking, mailing lists and forums were The Hotness.

Nightlines (and Nightliners) disagreed with one another on almost everything, but the Internet-based connectivity that James put into place for National Nightline was enormously impactful. It made Nightline feel bigger than it had been before: it was an accessible and persistent reminder that you were part of a wider movement. It facilitated year-round discussions that might previously have been seen only at annual conferences. It brought communities together.

(Individuals too: when my friends Kit and Fiona met and got together back in 2003 (and, later, married), it probably wouldn’t have happened without the National Nightline forum.)

Screenshot of website 'NNL Bulletin Board', powered by PHPbb, featuring a variety of Nightline-related topics including Three Rings and a mention that registered user 'AvaPoet' (an alias of Dan Q's at the time) has posted today, along with 'Fiona M' and 'Kit' (mentioned elsewhere in this article).
Gosh, I spent an inordinate amount of time on this site, back in the day.

But while I praise James’ work in community-building and technology provision, his experience with Nightlines doesn’t stop there: he was an important force in the establishment of the Nightline Association, the registered charity that took over National Nightline’s work and promised to advance it even further with moves towards accreditation and representation.

As his story continues, James talks about one of his final roles for the Association: spreading the word about the party to “see it off”. Sadly, the Nightline Association folded last month, leaving a gap that today’s Nightlines, I fear, will struggle to fill, but this was at least the excuse for one last get-together (actually, three, but owing to schedule conflicts I was only able to travel up to the one in Manchester):

I had done a lot of the leg work to track down and invite former volunteers to the farewell celebrations. I’d gotten a real buzz from it, which despite a lot of other volunteering I’ve not felt since I was immersed in the Nightline world in the 2000’s. I felt all warm and fuzzy with nostalgia for the culture, comradeship and perhaps dolefully sense of youth too!

I was delighted that so many people answered the call (should have expected nothing less of great Nightliners!). Their reminiscing felt like a wave of love for the movement we’d all been a part of and had consumed such a huge part of our lives for so long. It clearly left an indelible mark on us all and has positively affected so many others through us.

Many people played their part in the story of the Nightline Association.

12 Caucasian people of a mix of ages and genders posing as a group in front of a Nightline Association banner. Dan is one of them.
I got to hang out with some current and former Nightline volunteers in Manchester, the smallest of the ‘Goodbye NLA’ parties.

My part in the story has mostly involved Three Rings (which this year adopted some of the Association’s tech infrastructure to ensure that it survives the charity’s unfortunate demise). But James, I’ve long felt, undermines his own staggering impact.

Volunteering in charity technical work is a force multiplier: instead of working on the front lines, you get to facilitate many times your individual impact for the people who do! Volunteering with Three Rings for the last 23 years has helped me experience that, and James’ experience of this kind of volunteering goes even further than mine. And yet he feels his impact most-strongly in a close and interpersonal story that’s humbling and beautiful:

I was recently asked by a researcher, ‘What is the best thing you have done as a volunteer in terms of impact?’. I was proud to reply that I’d been told someone had not killed themselves because of a call with me at Surrey Nightline.

I’d recommend going and reading the full post by James, right up to the final inspiring words.

(Incidentally: if you’re looking for a volunteering opportunity that continues to help Nightlines, in the absence of the Nightline Association, Three Rings can make use of you…)

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Google Shared My Phone Number!

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Podcast Version

This post is also available as a podcast. Listen here, download for later, or subscribe wherever you consume podcasts.

Earlier this month, I received a phone call from a user of Three Rings, the volunteer/rota management software system I founded1.

We don’t strictly offer telephone-based tech support – our distributed team of volunteers doesn’t keep any particular “core hours” so we can’t say who’s available at any given time – but instead we answer email/Web based queries pretty promptly at any time of the day or week.

But because I’ve called-back enough users over the years, it’s pretty much inevitable that a few probably have my personal mobile number saved. And because I’ve been applying for a couple of interesting-looking new roles, I’m in the habit of answering my phone even if it’s a number I don’t recognise.

Dan sits at his laptop in front of a long conference table where a group of people are looking at a projector screen.
Many of the charities that benefit from Three Rings seem to form the impression that we’re all just sat around in an office, like this. But in fact many of my fellow volunteers only ever see me once or twice a year!

After the first three such calls this month, I was really starting to wonder what had changed. Had we accidentally published my phone number, somewhere? So when the fourth tech support call came through, today (which began with a confusing exchange when I didn’t recognise the name of the caller’s charity, and he didn’t get my name right, and I initially figured it must be a wrong number), I had to ask: where did you find this number?

“When I Google ‘Three Rings login’, it’s right there!” he said.

Google Search results page for 'Three Rings CIC', showing a sidebar with information about the company and including... my personal mobile number and a 'Call' button that calls it!
I almost never use Google Search2, so there’s no way I’d have noticed this change if I hadn’t been told about it.

He was right. A Google search that surfaced Three Rings CIC’s “Google Business Profile” now featured… my personal mobile number. And a convenient “Call” button that connects you directly to it.

'Excuse me' GIF reaction. A white man blinks and looks surprised.

Some years ago, I provided my phone number to Google as part of an identity verification process, but didn’t consent to it being shared publicly. And, indeed, they didn’t share it publicly, until – seemingly at random – they started doing so, presumably within the last few weeks.

Concerned by this change, I logged into Google Business Profile to see if I could edit it back.

Screenshot from Google Business Profile, with my phone number and the message 'Your phone number was updated by Google.'.
Apparently Google inserted my personal mobile number into search results for me, randomly, without me asking them to. Delightful.

I deleted my phone number from the business listing again, and within a few minutes it seemed to have stopped being served to random strangers on the Internet. Unfortunately deleting the phone number also made the “Your phone number was updated by Google” message disappear, so I never got to click the “Learn more” link to maybe get a clue as to how and why this change happened.

Last month, high-street bank Halifax posted the details of a credit agreement I have with them to two people who aren’t me. Twice in two months seems suspicious. Did I accidentally click the wrong button on a popup and now I’ve consented to all my PII getting leaked everywhere?

Spoof privacy settings popup, such as you might find on a website, reading: We and our partners work very hard to keep your data safe and secure and to operate within the limitations of the law. It's really hard! Can you give us a break and make it easier for us by consenting for us to not have to do that? By clicking the 'I Agree' button, you consent to us and every other company you do business with to share your personal information with absolutely anybody, at any time, for any reason, forever. That's cool, right?
Don’t you hate it when you click the wrong button. Who reads these things, anyway, right?

Such feelings of rage.

Footnotes

1 Way back in 2002! We’re very nearly at the point where the Three Rings system is older than the youngest member of the Three Rings team. Speaking of which, we’re seeking volunteers to help expand our support team: if you’ve got experience of using Three Rings and an hour or two a week to spare helping to make volunteering easier for hundreds of thousands of people around the world, you should look us up!

2 Seriously: if you’re still using Google Search as your primary search engine, it’s past time you shopped around. There are great alternatives that do a better job on your choice of one or more of the metrics that might matter to you: better privacy, fewer ads (or more-relevant ads, if you want), less AI slop, etc.

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👋 Farewell, NLA

Highlights of yesterday’s Goodbye Nightline Association party in Manchester:

👨‍💻 Responded to Three Rings user query in real time by implementing new Directory property while at the event (pictured)
🤝 Met a handful of Nightliners past and present; swapped war stories of fights with students unions, battles for funding, etc. (also got some insights into how they’re using various tech tools!)
✍️ Did hilariously awful job of drawing ‘Condom Man’, Aberystwyth Nightline’s mascot circa 2000
🤞 Possibly recruited a couple of new Three Rings volunteers

Dan gestures at his laptop in a quiet pub function room, on which he's writing some code. In the background, two women are having a conversation.

Low points:

😢 It’s a shame NLA’s dying, but I’m optimistic that Nightlines will survive

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Three Rings ❤️ NLA

Oxford Station. Catching a train to Manchester for a get-together in memory of the Nightline Association, which will sadly be closing this year (although individual Nightlines will doubtless soldier on just as they did before the Association).

Carrying a big ol’ bag of Three Rings swag to give to basically anybody who expresses even the slightest interest. 😅

Three Rings has been supporting Nightlines since before the Nightline Association and nowadays underpins voluntary work by hundreds of other charities including helplines like Samaritans and Childline. Feeling sad that the Nightline Association is going away and looking for a new and rewarding way to volunteer? Come chat to me!

Dan, with blue hair and wearing a black t-shirt, stands on a sunny train platform holding aloft a medium-sized tote bag.

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Portal 3kend

Never underestimate the power of people who are motivated by the good they can do in the world.

Today I was in awe of this team of unpaid volunteers who, having already given up their bank holiday weekend, worked through dinner and into the night to ensure the continued uptime of a piece software that enables the listening service of emotional support and suicide helplines.

In a conference room, Dan stands in front of a group of people working on laptops.

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Dan Q found GCA2025 Where’s 25? – Locationless Cache

This checkin to GCA2025 Where's 25? - Locationless Cache reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Happy 25th birthday, geocaching.

I’m spending the weekend volunteering for a nonprofit I founded (it’s almost as old as geocaching, at 23). We’re staying in a hotel at N 52° 36.184′ W 001° 53.869′. I’ve also gotten out to find a couple of local geocaches.

But guess which room number the hotel have given me…

Dan looks shocked as he stands in front of a wooden door on which a brass plaque reads 'Welcome to Fairlawns 25'.

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Dan Q found GC7H5M9 Hedge your bets

This checkin to GC7H5M9 Hedge your bets reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Found following a short hunt and a brief rummage after walking up the nearby footpath, with the help of a previous log which talked about crossing a fence (which I didn’t need to do, having come up the correct way in the first place).

Some fellow volunteers and I are meeting at a hotel to the West of here for a weekend of making software to help charities. When we meet up, I have a tradition of getting up early and finding a geocache or two before breakfast. Having exhausted the very-local supply of caches on previous visits, and not wishing to miss out on the tradition on this, geocaching’s 25th birthday, I decided it was time to come further afield (and to finally solve this puzzle!… I’m still stumped by its sibling, though!).

Nice container. Log slightly damp, but still usable. TFTC, and FP awarded for the enjoyable (once I spotted a pattern!) puzzle.

Dan Q found GC9QD6R Centurion

This checkin to GC9QD6R Centurion reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Woke early, as usual, for the first day of a weekend of volunteering, while staying at nearby Fairlawns. I’ve already tapped out the most-local caches to that hotel on previous stays, so for this morning’s walk I came further afield to find this (and one of the two puzzle caches not too far away; that’s next, hopefully!)

This nice (topical!) container was an easy find once I poked my head into the right place. TFTC!

Happy 25th birthday, geocaching!

Note #26287

While adding an entry to OpenBenches (openbenches.org/bench/36677), I was struck by how much of an impact this woman – Jane Gregg – must have made on her local community.

In this community garden in Bampton, in the Lake District, a bench dedicated to her includes not only a plaque summarising her achievements but it’s also been hand-carved with the words “Jane an amazing human.”

Top of a simple wooden bench; an attached brass plaque on the front side can be seen, but is illegible from this angle. But on the top, somebody has carved "Jane an amazing human."

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Dan Q found GC1DH2A Knipe Scar – Haweswater View

This checkin to GC1DH2A Knipe Scar - Haweswater View reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

How delightful to find such a well-sized and well-placed geocache, and in such a beautiful spot. Some fellow volunteers and I are spending the week in Bampton, working on improving some software that underpins the volunteer and rota management systems of a few hundred different charities.

Never one to let a hard day’s voluntary work keep me from a geocaching expedition, this afternoon I took a hot brisk walk up the scar to find this (and hopefully next another nearby!) cache. Caught my breath sitting on a rock near the GZ, before pressing on. SL, TNLN, TFTC. FP awarded for such a delightful spot.

Dan examines his GPSr on a sun-drenched craggy hillside.

 

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A Surprisingly Shit Bathroom

This bathroom at the holiday home where some fellow volunteers and I are doing some Three Rings work, this week, has a few unusual quirks, including this surprisingly-shit bathroom:

  • The door has a lock… but there’s a second door which doesn’t.
  • Oh, and the first door’s lock doesn’t actually do anything. The door can still be opened from the outside.

Dan Q found GC1DH7W Knipe Scar – On the Edge

This checkin to GC1DH7W Knipe Scar - On the Edge reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A swift uphill scramble for my friend and fellow volunteer John and I, before dinner. We’re staying in a nearby farmhouse for a week of volunteer work, writing software to help charities. Beautiful view from the summit this evening! SL, TNLN, TFTC!

Two white men stand on a windy Lake District hilltop.

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3Camp 2025

I’m off for a week of full-time volunteering with Three Rings at 3Camp, our annual volunteer hack week: bringing together our distributed team for some intensive in-person time, working to make life better for charities around the world.

And if there’s one good thing to come out of me being suddenly and unexpectedly laid-off two days ago, it’s that I’ve got a shiny new laptop to do my voluntary work on (Automattic have said that I can keep it).

Black Macbook Pro whose screen shows a locally-hosted copy of the Three Rings web application, overlaid with a terminal running lazygit.

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