The BNP membership list story is all over the national press today, but online there is another spin to the story as one blogger has taken the list and made a Google Maps mashup of the data. The list was published after it was leaked on various websites and can now found on several including Bittorrent and Wkileaks and is the talk of the blogosphere as well as Twitter where there has also talk of creating a possible mashup using the membership data and postcodes before someone went off and did it.The map created by Ben Charlton, owner of the site Spod.cx, shows with lovely red pins that BNP membership spreads pretty evenly across the UK.
Personally, I haven't checked it. According to a post on his site Charlton says that after finding a copy and checking it "for the obvious odd family members or people you know and think might be members, I thought it'd be cool to make a Google Maps mashup of the data". He extracted the postcodes from the member list and converted them into latitude and longitude co-ordinates and plotted them on the map. Although he makes clear that he's not revealing any of the actual list data and if people want that they have to get it themselves. Likewise.There is no doubt going to be loads more of this as this story runs and runs. It is already on dangerous ground not dissimilar to the Baby P case. In that instance people started Facebook groups targeting the family members of Baby P and defaced the Bebo page of the mother. This could easily happen again as people attack the members of this vile organisation online. As others have already said this data should be taken down before this gets out of hand, which it quickly will powered by mob rule – never the greatest provider of fuel. The BNP should be debated and beaten at the ballot box.
There's an update on this the guy has now taken the map down. Seems like the right move, I know I linked to the post originally, which seemed fair enough as that was where the post originated allowing other people to take a look and make up their own minds.
UpdateI have decided to take down the map. Many people have commented that the map does give a false impression of accuracy, despite my making this clear, and I'm tempted to agree. I do not want to single anybody out and by removing the accuracy from the map it is possible that it ends up incorrectly implying a property contains a BNP member. It has been suggested that an inaccurate map that doesn't make that clear is worse than publishing the list itself, and I think that's a reasonable comment.
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I totally agree Gordon, it's dangerous
Damn - I went to have a look but he's already taken it down. This story is intriguing - esp the spin the BNP are putting on it (ie. 'it's good publicity as it shows that normal people can be members of the BNP' - an argument that doesn't really wash imho)
It was the right decision to take it down. People get very silly very quickly over this kind of stuff.
I have found the entire saga both entertaining and satisfying.
I managed to obtain a list of BNP Members living near me (site now taken down so don't ask for the list!) which I found very useful. As the name suggests it, I am of an ethnic background, as are my family and friends. I've left my egg pelting days behind me now although found the list useful in the sense that I know which houses to avoid when taking the kids trick and treating...
Although it initially didn't bother me what the outcome of these members names and addresses becoming publically available on the world wide web, it now worries me that it could fall into the wrong hands of those who take it one step too far. Safety is a huge issue, particularly for family members, including children, and hope that all traces of the list are found and destroyed sooner rather than later.
Gordon Macmillan
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