Your signal can be pinpointed to exactly where you are - I have watched it happen live when investigating fraud when I worked for a mobile phone call centre. bollocks it can. There are plenty of ways to mask an IP address if you have the technical know-how.
I find it interesting that the police can apparently trace someone who “claims” they’re about to commit suicide but there are online pedophile rings all over the world which it seems are impossible to locate with such speed in order to shut them down and catch the perpetrators.
As for the apparent suicide thread, the man sounded like a manipulative arsehole and his ex sounds well rid. and I’m surprised that A, anyone fell for it (not saying he was a troll but definitely a control freak with all his imagining the ex sobbing over his grave bollocks) and B, genuinely thought he was at risk of something. Also why was this thread left to stand when it could have been triggering for others reading it and no-one here has the expertise to deal with suicides. And why have mn hq thus far refused to comment on the situation?
Added to which, for those who claim it’s a good thing, you do realise that this isn’t just about suicide don’t you? Quite apart from the fact that mn isn’t a mental health resource and suicidal threads should be deleted, what about a thread where say, someone is in an abusive relationship and posts here for support in order to gain the strength to leave, will mn be calling the police on the basis it’s a safeguarding risk?
What about someone who lost it as a one off with their kids? Safeguarding risk?
Or what about a situation where an abusive partner wants to have more control over their partner in the access dispute? They create a thread as their partner and claim that they’re abusing the kids, police are notified and bingo, the ex has police intervention for his court reports....
If this is going to become the norm then this is going to remove the source of support for a lot of people who need support in situations which could be perceived as a safeguarding risk in the longer term but where biding one’s time might need to be a consideration.
And while I am generally of the view that the internet is not necessarily an anonymous platform and that posting about your private life publicly always comes at the risk of e.g. being recognised etc, this change in the law to inform the police (who are totally under-resourced as it is) of every possible eventuality is just a step closer to turning the UK into a police state.
That being said, perhaps it will reduce the numbers of DV/suicide/harming the kids trolls that are out there if they think the police are on to them. Would love to have been a fly on the wall when the police turned up to the one yesterday, because I don’t think he was anything like he wanted to portray.