The following newsletter was sent to the membership of The Mudflats Forum.  It is posted here with permission.   Far more postings have occurred on the ‘net since the newsletter went out.  The links  listed are only a few.–C

Hi everyone,

You may recall that some time ago Rep Mike Doogan was sending some crazy emails to people who emailed him and AKMuckraker was one of the bloggers involved in exposing his craziness.

Apparently this did not sit well with Rep Doogan. He has been trying to find out who AKMuckraker was for several months now and he has finally managed to do it. He then sent out a message to people on his mailing list via his official legislative newsletter, advising them of the real name of AKMuckraker.

Whether or not people support AKMuckrakers opinions, it seems most people support her right to remain anonymous. We feel it is a right that everyone on the internet is entitled to – people make the decision for their own reasons, some because they have been cyber stalked in the past, some to prevent being cyber-stalked in the future.

This may be the first known case of an anonymous blogger being cyber-stalked by a politician determined to find out their real identity and out them, though!

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/03/27/in-exposing-the-identity-of-mudflats-rep-mike-doogan-exposes-himself/

We are not certain at this stage but it is possible that Rep Doogan has broken the law, and there may be legal action that AKMuckraker can take. Whether or not AKMuckraker chooses to do that is another question and one I am sure she will consider this carefully over the coming days.

You can read posts from bloggers on this subject via the following links –
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/03/mike-doogan-outs-mudflats.html
http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/my-friend-mudflats/
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2009/03/you-know-difference-between-rep-mike.html
http://mamadance.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/a-sad-day-mudflats-is-changed-forever/
http://palingates.blogspot.com/2009/03/doogan-broke-federal-law-by-outing.html
http://www.thinkalaska.com/2009/03/rep-mike-doogans-missuse-of-legislative.html
http://werenotthatstupid.blogspot.com/2009/03/epic-failmike-doogan-plays-god.html

We also have a thread on this on the forums, where you can feel free to add your comments.

http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,6675.0.html

Updates and possible calls for action will be posted in that thread, so make sure to check it regularly.. We will also try and keep up with links to posts on the subject – and possibly media stories.

You may find it difficult to access the mudflats blog and forums over the next few days – especially if the mainstream media pick up this story – until we move them to a server with a larger capacity. This will cost us around $200 a month but we feel that the demand for accessing the sites over the next few weeks will make it difficult for the usual mudflats readers to keep up to date, so we are biting the bullet and hoping that people will assist with donations.

You can donate to AKMuckraker via the paypal buttons found on both the blog and the forums.

You can also email messages of support to AKMuckraker at akmuckraker@yahoo.com – be aware that a lot of people are doing so at the moment so you may not get a reply but we feel it is important to let AKMuckraker know that she is supported.

Regards,
Snoskred
On behalf of The Mudflats Team.

http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php

This email is being sent to all members of The Mudflats forums, even if you have chosen not to receive announcements. We apologise if you did not wish to receive it. We felt this was important news that all would want to be alerted to.

AKMuckraker, the anonymous blogger who was one of the first to discuss Sarah Palin’s weaknesses as both a governor and a vice-presidential candidate, has been outed by an Alaskan Representative (D), Mike Doogan, in what appears to be an act of revenge.  AKM is a progressive and registered as a Democrat.

You’ll note in the contact information below that Doogan is also a Democrat. AKM calls things as AKM sees them without respect to party. What may have initially wedged Doogan’s britches was criticism about email etiquette. (No. I’m not kidding – as AKM might say – you can’t make this stuff up.)  AKM’s post about email etiquette is here.  AKM has posted initial thoughts on the outing.  There are some difficulties accessing the site due to the high volume of traffic.

As an active participant in The Mudflats community, as a person with strong feelings about the right to express a personal opinion, and as a semi-anonymous blogger, I’m outraged.

Here’s what AKM had to say about posting anonymously in her response to the outing:

It said in my “About” page that I choose to remain anonymous.  I didn’t tell anyone why.  I might be a state employee.  I might not want my children to get grief at school.  I might be fleeing from an ex-partner who was abusive and would rather he not know where I am.  My family might not want to talk to me anymore.  I might alienate my best friend.  Maybe I don’t feel like having a brick thrown through my window.  My spouse might work for the Palin administration.  Maybe I’d just rather people not know where I live or where I work.  Or none of those things may be true.  None of my readers, nor Mike Doogan had any idea what my personal circumstances might be.  But that didn’t seem to matter.

Shannyn Moore, another Alaskan blogger, has expressed her thoughts on the matter .

Please feel free to contact Representative Doogan:

Mike Doogan: CONTACT ME
Ph: (907) 465-4998
Or (800) 689-4998
Fax: (907) 465-4419
doogan@akdemocrats.org
Representative_Mike_Doogan@legis.state.ak.us

Be forewarned, he doesn’t believe there is any such thing as email etiquette. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I should state that I’m one of the volunteer moderators/administrators of The Mudflats Forum which is the community associated with the blog.  I didn’t know who AKM was even though we chat now and again. 

I have lots of reasons for maintaining my anonymity on the ‘net and ain’t nary a one of them anyone’s business, but my own.  This whole thing stinks to high heaven and even more so in consideration of the abuse of power.

W. Va. Fur and Root: edited for clarity and to clean up links.