The sell-out that wrote that letter btw is this guy:
I don't think it's a good idea to post someone's personal information in such a flippant way. He's not a public official and the whole point here is to witch hunt him. It comes up with his name, phone number and email address.
He's a lobbyist. Every interaction he has with the government is a matter of public record. If he felt he didn't want that information public then he shouldn't be a lobbyist.
Posting the document is fine. Posting a link to his contact page while calling him a sellout is probably overstepping. The sole reason for posting the second link is to say "Look at this person. Isn't he horrible? Here's his name, phone number and email address."
HN is almost a top-500 website by traffic. A lot of people come here. How likely is it that people here will start harassing him just because it's easy? His info is right there.
If posting the document is fine - which you didn't read - then posting a link to his corporate bio is fine. It is in the effing document. It is already public record.
I'm well aware. There's a major distinction between someone's info being in a document vs linking to his info with "This guy is a sellout:"
This post is currently #1 on HN. The comment is the top comment. That means all of HN's traffic that reads comments is going to that person's contact info.
If you don't agree, just downvote and move on. Personal swipes are unnecessary.
I have to admit, this is some top-level concern trolling.
Judging by his public record, the guy is a sellout, and it is 100% OK to call him out as such. If he didn't want his contact info to be public, he should not have put it online. Since he did, it is, again, 100% OK for people to link to it. That's the entire friggin purpose of a contact page!
The parent didn't call you a concern troll, though. They said "this is some top-level concern trolling". Criticizing behaviour is not the same thing as name calling or personal swipes.
No one is calling his house, contacting his spouse or kids. His work email, phone number, and address are publicly accessible. This goes with the territory of being a lobbyist.
Doxxing is a toxic problem on the internet. However this is not really his "personal" information. It's his professional contact information, which he publishes freely, and uses to attempt to persuade government officials. Contacting him professionally and non-aggressively is a perfectly fine thing to do.
Whatever information is at that public link is info posted by the guy or his employer. It's not doxxing him. It's merely linking to a public webpage that the person themselves approved.
I don't think it's a good idea to post someone's personal information in such a flippant way. He's not a public official and the whole point here is to witch hunt him. It comes up with his name, phone number and email address.