One of the first documented doxing events was the publication of a 'Blacklist of Net.Nazis and Sandlot Bullies' which listed names, email addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses of individuals the author objected to. Outside of hacker communities, the first prominent examples of doxing took place on internet discussion forums on Usenet in the late 1990s, including users circulating lists of suspected neo-nazis. Ĭonsequently, doxing often comes with a negative connotation because it can be a means of revenge via the violation of privacy. Hackers operating outside the law in that era used the breach of an opponent's anonymity as a means to expose opponents to harassment or legal repercussions. The term dox derives from the slang 'dropping dox,' which, according to a contributor to Wired, Mat Honan, was 'an old-school revenge tactic that emerged from hacker culture in 1990s'. Essentially, doxing is revealing and publicizing the records of an individual, which were previously private or difficult to obtain. It originates from a spelling alteration of the abbreviation 'docs' (for 'documents') and refers to 'compiling and releasing a dossier of personal information on someone'. Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity
