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EJ711: I think the root cause of the situation is an unwise decision by the man who posted such personal info.

Yes and no. For example, if he did place that ad, is he also responsible for posting it on the internet? Maybe he placed it in some small town backwoods newspaper with no idea that it would ever end up on the net at some point.

Meanwhile, he goes on the net himself and creates a few webpages trying to promote himself or his product or whatever he does -- millions of other people do the same thing every day. Weeks, months or years later, someone links one thing to another and his reputation -- justly or unjustly -- suffers as a result. Again, bear in mind that we don't know if the ad is authentic or if the individual identified is truly "paranoid schizophrenic."

This situation is but one example of how things can go badly in an online environment -- not only for the individual who has been targeted but also for the individuals who have posted the information. I don't believe their actions were driven by maliciousness, nonetheless, damage has been done and they are also potentially at risk for harm (i.e. for all they know, the individual they identified has four lawyers in the family).

The rest of us can learn from this experience as well. Always be aware that you can control what you say in the online environment; you can seldom control who reads what you say.

Here's a little lesson right here in online safety. Go to your favorite search engine and type your name in, within quotations, like this: "John Doe". Investigate whatever comes up. Is any of it personally revealing? Could it harm you or another? There are numerous websites out there that can teach you more on personal safety in the online environment. If you're a novice, educate yourself. And if you're going to identify people by name on the internet, do be aware of the risks of that too.