I had Jane email me for details on an anecdote I posted here, but I responded and she was polite, totally above board and ethical, so I'm surprised by your story.

I HAVE been spammed by OTHER WSJ reporters who are "trawling" for stories and they -- not Jane -- have been very rude. They didn't offer the courtesy of a personal response. In one case the reporter requested a bunch of anecdotal, "tip"-style information which took me an hour to assemble -- then ignored it.

It made me sorry I once defended journalists who work this way.

Clearly numerous WSJ reporters, mostly from the "Marketplace" and "Weekend" sections, cruise these boards looking for "color" (anecdotes, personal examples, etc.) they can stir into their stories without making any real effort. As a former reporter myself, I can tell you one of the hardest parts of the job is finding credible, suitable "real people" who personify a point you're trying to make. Flyertalk is teeming with great examples -- so it must look like a great labor-saver.

But the WSJ staff is using us on the assumption that we'll be thrilled to get our names in the paper. This sort of journalism may not be legally or ethically wrong, but it's lazy and shouldn't be rewarded by us.

yyz-den, you conceivably could write to Joanne Lipman, editor-in-chief of the "Weekend" section, or Jonathan Dahl, the editor, if you felt your privacy was violated.