[pmarreck]

> I can almost certainly say that the number of bad or creepy uses for an automated email to phone number generating tool massively outweighs the good reasons for having one

Meanwhile, I can almost certainly say that the number of ways to bury your head in the sand instead of simply facing an uncomfortable problem massively outweighs the good reasons for doing so anyway.

A person who is in need of money and lacking in empathy will not fail to use any technique available and it is thus good to know the defenses of that or at least be aware of it.

"Creepy" arguments (appeals to shame or disgust) are fallacies.

Security researcher types are well aware of the good-actor motivations behind white-hat-hackerdom. Is it wrong that I can buy a book on lockpicking? Would I be seen by some as a bad parent if I taught it to my kid when he expressed curiosity about it?

[SpaceLawnmower]

I think knowing that this is a vulnerability is fine. The tool is what I take issue with.

I mean creepy as in a violation of a right to privacy. I don't consent to you knowing my phone number or any PII I put into private websites.

It's a lot easier to get caught lockpicking and it has some legitimate uses. This is like more like an autopicking machine imo.