I think you are dramatically overestimating how difficult it was, back in the day, to accidentally or incidentally learn Scott’s full name. I think this is the crux here.
It was extremely easy to find his name, and often people have stories of learning it on accident. I don’t believe it was simple enough that Scott’s plea to not have his name be published in the NYT was invalid, but I do think it was simple enough that an analogy to lockpicking is silly.
I think you are dramatically overestimating how difficult it was, back in the day, to accidentally or incidentally learn Scott’s full name. I think this is the crux here.
It was extremely easy to find his name, and often people have stories of learning it on accident. I don’t believe it was simple enough that Scott’s plea to not have his name be published in the NYT was invalid, but I do think it was simple enough that an analogy to lockpicking is silly.