Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Internet maniacs

You must have come across them.

On newsgroups, in forums, chats or communities, there are these people that get obsessed. I mean - really, really obsessed. Some just like to gossip about the other more successful members of the forum or community. They may spread rumors or giggle at the possibility to tarnish someone respecteds reputation. I guess it is kind of human. Don´t let the tree grow too tall or something.

But there are worse that these gossipmongers. There are the real haters. They take everything that others write as an insult, they see every opponent as a mortal enemy.

If you are unlucky, you might end up being on their list of targets. They will hunt you, try to discredit you on different boards, sometimes pretending to be their intended victim and write absurd things in their name. When they get banned, which they always gets, they will return - again and again, spewing out the same hatred filled nonsense.

In the most extreme cases, they will find the real life identity of their targets and cause problems there. They may call your work, email your parents, contact your clubs or organisations. And tell lies.

What they forget is two things:
1 - they are just as easy to find. They forget that the security that they feel that they have behind their keyboards and screens, that the anonymity that they depend on, the anonymity that is the basis for their confidence, is an illusion.

2 - that not everybody is as meak and harmless as they themselves are. There are BAD people out there. People who does not feel any qualms about killing or maiming others. People who has nothing to lose and even people who enjoy hurting other people. So, if you play with them, they may take a terrible revenge.

Yes, I have been attacked by both the gossipers and the haters, and the most absurd of it all - is when I in these situations - try to explain the simple facts that I listed above, THEY feel threathened.

It is kind of ironic.


Often, these obsessed people are called trolls on internet:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/T/troll.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_trolls
http://www.flayme.com/troll/
http://www.jfo.org.uk/info/new/troll.htm
http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm
http://www.themartialist.com/pecom/fieldguidetotrolls.htm
http://www.searchlores.org/trolls.htm


And the more dangerous ones - internet stalkers:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology/cyberstalking/1.html
http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458
http://www.flayme.com/stalker/
http://flaymecom.proboards31.com/index.cgi#stalker
http://www.searchlores.org/stalking.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberstalking


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking
http://www.sociosite.org/cyberstalking_en.php
http://www.wiredsafety.org/cyberstalking_harassment/stalker.html

Hopefully you have been spared the attention of the internet maniacs, so I list some infamous cases, and how they were dealt with:

* Jonathan Barnes, could not take the rejection and turned his ex girlfriends life into hell.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/03/16/cyberstalk060316.html

* Spiro, a stray mongrel following one person around the net.
http://www.flayme.com/stalker/spiro.shtml

* The Zeppo, a spammer who could take the insult of being reported.
http://www.flayme.com/stalker/zeppo.shtml

* Thomas Nordh, a very active swede, from his posts you can learn that he is person on a disability pension, possibly with an imported russian wife, living in the southern suburbs of Stockholm - whos dubious attention I have gotten. He has been banned from most of the prominent forums and discussionboards in Sweden.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.nuke.thomas-nord/msg/a5d406a6f671a4cc
http://groups.google.com/group/swnet.politik/msg/da204cdd7af3e4f8?dmode=source



More information about the illusion of anonymity on internet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy
http://www.informationprivacy.org/
http://www.epic.org/


So, be careful out there.

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