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.

Forum forum forum

Are you like me?

That you go to various forums on the internet - and mainly read, but sometimes you register and then start writing?

I think forums are an excellent form of communication. It is somewhere between blogging and chatting, and doesn´t need any big procedure for an user to start using. Just register and then you say your opinion.

Now, as I mentioned in my first post in this blog - I frequent two forums more than any other:

Flashback: An once underground forum that has become one of the biggest and broadest in Sweden. The main theme is freedom of expression. You have a right to say your opinion.
As long as any laws are not broken.
http://forum.flashback.info/scandinavia/ - Swedish Original
http://forum.flashback.info/english/ - International

RB-forum: A small off-topic forum where a small group of friends talk about our lives and sometimes comes into more serious topics. But this is not the place to discuss world hunger or politics. Just chill and enjoy. This is only in Swedish.
http://ruskigbuss.suddenlaunch.com

Other forums that I am registered at are:

Above Top Secret: A huge general purpose forum - but inclined to conspiracy and politics, but also science and more or less looney threads. International crowd, but lots of Americans.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/

And then there are a few that I visit in my capacity as an IT-consultant, but I save that for another post.

Now I going to fix myself another drink! Cheers!

Introduction

So, I finally caved in - and set up my own blog.

Now, this is something I am doing in the middle of the night, instead of doing what I am supposed to do - and the reason I got up in the middle of the night, and that is to finish a project I have been having hanging over my head for six months now.

Anyway, I am an (younger) middleaged guy that is working as a computer nerd for the last twenty years. I am short, fat and ugly - so I am all yours girls. I also used to have glasses but that I took care of a couple of years ago - by doing laser surgery on them. Best thing I ever done.

Right now I am sort of out of a relationship, I managed to scare my cohabitual girlfriend away to another country. Ok, she said something about taking care of her fathers business since he is getting old, but I don´t know. Well, we talk every other week on the phone, and she has been back a couple of times, but basically I consider myself single.

I am not living with any animals either, other than the occasional bug and housefly, but I am used to living with cats. I grew up with cats, and I hade a cat friend living with me for 13 years. He was really belonging to my then girlfriend, but when we split up - he choose to stay with me. I will probably post some pictures of him at some time.

I am also kind of out of work, although I am as busy as ever. I have started my own little company, which is basically only for tax purposes and since Sweden is well known for its very low taxes - you can imagine how well that goes. I am also partly hired for another company to do the interface of their system - and I usually pops in there three or four days a week. But, I am now looking for a little better situation - that is - I would like to have a regular paycheck.

What I do best is working with databases, interface design and I am sold to the devil, that is - I am mostly using the tools that Bill Gates has put out. Nothing wrong with other companies - but I choose that path. And Adobes Photoshop of course.

At the little spare time I have - I sleep - and then I frequent these forums that has a space for opinionated people like me. The two major ones I go to - is my own - where me and a small select group of nice people chat around various subject - this is the link I have as my homepage - and it is all in Swedish. The other one is also a major Swedish forum called Flashback, which also is now starting its International version. You will find me on both. On the swedish one I am also one of 40 moderators.

Other than that I read books and listen to music. Once in a while I go out on a binge. Been a while now, though.

That is it. I better start to finish that pesky project before the customer drives to my home and holds a gun to my head.

Links
My profile on the Swedish Flashback
My profile on the International Flashback