Internet Harassment

[Angeline]

For the past few months, one of you has been harassed by another member of the community. During that time I thought it was only one of you and, because I know something of the personal circumstances of the "harasser," I've tried to handle it discreetly by talking to that person privately and asking the person receiving the hate mail (and any of you who were offended by things the harasser said in posts here on the forum) to use the ignore function, which is our primary way of dealing with these situations. I've also respected the wishes of the person who is the primary object of all this to not report what has been happening. I know we've both hoped that ignoring it would let it eventually calm down.

Clearly that has not happened. If anything, the harassment has continued and is now happening to another person here. I now have reason to believe that other members of this poetry community are also receiving "hate mail," all from the same person.

First off, I apologize to you all for not acting sooner. I really had hoped this could be resolved without taking other action. In my many years here, I've never had to deal with such a difficult situation. But I wanted to apologize for letting it drag on so long and tell you that it will end now. At least I will do everything I can to ensure it does.

Internet harassment or "cyberstalking" is a federal crime. Our forum rules explicitly state that no one should threaten anyone else here. Let me quote from the online authority on this, WiredSafety.org to clarify what such harassment entails:

There are different ways to define cyberstalking

One way to define it is to see how the Law defines it (check out our legal discussion of cyberstalking laws and offline stalking laws). We would like to begin, however, by defining "Cyberstalking" from the point of view of the target's (victim's) experience.

When identifying cyberstalking "in the field" , particularly when considering whether to report it to any kind of legal authority, the following features or combinations of features can be considered to characterize a true stalking situation:

Malice
Premeditation
Repetition
Distress
Obsession
Vendetta
No Legitimate Purpose
Personally Directed
Disregarded Warnings to Stop
Harassment
Threats

Malice
Malice means: the desire and intention to terrorize and hurt you. Much cyberstalking is malicious in nature. Malice is usually indicated by the presence and communication of clear and direct threats made against you by the harasser.

Not all cyberstalking however is malicious. In cases of "love obsession" cyberstalking for example, the stalker has no visible intent to harm you, and while their behavior may cause you great distress, they do not necessarily realize that they are doing so, since they are often lost in a fantasy world where they believe you are secretly in love with them.

Other forms of online harassment are also not necessarily malicious. Some online harassment takes the forms of practical jokes at your expense, and while this may be unpleasant and cause you great inconvenience, annoyance, fear or distress, the harasser may not have intended to cause you harm.


Premeditation
Premeditation means: the presence of planning and organization.

Not all harassment is premeditated. Some may be the result of a sudden emotional outburst, where someone loses their temper with you and lashes out at you electronically. This may indeed cause you distress but could not be called premeditated, since the attack was sudden and not planned.

Some kinds of harassment can be set in motion instantly and without preparation. Others take time to prepare. Some require the setting up and use of special hostile computer attack programs. Others may require extensive research into your personal information on the Internet. The nature of the harassment you are experiencing will often tell you if you are dealing with a premeditated attack or an unplanned passionate outburst.


Repetition
Repetition means: the harassment is not just a single isolated incident.

Repetition is a key feature of online stalking. A one off attack online, while it may cause you distress, could not be described as cyberstalking. Cyberstalking is a course of conduct that takes place over a period of time and involves repeated attempts to cause you distress. Some laws even define it as involving two or more incidents and following a repetitive pattern.

Distress
Distress means: the activity causes fear and distress to you the target.

You could not claim cyberstalking or even online harassment if you do not feel distressed in some way. Distress can take many forms, from annoyance, offense, inconvenience and humiliation to worry and fear for your safety. The presence of fear is an important of characteristic cyberstalking.

You also need to be careful that you are yourself not overreacting. In legal terms, stalking is usually defined as a course of conduct that causes a "reasonable person" to be in distress. You may react in a paranoid or hysterical way to something that is said or done online, but you can not claim cyberstalking unless you can also show that your reaction is "reasonable", i.e., that any other reasonable person would react in the same way.

To show a court that you suffered distress as a result of online stalking you really need the testimony of expert witnesses - these could be your doctor or counselor who you went to for help or medication concerning the incident. If you don't go for medical help regarding your distress then expect the stalkers lawyer to suggest to the court that you were not really that distressed at all.

Obsession
Obsession means: the stalker cannot stop, despite warnings.

To establish this behavior you would need to have given a very clear warning to the harasser to leave you alone. Obsessive behavior is common both in hate vendettas against you and also in what is known as "love obsession" stalking, where the stalker believes themselves to be in love with their target. For love obsession stalkers your "NO" means "YES".

It is a common occurrence for stalkers to violate restraining orders and probation, or even lose their jobs, to continue stalking the object of their obsession.

Vendetta
Vendetta means: the stalker seeks revenge against you.

Hate vendettas are a common cause of harassment online. Stalkers and harassers often convince themselves that you have deserved their hostile attention and that they are in the right. They often persuade themselves that you have committed a great wrong and that they are in the position of avenger, punishing you for your crimes. Revenge may be sought for no reasonable offense at all.

No Legitimate Purpose
No legitimate purpose means: the harassment has no valid purpose, other than to terrorize you and cause you distress.

Some stalkers persuade themselves that they have just cause to harass you, usually on the grounds that you deserve to be punished for some wrong they claim you have committed. Other stalkers have no announced purpose other than to make you suffer. In either case the stalking serves no legitimate purpose.

If however you started the problem by attacking someone else online, and now they are after you for revenge, then your original and unprovoked attack could be used in court to show that the stalker had a legitimate purpose in harassing you.

Personally Directed
Personal means: the harassment is directed at YOU personally.

General attacks on groups, companies online or chat channels could not be called stalking. Stalking means you and you alone are the target.

Disregarded Warnings To Stop
Disregarded warnings to stop means: that you have given a clear and direct warning to the stalker to stop, and the stalker ignores your clear warning.

You cannot claim that you are being stalked online if you have never said "Leave me alone" to the stalker. One standard defense used by stalkers in court is to claim that you were encouraging their attentions, and that you never said "NO".

Harassment
Stalking on or offline involves "harassment". We can summarize "harassment" by quoting from two US State Statutes - one from California and one from Michigan:

California defines Harassment as: ...a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, torments, or terrorizes the person, and that serves no legitimate purpose. This course of conduct must be such as would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and must actually cause substantial emotional distress to the person.

While Michigan defines Harassment as: ...conduct directed toward a victim that includes, but is not limited to, repeated or continuing unconsented contact, that would cause a reasonable individual to suffer emotional distress, and that actually causes the victim to suffer emotional distress.

Threats
A threat means: a statement of intent made in order to place a person in reasonable fear for his or her physical safety. Most of the online stalking cases we have dealt with involve threats made against the target.

Some laws refer to "credible threats" - meaning that the threat must be one that the target believes the stalker to be capable of carrying out.

If any of you have been receving pm's, emails, comments or anonymous feedback that meets any of the criteria described above, you need to do two things: 1) tell the person (if it isn't anonymous) to stop, and 2) report the abuse to Laurel by forwarding it to her in a pm. She'll be able to track the sender's ISP address and take action from there, most likely revoking the account of the person doing the harrassment.

Again, I apologize to you all for any hurt you've had to suffer because of this. If you're not sure that something you've received constitutes harassment, send it to Laurel anyway: she'll then be able to read it and make the determination. If you have any questions or other comments about this, feel free to contact me, Eve or Lauren and we'll do our best to help you.

 

[WickedEve]

Moderators don't have much power to do anything, but we can talk to Laurel on behalf of anyone here. They need to also contact Laurel. I'm like you, I've never had to deal with this and not sure what happens in this case.
Ange, you're a good woman.

 

[Angeline]

Moderators don't have much power to do anything, but we can talk to Laurel on behalf of anyone here. They need to also contact Laurel. I'm like you, I've never had to deal with this and not sure what happens in this case.
Ange, you're a good woman.

So are you, you Serpente thingy, you.

So here's the deal, I talked with Laurel. She tells me that in her ten years here (Happy Anniversary, Laurel!), bans have never really worked because people can come back in under new user names with new ISPs. The only thing that works is ignore. If everyone just puts the person trolling them on ignore as soon as they get something objectionable from them, and continues doing so every time they do it under a new name AND immediately deletes any objectionable comments the person leaves on poems. they will eventually leave people alone. Laurel pointed out a case to me of someone (I remember) who bugged people on the GB for years. It went on and on because people kept responding. And when they finally stopped responding and treated the person as if he were invisible, it finally ended. This is a true story. Ended about three years ago, and he hasn't been back since. And for those of you who remember a few of the trolls we've had here like that CU guy (there have been other memorable ones), they left when they were totally ignored.

So this is it for me and the person in question. I've already written to her privately and told her I can't deal with this anymore. Told her if my friendship has meant anything to her lo these many years, she should just cease and desist. And if she can't or won't, you'll all have to do your individual parts and not engage with her.

And continue focusing on poetry.

 

[Angeline]

So are you, you Serpente thingy, you.

So here's the deal, I talked with Laurel. She tells me that in her ten years here (Happy Anniversary, Laurel!), bans have never really worked because people can come back in under new user names with new ISPs. The only thing that works is ignore. If everyone just puts the person trolling them on ignore as soon as they get something objectionable from them, and continues doing so every time they do it under a new name AND immediately deletes any objectionable comments the person leaves on poems. they will eventually leave people alone. Laurel pointed out a case to me of someone (I remember) who bugged people on the GB for years. It went on and on because people kept responding. And when they finally stopped responding and treating the person as if he were invisible, it finally ended. This is a true story. Ended about three years ago, and he hasn't been back since. And for those of you who remember a few of the trolls we've had here like that CU guy (there have been other memorable ones), they left when they were totally ignored.

So this is it for me and the person in question. I've already written to her privately and told her I can't deal with this anymore. Told her if my friendship has meant anything to her lo these many years, she should just cease and desist. And if she can't or won't, you'll all have to do your individual parts and not engage with her.

And continue focusing on poetry.

Of course you're welcome to pursue it however you want outside Lit, but within Lit, that is the way it will be handled. If any of you want to contact Laurel and/or Manu for further illumination of this, feel free. I've done everything I can at this point.

 

[champagne1982]

I only hope that the emotional turmoil that must be exhausting to many people who post to this forum soon settles. It's not fun nor conducive to creativity to always come to a place where you find messages that elevate your breathing and heart rate to uncomfortable levels.

Believe me, I know what it feels like to experience high level anxiety and its after-effect on health and spirit. I don't wish that on anyone. Be kind and safe, everyone. Life is tough enough to live without making it impossible to find a place of comfort.

Thanks for taking the time to research the valuable information here, Ang. It must have been tough going. Get ee to give you a big ol' hug from me and while he's doing that, you can squeeze him back.

 

[WickedEve]

So are you, you Serpente thingy, you.

So here's the deal, I talked with Laurel. She tells me that in her ten years here (Happy Anniversary, Laurel!), bans have never really worked because people can come back in under new user names with new ISPs. The only thing that works is ignore. If everyone just puts the person trolling them on ignore as soon as they get something objectionable from them, and continues doing so every time they do it under a new name AND immediately deletes any objectionable comments the person leaves on poems. they will eventually leave people alone. Laurel pointed out a case to me of someone (I remember) who bugged people on the GB for years. It went on and on because people kept responding. And when they finally stopped responding and treated the person as if he were invisible, it finally ended. This is a true story. Ended about three years ago, and he hasn't been back since. And for those of you who remember a few of the trolls we've had here like that CU guy (there have been other memorable ones), they left when they were totally ignored.

So this is it for me and the person in question. I've already written to her privately and told her I can't deal with this anymore. Told her if my friendship has meant anything to her lo these many years, she should just cease and desist. And if she can't or won't, you'll all have to do your individual parts and not engage with her.

And continue focusing on poetry.

We have had problem posters in the past. I remember back in '01 or '02 there was someone who signed up a bunch of alts that were similar to posters' names, like my name. Then he/she pretended to be other people. It was mostly silly and annoying. We've all been trolled. Some trolls take it too far. I'm pretty good at ignoring trolls. When you do, like you said, they move on. I've gotten rude emails. I just delete them. I've been hounded in public comments, on the boards, etc. As long as someone doesn't get my phone number and call me (it's unlisted, by the way) then I'm pretty much tolerant of everything else.

I know of one person who is having problems here but not the other one. And I know who is harassing. So to the "harasser" please stop. You know I care about you. If this place is too stressful for you, then just turn of the computer and get some fresh air. Things will improve. There's no need for any of us to ever act this way, especially on a poetry forum. I mean... it's a poetry forum. Poetry...

 

[WickedEve]

Of course you're welcome to pursue it however you want outside Lit, but within Lit, that is the way it will be handled. If any of you want to contact Laurel and/or Manu for further illumination of this, feel free. I've done everything I can at this point.

You've done a lot. Your best advice was to ignore. This goes for everyone. If you ignore a troll, harasser, whatever label you choice, then that person will usually burn out pretty quickly and move on or straighten up. I always try to consider where the person is coming from and I usually decide that their life isn't going as well as mine at the moment. So God bless them and let's hope they find some peace.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

I am thinking very hard about this thread, and I'm going to be quiet until I figure out exactly what, if anything to say.

except this:

looking at that list, I'm pretty much batting a thousand. And the whole "ignore it and it will go away" policy has been in place for a year now. Hasn't worked so far. Only in the last month, which is round number four by my calculations, have I decided to actually get up on my hind legs about it and NOT ignore it any more. Obviously ignoring doesn't work in every case.

thanks, very much, for the work you're doing. I'm thinking. And I'm grateful.

bj

 

[WickedEve]

A year? I'm really sorry that it's that serious. But maybe now that this person sees it's being taken very seriously and the fact that "Internet harassment or cyberstalking is a federal crime" she'll back off. I would think that would be enough to deter someone. If you can't do much on the literotica level, then take it a step further and let her know that's what you're willing to do.

As far as any rude/harassing posts on the forum, I just hope you all refuse to respond. I still think that should help some. I was looking around the hangout recently and saw some posts from a possible alt. Even though she denied it when you replied, I'm sure it was her. Your responses will continue to encourage her, unfortunately.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I'm the other person and that sort of vitriol is hard to ignore when the content is diliberately aimed at personal things in ones past life. I have told the sender to lay off or I will take it further.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

A year? I'm really sorry that it's that serious. But maybe now that this person sees it's being taken very seriously and the fact that "Internet harassment or cyberstalking is a federal crime" she'll back off. I would think that would be enough to deter someone. If you can't do much on the literotica level, then take it a step further and let her know that's what you're willing to do.

As far as any rude/harassing posts on the forum, I just hope you all refuse to respond. I still think that should help some. I was looking around the hangout recently and saw some posts from a possible alt. Even though she denied it when you replied, I'm sure it was her. Your responses will continue to encourage her, unfortunately.

I hear you, I really do.

However, NOT responding didn't do me any good. Hasn't. At all. Even a little. For a long time. In fact, not responding seems to have made it somewhat worse. I'm not sure why that is, except that she has up til this point been able to count on coming in here and getting lots of wonderful support from everyone but me, while I busy myself not responding. That's obviously not solving the problem.

So I think that while in general, the advice to ignore is good, it has been proven to absolutely not work in this particular case.

bj

 

[unpredictablebijou]

from the first post here:

I've also respected the wishes of the person who is the primary object of all this to not report what has been happening. I know we've both hoped that ignoring it would let it eventually calm down.

for the record:

I have never asked for it not to be reported. In fact, I just assumed that "we really can't do anything so just ignore it" meant "we really can't do anything so just ignore it." If in fact there had been a way to report it in such a way that would make it stop, or at least make a difference somehow, I would have been all about that.

just to clarify.

bj

 

[WickedEve]

I hear you, I really do.

However, NOT responding didn't do me any good. Hasn't. At all. Even a little. For a long time. In fact, not responding seems to have made it somewhat worse. I'm not sure why that is, except that she has up til this point been able to count on coming in here and getting lots of wonderful support from everyone but me, while I busy myself not responding. That's obviously not solving the problem.

So I think that while in general, the advice to ignore is good, it has been proven to absolutely not work in this particular case.

bj

Well, damn. I'm use to people eventually getting over whatever it is and moving on. This sounds like obsession. And that's scary. I really didn't know it was that bad. I'm hoping that maybe this thread Ange started and all of us discussing this on the thread will help. Maybe she'll read it and... who knows.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

It is obsession Eve and it has been going on a long while and because it has got brushed under the carpet she thinks she has carte blanche to keep it going. Also my betting is she is reading all this and wondering what she can do next. Well there better not be anymore nasties waiting in my PM box.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

I'm going to have some trouble with a few of the requirements here. Problem is that since because I was told to ignore the harassment, I did not a. copy her posts into new posts in order to document them (because theoretically doing so would 'make it worse' and not be ignoring her, so those posts are now mostly erased) and b. actually tell her to stop, since that hardly constitutes ignoring her.

I can at least do the latter, formally and in public at this point, just so that requirement, at least, has been satisfied.

Julie, whose known alts are as follows but not limited to: normal jean, maria2394, ghost_girl, emma_tate, and Tangerine Sex Dream,

Stop Harassing Me. No more PMs, no more public posts. Have no further contact with me. This is a formal and legal request.


There. At least I've done that.

bj

 

[WickedEve]

So this is it for me and the person in question. I've already written to her privately and told her I can't deal with this anymore. Told her if my friendship has meant anything to her lo these many years, she should just cease and desist. And if she can't or won't, you'll all have to do your individual parts and not engage with her.

Sadly, after what I've read on this thread, I will do my part not to communicate with her or support her in any way -- unless she fully ends this.

 

[the Snood]

What in the Blue Hell...?!?

Am I to understand that it's been known for some time that what "a certain individual" has been doing is a Federal offense and that nonetheless no action was taken?

This has not been a victim-less crime, as will be redily apparent to anyone whose IQ is better than room temperature in an igloo. While I might wink at an adult growing cannabis for their own consumption, having sex without marriage more than once with the same partner in Virginia et cetera, if I see someone sticking up an S&L I'm bloody well going to mention it to somebody in a position of authority.

While I've not sent this "certain person" any nastigrams over her unbridled ugliness of behaviour, I have attempted to console the "primary recipient" of her malice. I can also state with unimpeachable certainty that at no time has she made noises at the Powers that Be to the effect that they should not go after this hate monger.

I myself have received some serious nastiness from this person, and have countered with logic and have sometimes received an apology, but nonetheless would have preferred to have recourse available other than turning the other cheek or blocking senders.

Indeed, when "the primary recipient" has asked for help of those same Powers, on the reasonable supposition that the moderators were lurking about for purposes other than (or at least in addition to) shattering the forums and then rearranging the pretty pieces, she has been counseled that she should simply ignore the problem.

Unless everyone ignores said problem, or at least noone quotes same, then the "primary recipient" will still receive - and has.

However, now that I know that the law has been flouted by the Powers that thrice-cursed Be rather than this miscreant being reported to the proper authorities and removed from our collective presence, I am more than a little put out.

The personal circumstances and mental fucked-uppedness of the perpetrator notwithstanding, those who bear responsibility and accountability for our collective wellbeing should have been a little more assiduous about doing the Right Thing.

I, for instance, am an electrical engineer. If I screw off on the job, a building might burn down and a thousand people die. That's what being an engineer is.

Might I humbly suggest that any other job, however different but still worth doing, is worth doing equally well?

A VERY pissed-off Snood

 

[UnderYourSpell]

It's not the moderators who have the last say unfortunately

 

[WickedEve]

Am I to understand that it's been known for some time that what "a certain individual" has been doing is a Federal offense and that nonetheless no action was taken?

This has not been a victim-less crime, as will be redily apparent to anyone whose IQ is better than room temperature in an igloo. While I might wink at an adult growing cannabis for their own consumption, having sex without marriage more than once with the same partner in Virginia et cetera, if I see someone sticking up an S&L I'm bloody well going to mention it to somebody in a position of authority.

While I've not sent this "certain person" any nastigrams over her unbridled ugliness of behaviour, I have attempted to console the "primary recipient" of her malice. I can also state with unimpeachable certainty that at no time has she made noises at the Powers that Be to the effect that they should not go after this hate monger.

I myself have received some serious nastiness from this person, and have countered with logic and have sometimes received an apology, but nonetheless would have preferred to have recourse available other than turning the other cheek or blocking senders.

Indeed, when "the primary recipient" has asked for help of those same Powers, on the reasonable supposition that the moderators were lurking about for purposes other than (or at least in addition to) shattering the forums and then rearranging the pretty pieces, she has been counseled that she should simply ignore the problem. And you bring up the subforum, the hangout, why? It's a subforum. It's here. Get over it. It's not going anywhere. Mention it again and again to... stir up something? By the way, a moderator on a poetry forum has limited power to do a damn thing. We can only do what bijou can do. We can PM the owners. We can try to talk to the person causing all the grief. That's about it. I already posted that I would not communicate with or support her. That's about all that's left for me to do but I'm willing to consider any suggestions offered. I was only contacted by PM once about this whole thing. And that was recently. If I'm wrong, bijou, correct me. I'm sure it was once, right? So now that I'm becoming aware how difficult things have been, I'm trying to help in some way. Angeline has already tried. Like I said, we don't have a lot of power. We're just volunteers that Laurel trusts to remove spam and do a few other things on a poetry forum. Now, is this going to turn into the same crap the hangout turned into? Isn't this suppose to be about bij and her problem and what can be done about it, or how to support her? Or is this going to be all about how pissed off you are at the mods, the hangout, and whatever else? Huh?

Unless everyone ignores said problem, or at least noone quotes same, then the "primary recipient" will still receive - and has.

However, now that I know that the law has been flouted by the Powers that thrice-cursed Be rather than this miscreant being reported to the proper authorities and removed from our collective presence, I am more than a little put out.

The personal circumstances and mental fucked-uppedness of the perpetrator notwithstanding, those who bear responsibility and accountability for our collective wellbeing should have been a little more assiduous about doing the Right Thing.

I, for instance, am an electrical engineer. If I screw off on the job, a building might burn down and a thousand people die. That's what being an engineer is.

Might I humbly suggest that any other job, however different but still worth doing, is worth doing equally well?

 

[WickedEve]

It's not the moderators who have the last say unfortunately

Sweetie, we don't have any say. Something like this has to be handled by the owners, or... I really don't know who you go to or where you go next. I'm just shocked it's turned into this. I've never seen this happen before -- not on this level. I don't even think I'm allowed to move her posts, unless she posts personal info, underage content, etc. This site is all about freedom of speech, no matter how upsetting it may be.

 

[the Snood]

Moderators should, however, moderate. That includes stern warnings to those who misbehave.

If she'd posted puppy^H^H^H^H^H porn^H^H^H^H then you can bet your sweet bippie they'd have taken her to task.

Further, they have the ears of the sysops, who can in turn kick her off the boards and/or initiate legal action.

Were she threatening to blow up a bus, again a call would've been made.

This whole sorry episode has been a streling failure on the part of those in a position of authority to use their superpowers for the good of Metropolis.

Snood

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Sweetie, we don't have any say. Something like this has to be handled by the owners, or... I really don't know who you go to or where you go next. I'm just shocked it's turned into this. I've never seen this happen before -- not on this level. I don't even think I'm allowed to move her posts, unless she posts personal info, underage content, etc. This site is all about freedom of speech, no matter how upsetting it may be.

I know you don't that's why I was making sure it wasn't misunderstood that you did, Snood dear I know you thought you were hitting out at the right people but honestly the moderators have been trying to end this but they have no authority to do so anymore than you or I do. It is NOT their fault

 

[the Snood]

And you bring up the subforum, the hangout, why? It's a subforum. It's here. Get over it. It's not going anywhere. Mention it again and again to... stir up something?

Actually, it's the first I've ever mentioned it. Further, the only reason I did mention it is that it's the only "official" action I've ever seen taken around here and I was in need of a contrast.

My primary points stand.

Snood

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Snood listen to me Angeline tried today and got the same answer from the powers that be as I did ......... they have NO authority go to Laurel if you want to complain not to somebody who is trying to help

 

[WickedEve]

Moderators should, however, moderate. That includes stern warnings to those who misbehave. Seriously? That's not the moderator's job on this forum. Maybe on other forums, but not at literotica. Literotica is, among other things, about making money. We don't get after misbehaving posters. This is an adult, freedom of speech site. Ever go to the GB? My god! They have threads that I've seen over the years that say hateful things about Jews, "Niggers", and worse. I've seen disgusting ones about sex with dogs. Does the owner have those removed? No. Freedom of speech. We can PM this person. We can email her privately. We can call her poo poo head on the forum, just like any other poster with freedom of speech. Sure, we can give her a stern warning if we want to, but there is no power behind it. She, or anyone, can laugh and go on doing whatever they're doing. YOU need to PM/email the owners and ask some questions about mods and what we and you and what the owners can and can't do.

If she'd posted puppy^H^H^H^H^H porn^H^H^H^H then you can bet your sweet bippie they'd have taken her to task.

Further, they have the ears of the sysops, who can in turn kick her off the boards and/or initiate legal action.

Were she threatening to blow up a bus, again a call would've been made.

This whole sorry episode has been a streling failure on the part of those in a position of authority to use their superpowers for the good of Metropolis.

Snood