Cyberbullying
 

Is there already a thread about this?

I was reading some articles on cyberbullying (there are a few articles so I didn't link it). Of course there is a particular age demographic that is victimized by this.

And, despite the trash talking on GC, GC is not a cyberbullying site. However, if a GCer is (cyber)stalking you and looking for ways to bring your real life to GC and vice versa, the end of one of the MSN articles had resources for victims of cyberbullying:

1. Cyber Bullying Research Center
2. National Crime Prevention Council
3. Stop Cyber Bullying
4. Bully Stoppers
5. Adina's Deck

What say you, GCers, about cyber bullying?

It should be prosecuted just as harshly as bullying/harassment offline...I just know that at this point it's so difficult at times to locate the perpetrator that that's not feasible. Depending on the kind of bullying/stalking it can be worse than a playground bully since what's written on the internet stays there.

Yeah there was one story where the girl was cyberbullied on a social networking site and OF COURSE the perpetrators could not be identified and found.

I have heard of some pretty lame things happening on GLO message boards. It's crazy the vindictive and stupid things that people think of.

[ Probably in the minority on this one ]

I think offline bullying is serious, and cyberbullying/harrassment attached to "real life" (ex. FB, MS, GLO boards, etc) should be taken seriously.

If someone is a member of, say, GardeningForum.com, this person is free to close the browser and move on. When I see "bullying" claims on sites like that, I generally roll my eyes.

IMO when it involves real life information, that's crossing a line. If Suzy on GardeningForum.com starts posting addresses/phone numbers/employers/etc. of Betty, that's a problem. If Suzy is just being a total bitch, Betty can always find something else to do for a few hours.

People don't forget that attaching something negative to someone's name can effect their future job offers, for instance. If Suzy makes a facebook page saying Betty is an STD ridden lady of the night, every time Betty's name is searched, that's what people see. That's a big deal. Then again, if more websites were proactive in enforcing their Terms (which almost always ban harassment of this kind) in most cases there wouldn't be a need to do anything but report Suzy and have her removed from the site, as well as the comments.

This ^. Not that I think it's ok to "bully" on a messageboard either, but that's a different animal from actual harassment. Just exchanging bitchy comments isn't a cause for concern, just an annoyance.

^^^ Hence the "attached to real life" portion of my post.

The "OMG YOU AND YOUR MINIONS ARE HARRASSING ME BECAUSE YOU CALLED ME A BITCH" posts are bullshit, IMO. Posting someone's information or cyber-stalking him/her is not.

At the same time, I urge people who are mentally and emotionally impacted by the GC minions to use the ignore feature. I can't say what impacts people on a personal level. I would never tell people to stop coming to GC if they don't like some of the posters. I will say that GCers amuse themselves in various ways and GC is not that important as to let it have a potentially lasting mental and emotional impact on you.

/public service announcement

If you or anyone you know has a GC bully or is a GC bully, please contact the GC police at 1-800-FUK-OFFF. Thank you.

If what someone says on an internet messageboard (not including harassment) has an impact on a poster's real life, they probably are too sensitive for message boards, period.

See, the day that I'm trying to be understanding and accepting, you are being a hardass.

Yeah but I mean if I cry myself to sleep because someone is mean to me on the internet, lord help me in the "real world". At least here you just press the little red x in the top corner and it all goes away.

I know one thing, the internet thuggery is out of control (not sure if that's the same as cyberbullying). You know the ones that have so much to say via the internet but would never have the guts to say such things to anyone's face. The internet is giving many cowards a voice that otherwise wouldn't be heard (especially racists and bigots).:mad:

Some stuff on GC has gone over the limit. Most of us can think of several examples. The worst effects of cyberbullying don't seem to come about until the aggressee begins to retaliate strongly causing an escalation.

People are going to say shitty things on the internet. Don't say anything that'll get you in trouble if your anonymity is revealed and don't get offended when anonymous people on the internet say bad things about you. The rest'll work itself out.

I'm frankly surprised that we haven't seen a spat of libel/invasion of privacy/etc. lawsuits tied to cyberbullying in recent years.

One problem I see with cyber bullying in the legal sense, is who has jurisdiction over it? even if somebody knows who is bullying somebody, who does the punishing.