If I Go Missing…

I think the authorities should look into as chief suspect David ‘Little Honey Tee’ Tee of South Korea.  Below is a screenshot of a not so thinly veiled threat which he sent the other day and which I post here for a number of reasons:

First, internet trolls need to be exposed for what they are to the full light of day.
Second, veiled threats need to be made public because maniacal people often first merely hint before they act in violence.
And third, so that WordPress and the authorities might take the appropriate action in his case.

Given the events of recent days, no threat should be considered innocent. And I certainly do not take Mr Tee’s as an innocent aside. I take it as a personal threat. And not the first.

More On The British Anti-Troll Law

The Telegraph has a very sage editorial, stating

Social networks have a duty to identify internet bullies who cower behind anonymity.

Amen and amen!  And then the backstory-

The conviction and sentencing of Frank Zimmerman, the 60-year-old man who threatened my children anonymously over the internet last summer, has aroused much comment. Mr Zimmerman, after having variously claimed that he was agoraphobic, too poor to eat (yet able to use a computer) and that his computer was hacked, was arrested when he failed to turn up for sentencing. He was finally given a suspended term with an extensive restraining order, barring him from contacting me and various other people in public life. If he breaches it, he will go to jail.

With much more, and then concluding

Ultimately, the internet is just another form of communication; once that is accepted, including by service providers and social media, trolling will lessen. After all, not so long ago it was acceptable to drink and drive. As victims repeatedly fight back, we can hope to see a culture shift.

Fighting back.  That’s what we all are responsible to do.

Related articles

• Dealing with trolls: a guide (guardian.co.uk)
• Drawings of internet trolls – in pictures (guardian.co.uk)
• What is an internet troll? (guardian.co.uk)
• Warrant out for web ‘troll’ who threatened Tory MP (scotsman.com)
• Quoted: Court orders Facebook to reveal trolls’ identities (blogs.siliconvalley.com)
• Anonymous Web Trolls, You’ve Been Warned (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)

Anonymous Web Trolls, You’ve Been Warned

From the BBC–

Please do not feed the Trolls

Websites will soon be forced to identify people who have posted defamatory messages online. New government proposals say victims have a right to know who is behind malicious messages without the need for costly legal battles. The powers will be balanced by measures to prevent false claims in order to get material removed. But privacy advocates are worried websites might end up divulging user details in a wider range of cases.

This is good news for everyone. Honest people don’t hide and hiding people, barring some sort of situation in which they would be persecuted for being truthful, aren’t honest.

By the way- you can do your part in the war against trolls and it’s something simple:  moderate comments on your own site.  If someone doesn’t give their name or you don’t know who they are, don’t approve their remarks.   They’ll soon tire of their exercise in futility.  I know.  I’ve sent many blathering imbeciles off dissatisfied that their ramblings didn’t get airtime.  They usually land on the angry atheist blogs where they’re perfectly at home with the other dimwits.