Nicola Brookes takes on the trolls

[Kiki-frog]

I heard about this on the radio this morning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...gland-sussex-18351855

I'm really pleased that the High Court has supported this lady. The anonymity of the internet can sometimes result in the vilest of abuses, and I'm glad these people may well now have to take responsibility for their own actions.

Maybe we all need to be a bit more careful about what we post here?
;-)

[ummmm]

No, I don't think we do need to be more careful what we post on here. This site is closely moderated.

I wonder would they do they do the same with other sites?

[emmie]

I read this is my newspapers, and thought good for her. It is time to stop these on line thugs from making peoples lives a misery. I remember all too well receiving hate e mails from people i didn't know, on another site similar to this. I stopped using it, and blocked my e mails.
It's why i do not go on facebook or twitter.

[emmie]

anyone who abuses another, albeit in cyberspace, deserves to get fined, or in some of these extraordinary cases where the trolls post disgusting messages about people who have died, should go to prison.

Whilst we are about it, all ISP's should have an opt in to on line porn.
Because after accidentally and i did post about this on here, looking at a site for something, came across images that were truly shocking. Imagine had a child done the same thing.

[Kiki-frog]

This does seem to be more of an issue with social networking sites, but with any online forum there should surely be a moderator/s. Of course, that will beg the question of who moderates the moderators, which has come up in a roundabout way in a couple of threads on here recently.

But the sort of things that have happened to Nicola, and to you em10, I find just cowardly and sickening.

[marval]

I wish her well, it is time these online abusers were stopped.

[Messi_Ten]

They can't hide under bridges any longer. I'm glad the long arm of the law has finally caught up with them!

[sp1814]

The only thing in this story that I find confusing is the level of abuse directed at this woman. I mean, all she did was post a supportive message about a contestant in a singing contest.

I genuinely think that the Internet has given a voice to those who in the olden days, would've simply sent poison pen letters.

By the way - with Facebook and Twitter, if you get abuse, you can simply un-Friend someone or stop following them.

[emmie]

sp, by which time the damage is done, and besides like stalkers they take up another identity. If you look at the level of abuse it's horrendous, and as someone said it was simply because she had sympathy for that boy.
I stopped my e mails because of the hate that came my way, it was vile abuse. I reported it to the on site moderators, but quite honestly words that shouldn't get through the barriers as it were did. B**ch was one of the milder ones, so i shut it down. I wouldn't tolerate that from someone face to face so why should anyone on line. It's time the ISP's were much more responsible for the contents of their websites.
I wouldn't post any personal stuff at any rate.

[jno]

you're right, sp1814, except that posting comments and sending emails is so easy that I suspect many people do it who would formerly have been too lazy to send poison pen letters.

I don't think you're at great risk here, Kiki-frog, the site has an editor and moderators, and the occasional troll who turns up is usually disembowelled within minutes. Still, just go easy on the personal abuse, will you?

[Kiki-frog]

em10, I'm with you 100% on this. Fortunately this is starting to be taken seriously, and I can recall a couple of convictions for people who have posted abuse on Facebook tribute pages to people who have died.

I think you're right, sp1814, about this being the equivalent of the poison pen letter. The trouble is that on the internet it is just too easy to hide behind anonymity, or even to steal someone else's identity, and make other people's lives a misery.

[Kiki-frog]

Cheers, jno, I'll try to keep my foul abuse in check
;-)

[trt]

I cant believe how many millions post their photos and tell their life history on some of these sites.

With so many weird people in this world, its asking for trouble.

[sp1814]

em10

Ah - if they got hold of your email address, I can see what you mean. The best you can do at that point is to shut down your account and open a new email address (which is a complete pain).

It's always dodgy allowing your email address to be publicised, because there are some world class fruitcakes out there.

Actually, no. That makes them sounds harmless.

Revised to, "there are some world class evil-minded a**holes out there".

One point though:

"It's time the ISP's were much more responsible for the contents of their websites."

I don't think that should be down to the Service Provider. It would be like making BT responsible for monitoring all phone calls in case of dirty or abusive calls...

...actually, there's something that's died a death. Remember dirty phone calls? With 1471, that's disappeared completely.

And flashers...whatever happened to flashers????

(Sorry - realise I've gone off on a tangent)

[emmie]

sp, sadly there is a lot of abuse that goes on online, and it cannot be monitored 24 hours a day by parents. If you have been reading the daily mail, or not, they have been running a series on internet porn. Their argument, and i tend to agree is that it should be a case of opt in. After all if i can in all innocence access some very disturbing images, then so can very young children. It's not just computers but smart phones and anywhere that has internet connections.

[237SJ]

Trouble is, if the perpetrators use fake names to set up the email accounts from where they send the bullying messages, it`s down to the lawyers to go to the ISPs to get the ISP address. That might not be so easy. I wonder if this case will set a precedent in law? I hope so.

[emmie]

i believe that is the point, that these cases are being referred to the police, and isp's are having to give the e mail addresses of those involved in the abuse. And even people who open multiple accounts can still be traced.

[237SJ]

They can`t trace the person from the email address though (sometimes) and that is the problem. These people probably use fake names when they set up their email address. They need the isp address of their computer and even that isn`t cut and dried if they set up their account from an internet cafe. The ISPs should take responsibility (if Facebook can`t help). The police have enough to do in fighting crime without having to chase every internet troll - who are numbered in their thousands.

[emmie]

well going on the recent story, and the one listed above, the police can and do find these people and some have gone to jail.

[jno]

they can find some, but I think it's pretty hapahzard. I don't know that the ISPs are any better placed to monitor everything that goes through their services, though.

[Kiki-frog]

em10, I generally loathe everything about the Daily Mail, but in this case I think they've got it spot-on with internet porn. You want to look, fine - but make that choice. I agree with you completely.

SJ, while I agree that the police can't track down every internet troll, there are some who do need to be caught and stopped - the sick individual who made threats against MP Louise Mensch's children, for example. I don't know what is the answer here - a scale of severity? I really don't know.