Worst Experiences on the Internet

[Sharop]

Everyone will likely have both good and bad experiences on the Internet. I've mostly had good experiences but there are a few incidents that occurred online that I found very upsetting.


*Being picked on because of my religious/spiritual beliefs - this tended to happen sometimes on another forum that I post at.

* Being made fun of for my taste in music.

* Having friends insulted by people who don't know them, have never met them and know hardly anything about them.

* Most recently, being accused of lying about the death of a friend.

[Nighthawk76]

Nothing worth mentioning. Any problems I've had on the internet, I've helped contribute to.

[phoebe7165]

I had a guy on another message board call me "trailer trash" because of what I did for a living. Then he started making fun of my occupation. Well, he just happened to use his real name as his username, and also mentioned where he lived. Big mistake.

[Sharop]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

Well, he just happened to use his real name as his username, and also mentioned where he lived. Big mistake.

Did you do anything?

[MickeyMac]

I have had some unpleasant experiences online. Mostly differences of opinions that got out of hand. All the more reasons why I am an agree to disagree kind of person.

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by Sharop

Did you do anything?

OK, first of all, I would like to point out that I am not a hateful person. When something like that is said about me though, especially since I am NOT trailer trash, then them's fighting' words!!

I haven't really done anything of a violent nature, like firebomb his house or slash his tires. I would never do that. Let's just say I still keep in touch with him once in a while via a "nice" letter or card, basically reminding him of what a shead or hole he is.

Aren't I sweet? And so lady-like!

[Sharop]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

I haven't really done anything of a violent nature, like firebomb his house or slash his tires. I would never do that. Let's just say I still keep in touch with him once in a while via a "nice" letter or card, basically reminding him of what a shead or hole he is.

Oh, I see. Does he ever respond?

I can understand your feelings, but you may want to be careful about keeping it up - he could file complaints against you for harassment or something like that. I'm not saying that you are harassing him, just that he could do that - it might cause you to get into some trouble.

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by Sharop

Oh, I see. Does he ever respond?

I can understand your feelings, but you may want to be careful about keeping it up - he could file complaints against you for harassment or something like that. I'm not saying that you are harassing him, just that he could do that - it might cause you to get into some trouble.

I thought of that, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know who I am(I sign it using my username from that board). Since I go all over the country, I can mail them from anywhere, so he can't figure out what state I live in. It's not like I do it all the time, even early on, I wasn't doing it all the time. I would think that if he knew who I was, I would've heard back from him. Actually, I really can't remember the last time he heard from me.

[Sharop]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

I thought of that, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know who I am(I sign it using my username from that board). Since I go all over the country, I can mail them from anywhere, so he can't figure out what state I live in. It's not like I do it all the time, even early on, I wasn't doing it all the time. I would think that if he knew who I was, I would've heard back from him. Actually, I really can't remember the last time he heard from me.

Well, I guess he probably won't be able to track you down.

As I said, I do understand your feelings on the matter, although if I had to be honest, I would say that I don't really agree with doing it continuously - once or twice, maybe, but not more than that. It's not something I would do myself. However, I also understand that his comment really angered and offended you, so I'm not trying to judge you or criticise you.

May I ask if you know how old this person is? If he was, say, under 20, then I might suggest leaving it be. I'm not saying that young people should be excused for rudeness, but some young people are just silly and immature and many grow out of it (although some just stay that way all their lives.) If, say, it had been a 13 or 14-year-old making that comment, then I would have advised you to put it down to immaturity and ignore it. A proper adult, though, should definitely know better.

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by Sharop

Well, I guess he probably won't be able to track you down.

As I said, I do understand your feelings on the matter, although if I had to be honest, I would say that I don't really agree with doing it continuously - once or twice, maybe, but not more than that. It's not something I would do myself. However, I also understand that his comment really angered and offended you, so I'm not trying to judge you or criticise you.

May I ask if you know how old this person is? If he was, say, under 20, then I might suggest leaving it be. I'm not saying that young people should be excused for rudeness, but some young people are just silly and immature and many grow out of it (although some just stay that way all their lives.) If, say, it had been a 13 or 14-year-old making that comment, then I would have advised you to put it down to immaturity and ignore it. A proper adult, though, should definitely know better.

I hear ya, and I totally respect your opinion. This guy is in his 40's now, and it happened a few years ago. Yes, it is immature, and I really should just let it go. I think the thing is that when I read what he said I was really, really hurt. I mean where does he get off saying stuff like that about me? He doesn't even know me! Also, I have NEVER ever looked down or made fun of somebody because of what they did for a living. At least the person is employed.

Oh well, before all this with him went on, he had gotten into it about a couple other topics with other people. That should've been a red flag. The thing is I didn't even start anything with him, he started it!!

Like you said, a proper adult should definitely know better. Again, I should just let it go.

[Sharop]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

Yes, it is immature, and I really should just let it go. I think the thing is that when I read what he said I was really, really hurt. I mean where does he get off saying stuff like that about me? He doesn't even know me! Also, I have NEVER ever looked down or made fun of somebody because of what they did for a living. At least the person is employed.

Oh well, before all this with him went on, he had gotten into it about a couple other topics with other people. That should've been a red flag. The thing is I didn't even start anything with him, he started it!!

Like you said, a proper adult should definitely know better. Again, I should just let it go.

I just wanted to make it clear that when I mentioned the immaturity aspect that I was referring to the man who insulted you, not you yourself. Since he was a full adult and not a teenager, then he definitely should have known better than to insult somebody because of their job and should be more polite and respectful too. I completely understand why you were so angry and hurt - there are things that people have said to me online, that, when I think about them nowadays, I still feel angry over. The worst for me was a moderator on another forum publically accusing me on the forum of lying about the death of a friend, which wasn't the case and was something I would never do. He privately bullied me through emails a little as well. A few weeks ago I reported one of his posts to the forum's administrator - although the administrator hasn't always been on my side in the past, he did fortunately agree with me about the comment I reported. I know he got in touch with the moderator regarding it - I don't know what was said, but I have noted that the moderator hasn't posted for nearly three weeks now. I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

[browneyes106]

There have experiences on message boards where I have asked for advice or to vent and people bully me right away and accuse me of lying about things. I have never had any bad experiences here on SO. This is the best forum I have ever joined. This isn't a really a bad experience but back in May for Memorial Day I started a Memorial Day tribute thread on another forum and only one person responded. I was bit sad that more people didn't respond or pay tribute to the fallen.

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by Shine

Nothing worth mentioning. Any problems I've had on the internet, I've helped contribute to.

Same here!!

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by Sharop

I just wanted to make it clear that when I mentioned the immaturity aspect that I was referring to the man who insulted you, not you yourself. Since he was a full adult and not a teenager, then he definitely should have known better than to insult somebody because of their job and should be more polite and respectful too. I completely understand why you were so angry and hurt - there are things that people have said to me online, that, when I think about them nowadays, I still feel angry over.

Oh, I know, but deep down, I know I'm being just as immature for keeping it going, even if it did hurt me as much as it did.

The worst for me was a moderator on another forum publically accusing me on the forum of lying about the death of a friend, which wasn't the case and was something I would never do. He privately bullied me through emails a little as well. A few weeks ago I reported one of his posts to the forum's administrator - although the administrator hasn't always been on my side in the past, he did fortunately agree with me about the comment I reported. I know he got in touch with the moderator regarding it - I don't know what was said, but I have noted that the moderator hasn't posted for nearly three weeks now. I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

Wow, I am so sorry to hear about that!! At least this guy didn't privately bully me!! There have been quite a few forums I don't go on anymore because of the atmosphere on there, including a few of my favorite bands. This is one of the few boards I still go on, I have absolutely no problems with anybody on here, and I don't expect to in the future. I like everybody on here, even if I'm not as close to alot of you as you are to each other.

[Sharop]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

Wow, I am so sorry to hear about that!!

Thanks. The friend I am speaking of died very unexpectedly (in a car accident) and he was only 47 (I knew him from university, he was a mature student, and one of the most intelligent people I have ever known, as well as being a very nice person.) His death was tragic and everyone who knew him was very shocked and upset, and it's still hard for me to believe even now (it happened in April.)

The fact that he had died was bad enough and then coupled with that I had the moderator on the forum publically accusing me of lying about it and saying I was making it all up in order to emotionally blackmail people. I emailed him websites and online news articles relating details of the accident and also emailed him the links to video footage of a memorial event that one of the university's societies held for Justin (the name of the friend). Each time he replied saying that he wasn't convinced and in a few emails he made some insulting remarks about my boyfriend (who he doesn't know and knows very little about) and a rather insulting comment about Justin.

A friend of mine who also posts on that forum, and who I had been confiding in, spoke to the moderator about it. He passed along what the moderator had said to him, which was basically that the moderator now believes that I was telling the truth but doesn't want to go through having to apologise, so he's still pretending that he doesn't believe me! Apparently part of his reason is that he wants me to understand that people won't always believe me and that not everything will go the way I want it.

I don't think that's ANY excuse for the way he behaved, though. Who is he to try to teach me that kind of lesson? I am already quite well aware that, even though I may be being truthful, people may not always believe me, and I'm also quite well aware that things won't always go the way I want them to. After having realised that I was telling the truth, the moderator should have been man enough to apologise - using the death of a friend like that and pretending that he doesn't believe me is very cruel. As I said, his death was upsetting enough, and the fact that I was then continuously accused of lying about it - it was horrible.