What are your thoughts on internet bullying?

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by wegs, Oct 2, 2016.

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  1. geordief Valued Senior Member

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    I think physical bullying may always be done with a view to impressing the onlookers.

    When I changed schools there was a ritual whereby those in the year's intake immediately above humiliated to new boys by putting their heads in the sinks or the toilets.

    Fairly harmless but if you resisted ,of course it went worse for you. Most of us just went through the ritual without protest but I saw one of us who was no way going to be dunked. They had to let him be .

    That was a ritual that had seen its day,though and when our turn came to "rag" to new crop of students the following year ,we just did not bother .

    It had died its own death.

    On the other hand , when there were fights in the playground a crowd always gathered to egg on the "combatants" which was only dispersed by the arrival of a prefect or a member of the staff.

    I am sure some people must have thought this was a good way to "toughen up" the cadres -although no one said as much.
     
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  3. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    I didn't know ''you'' are the bully he was referring to. lol

    We don't need to go into specifics, he probably wouldn't want it hashed out in this thread, which wasn't the purpose of this thread. But, going to your items above...I'd say #1 - I don't consider to be a bully. #2 - more than a bully, that is someone who is doing something illegal #3 - same thought as #2, #4 - that would be a bully, #5 - that is easier said than done, as sometimes, someone doesn't leave you alone despite your best efforts to ''ignore'' but that is a good rule of thumb, in general.

    I haven't noticed anyone bullying you in this thread, but maybe you feel that way because you have a backstory with Xelasnave. Thank you for sharing, I think the info is useful to people who might not know what to do when faced with different internet problems.
     
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  5. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    word origin: Bully

    archaic : sweetheart : a fine chap

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    mid 16th century: probably from Middle Dutch boele ‘lover.’ The original usage was as a term of endearment applied to either sex; later becoming a familiar form of address to a male friend. ...

    Amazing how the word remains, but the meanings change(quite radically).

    .....
    Dear bully ................................
     
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  7. Yazata Valued Senior Member

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    I know of an individual, a prominent university professor, who 'outted' several scams, unaccredited internet "universities", degree-mills consisting of nothing but a website that sold advanced degrees (usually doctorates) for thousands of dollars a pop. Many of the customers were foreigners, often in Africa and the Middle East, who didn't have a clue about American accreditation. (Apparently their employers didn't either and they were getting jobs with their fake degrees.) The perpetrators fed the customers' egos, asking them to send cv's and maybe something they had written, then telling them it already qualified them for a PhD, no classes or dissertation necessary.

    In response, the professor was harassed ceaselessly at home, the perpetrators found out his children's names and posted porn in their names and reported his family members for fanciful crimes. I found out that many of these fake university websites are run by what I suspect is organized crime.

    It opened my eyes. The internet can be an evil and dangerous place.

    Rule #1 is never disclose your real name. Don't give the psychos and criminals out there any way to find out where you live, where you work, who your loved ones are and so on. They will inevitably use it. You and yours can be seriously hurt and there may be almost nothing you can do about it if you don't know who is doing it or if they live in another country.

    Yes. I believe that it exists and like most people, I have been on the receiving end occasionally.

    It's probably necessary to distinguish between 1) rude people who may not be aware of how they come across to others, 2) assholes who get a thrill out of anonymity that allows them to behave in ways they wouldn't in real life, and 3) real psychopaths that can ruin another person's life for real.

    I shrug off the first, and even try to be nice to them in hopes of reforming them and winning them over. I try to ignore the second group. (There's no way I can help them even if I wanted to.) The third are dangerous and I try not to put myself in any position to be victimized by them. If I was, I'd consult an attorney I guess.
     
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  8. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Amen and Bingo to that!
    As I'm fond of saying, it is open to any Tom, Dick and Harry, that can claim, push, crusade, bully and post any damn thing he wishes, or whatever his agenda demands.
     
  9. Dr_Toad It's green! Valued Senior Member

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    My name is Donovan Ready. I live in northern Travis County, Texas.

    Let's wait and see...
     
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  10. geordief Valued Senior Member

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    Donovan Ready , you have been selected from 5.2 million subscribers to Life Magazine. To claim your prize provide your bank details so that we can transfer an initial amount.....
     
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  11. Xelasnave.1947 Valued Senior Member

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    Is he here?
    Well not in my universe.
    The hint of his presents is disturbing as I would have thought he would have been banned by now.

    Presumably here to defend his always infallible position.

    I don't care he can say what he wants but being decent to me won't be in any part of his posts I suspect.

    He is a case of being so annoying folk will line up to put him in his place.

    He and his sock puppets are on ignore so they will have to find another victim.

    Alex
     
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  12. Dr_Toad It's green! Valued Senior Member

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    It's a Nigerian bank... Is that OK?
     
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  13. Xelasnave.1947 Valued Senior Member

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    I notice there is a show ignore content at the foot of the page.
    I ain't pressing it.
    Alex
     
  14. geordief Valued Senior Member

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    Have you got a number we can call you back on?
     
  15. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    A lot of bad asses here in this thread.

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    I like it. lol
     
  16. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    Especially ''dick''...yeah, I've met a few of those, lately.
     
  17. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    That's awful! Criminals will find a way to commit crimes in easier and more convenient ways that suit them. Saying this, I had no idea there were college ''scams'' like this.


    I find it unfathomable honestly that adults on forums such as these would fall into #1, but it is possible. #2 is more likely. lol

    I tend to shrug off one or two flippant comments, but if the person is showing chronic behavior online that seems to target me, they will rightfully be dubbed a bully by me. lol
     
  18. Dr_Toad It's green! Valued Senior Member

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    Sure. It's 512-345-1111. We're right across the street from the Krispy Kreme Donut place if you want to drop by. Any time is good.
     
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  19. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    lol
     
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  20. Truck Captain Stumpy The Right Honourable Reverend Truck Captain Valued Senior Member

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    LMFAO
     
  21. Truck Captain Stumpy The Right Honourable Reverend Truck Captain Valued Senior Member

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    are we talking legally? or just IMHO?
    bully, the word, as noted bu Sculptor, is a word that has changed meaning in time.
    Bullying (per modern usage) is: the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others.
    from what i can see the various colloquial definitions (of bullying) include some common illegal acts, be they: use of force, abuse, stalking, threatening, intimidation, etc...

    not all states have statutes that specifically state bullying is illegal, nor do the have a legal definition for it... however every state in the US that i know of has statutes and definitions that allow for the prosecution of certain aspects of bullying. given that we can demonstrate with a cursory search of any law library that the individual criminal acts of abuse, force, threatening, intimidation [etc] is illegal, then there is a legal leg to stand on (as in: it is a legitimate illegal act that can be prosecuted, just not necessarily labeled as bullying)

    the use of the internet is no deterrent to any of the above acts (except certain legal acts like battery where physical contact must be made - assault, on the other hand doesn't require contact)
    yep.

    it made me stronger. i considered it a challenge to overcome, and i did.

    dealing with a bully is situation dependent. standing up to a bully is always part of the equation, but there are different ways to do that. they don't want a good fight, they want an easy mark. it often doesn't even take physical violence.

    My dad gave this advice: pick the biggest, baddest bully in the school and then kick the living sh*t out of them. don't worry about who started what, just don't back down or back off... even if it takes being beaten to a pulp. after that you're either considered f*cking nuts or someone willing to stand up for themselves. win or lose, it sends a message.
     
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  22. Beer w/Straw Transcendental Ignorance! Valued Senior Member

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    I can't say I've felt being an internet bully victim before, but a cool introspective question would be if others' view me as a bully?
     
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  23. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Thankfully one of them [sock puppets] has been banned permanently.
     
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