Topic : 01/08 Cyber Bullies

 I've been dealing with a cyber-bully myself for almost two years now. I have filed four local police reports along with filing one report with the fed.'s. The cyber-bully I've dealt with has cyber-stalked, harassed and threatened me.

 I've gone so far as to hire lawyers about this issue and as far as legal action is concerned, all you can do is go about it on a civil manner, which will cost a lot of money, you may not win and it doesn't necessarily stop the attcks of a cyber-bully. On a criminal level, (I know from experience) absolutely nothing can be done. I have been given the freedom of speech and freedom of expression lecture, even by the fed.'s. The laws that have supposedly been passed to prevent this sort of harmful behavior, have not been enforced in any way, shape or form.

 How many more lives needs to be ruined or lost, before this sort of behavior is taken seriously? As long as it isn't taken seriously, cyber-bullies, such as the one I am dealing with, will continue their immature, "e-venge" and harm until something is done. I also wonder how far will the cyber-bullies go, as in, they know they're getting away with their actions online, what's to stop them from doing any harm in real life?

It is very very sad that this woman has lost her baby to such nonsense. It's even more DISGUSTING that an adult got involved in adolecences and teen situations and reacting in such a immature way! The woman said she made that profile to see what others were saying about her daughter? That is the most dumbest thing I've ever heard and she sucks as a mother because she's non-verbally telling her daughter

"yes honey, it does matter what people think about you, they determine your worth and it is important for everyone to like you."

That's a big deal with middle school kids especially because this is the age when they are trying to find themselves and find where they belong. If their parent(s) express that who they are is in the hands of other kids, that can be very devestating to a child.

Also, my question is, which was not addressed on the show, when things were getting out of hand on the internet and with this "Josh" guy, how come the mother and father didn't say,

"okay, no more myspace...no more internet."  and just handled the nonsense that was going on at this girl's school. Some things may not could have been done about the online nonsense, but something could have been done about the nonsense going on at school. Also if she wasn't online to read all the BS said about her it would eventually become pointless for the kids and...umm the immature, insane adult to continue posting messages.

Also, the parents saw the pain in this little girl and how all of this scared her, made her sad and hurt her self-esteem so would have a child psychologist be of help? Also, how about changing schools as well?

I'm not blaming the parents, but since there is not yet any cyberspace laws, when things on cyberspace get stupid, there's a little button that says "block this user" that we can click, also shuting down the computer and finding some thing positive to do can be beneficial as well.

I have been a gameplayer for 15 years (give or take) and used the internet since its inception in a public form (when I started using it most were either dirt cheap subscriptions or free).

First off I want to apologize to the gentlemen that was on the show speaking about racism in gaming. While I of course was not involved (nor do I ever condone these things, theyre horrible and beligerent) I am such an avid game player that everytime I see these things happen I feel it adds another damper to the ever growing (and sadly ever immaturing) gameplaying community, and I think its horrible when it happens and I feel like if no one else in the gaming world will say something I will. I am sorry this happened to you, its horrible, and I totally agree that Companies should crackdown hard on this immature form of losing (or even gameplay in general). 

I dont know how long he has been playing online but this form of immature vocalization of anger has been a constant source of problems for real gamers for many many years and only because of the ever growing nature of the current gaming industry has it gotten any real attention (such as the Dr. Phil Show). For 15 years I have had to deal with (as a gameplayer) immature bullying, racism, and overall rediculous content online from immature people.

I am sorry, also, Dr. Phil but you said something that is highly incorrect. For once I have caught you in saying something I know a whole lot about and you seem to know very little (only because I have grown up in this era I know and I apologize if I say that in some wrong way, not sure how else to state that I understand why this is so). Anyway, you stated griefing as being a new problem in gaming and you could not be more wrong. I have been playing games online for about 10 years or so and this has always been a problem in online gaming. Racist comments have (sadly) been a commonly huge problem in most gaming media (especially but not started by nor exclusive to) console gaming. Most Sports, as well as First Person Shooter games sadly attracts both good players as well as the immature.

I can relay many stories to you from my world of online gaming, of how bad things can get. Suffice to say however, while I do not play games online on console (as I prefer PC gaming for my online needs) I know most PC game DEVs (especially Massively Multiplayer Online Games) try hardcore to stop the attempts at hacking/griefing/ and immature gameplay that comes with the allowance of children with no good manners as well as adults who need an improper outlet or are doing what they do for specific reasons.

At this point I feel it's necessary to inform those that are new to this concept (griefing/hacking/and immature gameplay in particular) about the history of such things, that while not started by these people was made fairly popular before gaming became what it is today (pretty much at the start of it really). There is a game called counter strike, a multiplayer online Mod for half-life. Way back when this was not a new concept but rather a moment in time in which the concept had to be re-envisioned and made for a broader audience, there was many gameplayers that flocked to this game because it was a way to not only make friends but also play a game that was highly fun in a First Person Shooter Format. Unfortunately, this game also attracted a darker, seedier, as well as immature player base which scared most of the good meaning, just want to have fun player base away. Sadly what was to become this clan (known as Myg0t) prided themselves on what was known by this point as griefing (griefing actually possibly started during the days of Ultima Online which was the first MMOG). They even went so far as to hack game servers to win thereby making no one want to play which they indeed prided themselves on.

Nowadays, things such as this are cracked down on highly in most cases and while harrassment is extremely hard to prove, and while alot of gaming companies do not seem to actually crack down on such things, the vocalization as well as typing of terrible things is still heard in many games but hacking/griefing and even to some extent this form of immature gameplay is highly frowned upon in the overall gaming community. Some EULAs (an agreement you must agree to everytime you login to an MMOG stating your rights as a player of the game) actually mentions that this sort of gameplay is an offense and can get you banned. While the most immature take it as a pride to get banned from these games only to continue to whine/complain/argue/grief and overall cause malcontent on gaming forums among the player base (these are known as trolls) all they can do is type and talk and give more people jobs as they have no mature points of view and all you can do is wonder where their mother or father is.

I respected all the views on Freedom of speech, and as a writer I have a huge opinoin on that also, but I really just came here because as a gamer I take pride in my community and always feel bad when others in this community are being mistreated. I feel I had to set some things straight as well as apologize on behalf of the communities I know (which a vast majority of which are great people) and wish only the best for anyone with this problem of being harrassed by immature players. I do agree entirely with free-speech, but I highly respect those that know how to state what they believe in a mature fashion that is tactful and overall respectful. Sadly, alot of beliefs are in and of themselves not mature, tactful, nor respectful so the opinoin of them will never be stated as such and therefore I believe we need to be the better people and just put them on ignore.

For more information on griefing as well as gaming history please refer to wikipedia.org which has an indepth look at the fascinating yet terrible Myg0t clan (found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mygot). I find them fascinating merely because a 13 year old boy started what is now a part of gaming history. While I do not at all condone what they did, it is a fascinating story (with a conslusion) and one that I hope is never repeated. Aslo look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griefing for information on the term Griefing.

For anyone that reads this long post, thanks for reading I hope this has been educational and thought provoking (as it was meant to be).

What happened to freedom of speech?

We are living in a police state. The government is getting further and further into our lives telling us what to do and where to do it. And everyone is so worried about offending someone, being sued, reported. Everybody wants to make sure theu get special treatment too.  GASP  Thanks Clinton.

We saw how well this worked for the German National Socialist party.......aka Nazi party.

Yeah, to the politician woman, freedom of speech hasn't been repealed. Yeah, it was insulting to a lot of people. WHO CARES?? That's for inalienable right to say whatever you want.

  First, let me say my sympathy goes out to Megans parents,on the loss of their daughter.

Although, I would like to see some sort of law passed regarding cyberbulling, I am at a lost regarding how it could be worded, so as not to infringe on  freedom of speech. And if such a law was passed, how or even if it could be effectively enforced, for that matter.

Sadly, bullying in all its various incarnations, will always exist. I can't help as a parent, but feel there is so much more to this story, than was presented on tv. One point ,that this show reinforced in my mind ,as a parent ,is the utmost need for the parents to be actively involved in their childs life.

My daughter is turning 10 next month ,and I can't imagine her, having a 'Myspace' or 'Facebook' account for at least 6-7 years. In my opinion, there is no need for a 13-16 year old to be on these type of websites. I realise that I am probably not the norm when it comes to this view, but my childs well being takes priority over what is seen as 'popular' or 'normal'. At the vary least, EVERY parent should have some version ,of a computer monitering software, installed on their childs computer. And the parents should 'regularly' follow their childs activities and postings online.

As well, computer usage should be strictly regulated. There is no need for a child to spend countless hours on the internet.  While I hesitate, to place blame on Megans parents, for their part in their daughters death, I can't help but think they should have been a little more responsible in regards to what sites their '13' year old was accessing , as well as to what was being posted. This would ensure their child isn't being bullied, or taking the part of being the bully, for that matter.  The teenage years are extremely tough for any child, they don't need to be navigated alone, without the help of a loving parent or parents. I realise that many parents see the computer and internet as a type of babysitter if you will, but, I strongly feel it shouldn't be used as such.

I watched with great interest todays program on cyber bullies. I feel 100% positive that we cannot allow our right to free speech to be ineterfered with in any venue, even the internet. The woman who lost her daughter for which I sypathize with greatly has the right & an obligation to sue these people in civil court to get the message across that cyber bullying is, NOT OK, EVER. It cannot replace her daughter or giver vindication but it can potentially STOP others from doing this type of bullying. I am saddened by her loss & the conduct of the woman who caused this terrible tragedy. The mere fact she was at least 'aware' of this situation speaks volumes of her parenting skills, value system & moral compass. She's NUTS.

 The man who is an avid XBOX gamer & feels threatened & racial profiled & insulted, I agree when you pay for something you have the right of 'ex[pectation'. BUT, as with all things in life after you have paid the price you still have options. If you rive across to an area of town for a new movie theater or restruant & the area makes you feel unsafe , threatend or un-comforatble I personally would leave & go some place else. Knowing I had paid for gas to get their with the right to expect something not available. Same with a movie ticket. Buy the ticket to a rave movie & it is offensive or disapointing , I get up & leave. I've spent the money with the expectation that it would be enjoyable & I lost my money again. So when you buy a game & the people with whom you are playing are offensive, degrading idiots, I sign out of the game, un-subscribe & again I have lost my money, but I have retained my dignity & my personal moral value. Then just as this man did I contact Microsoft or whoever would be the responsible party either by phone, or letter & inform them of the disappointment & the monetary cost to me. When we all do thisoften enough we gain the power to create change.

About four years ago I began dating a man that I thought was great. I had met him on an online dating site. However after a few months I began to realize why he was single and broke up with him. He continued to harass me via email, cellphone and home phone. So I changed my numbers and blocked him by email. A year later I had moved into a new apartment. I was online when someone told me my picture was posted on an adult friend finder website. I had no idea what that was. So I went to this site only to discover it was a pornography site. There was my innocent face, taken from the old dating site ( a legitimate site) posted on this pornography site. He had copied and pasted my photo on this site and created a phony ad. In addition to this he now knew my new address and phone number, as it was posted on this site as well.  I contacted both the legitimate site and the pornography site and both refused to do anything about it.  They did eventually remove the ad but I was not satisfied. I am a teacher if my students had found this it would jeopardize my reputation. I therefore went to the town police and filed a complaint. However, I was told that there was really nothing they could do. After several months the police contacted me and claimed to have traced the ad back to my ex but the prosecutor refused to press charges against him.  There was nothing I could do about it. Eventually he went away and I am currently getting ready for my wedding to a great guy but I have never felt so violated in my life.