Is it wrong to "out" the trolls?

[JerseyJanice]

Well, HayGan, you're entitled to your opinion, but my point is that it's only "feelings" that this guy was up to something inappropriate. He didn't actually post or PM anything that actually was "inappropriate."

I don't think "feeling" like somebody is creepy gives someone else the right to track them all over the internet.

And you needn't tell me about mentally disabled people. I lost a very dear loved one not long ago, who had some serious mental and emotional issues because of things that went wrong during her cancer treatments.

With that in mind, I was kind to this poster--and will continue to be if he returns after this--although I hope for his sake he doesn't--because I'm sure that my niece could have passed for "normal" too and could write as though she were, even though she was not.

To my knowledge, she never posted on-line because it wasn't her thing, but yes, she was taken advantage of real life people who should have guessed (if they didn't know it) that something was going on with her.

Now, I wouldn't envision her doing what this particular person did, but if he were like her in some way, I wouldn't be feeling too proud of myself for driving him off a website for posting silly stuff.

And again, while your concerns are valid to some extent, they're not based on anything that actually transpired. This person never stated that he had a disability; just the opposite, he denied it when asked. This person never contacted anybody here for a secret rendezvous.

All he did was post silly words. Do you really think a whole community needed to shut him down for that?

 

[grlpwrd]

We've been "played."

It's not the first or last time that anyone will do this online. It's sick, but it happens. I've known of a woman who pretended to be married and who miscarried and that was all a lie, a guy on a breastfeeding site who pretended to be a dr., people who post on breastfeeding sites to stir up trouble or feed their fetish (ewwww), mothers from a coupon board (gasp!) who lied about their real lives or scammed others for $$$ and goodies/clothes/etc, the woman here who lied about her and her dds tragic deaths, and now this.

Sometimes I hate the internet... lol

 

[poohandwendy]

If he is given a pass to post however he wants here, there or elsewhere, why isn't everyone else held to that same standard?

People felt duped, they have the right to voice their displeasure. This is not the first time this has happened, with the same result. It's the nature of the beast. It happens on the net, it happens in real life.

 

[JerseyJanice]

We've been "played."

How? I find it impossible to believe that any thinking person bought the posts in question at face value.

It's not the first or last time that anyone will do this online. It's sick, but it happens. I've known of a woman who pretended to be married and who miscarried and that was all a lie, a guy on a breastfeeding site who pretended to be a dr.,

Pathological liars on the internet? Are you kidding? :eek

people who post on breastfeeding sites to stir up trouble or feed their fetish (ewwww), mothers from a coupon board (gasp!) who lied about their real lives or scammed others for $$$ and goodies/clothes/etc, the woman here who lied about her and her dds tragic deaths, and now this.

All he did was post silly stuff--allegedly because he wanted to call attention to the animal rights movement.

Sorry, but I don't see how that compares to perversion, scamming for $$$, making fun of disabled people, or tempting fate by making up a tragedy about one's own family.

 

[poohandwendy]

And it is interesting to me that the people who defended him, for the most part, did so because they thought he was mentally unsound. Ok, so he says he is not. He posts with a totally normal style elsewhere. He obviously can control his behavior or he would not be able to post as a mentally sound person elsewhere. Isn't it slightly patronizing to keep assuming that he is mentally unsound?

 

[HayGan]

Well, HayGan, you're entitled to your opinion, but my point is that it's only "feelings" that this guy was up to something inappropriate. He didn't actually post or PM anything that actually was "inappropriate."

I don't think "feeling" like somebody is creepy gives someone else the right to track them all over the internet.

And you needn't tell me about mentally disabled people. I lost a very dear loved one not long ago, who had some serious mental and emotional issues because of things that went wrong during her cancer treatments.

With that in mind, I was kind to this poster--and will continue to be if he returns after this--although I hope for his sake he doesn't--because I'm sure that my niece could have passed for "normal" too and could write as though she were, even though she was not.

To my knowledge, she never posted on-line because it wasn't her thing, but yes, she was taken advantage of real life people who should have guessed (if they didn't know it) that something was going on with her.

Now, I wouldn't envision her doing what this particular person did, but if he were like her in some way, I wouldn't be feeling too proud of myself for driving him off a website for posting silly stuff.

And again, while your concerns are valid to some extent, they're not based on anything that actually transpired. This person never stated that he had a disability; just the opposite, he denied it when asked. This person never contacted anybody here for a secret rendezvous.

All he did was post silly words. Do you really think a whole community needed to shut him down for that?

We are all entitled to our opinions and as a public forum we are permitted to voice them. I do appreciate what you have said and as I said in some ways I agree with you (which is why I stayed away from this particular poster for a very long time.)

I'm sorry but when it comes to someone posting somewhat disturbing issues on a public forum, I believe there is a responsibility for others to see that the information or poster may (or may not) be legitimate if there could possibly be some other motives. How do we know that he wasn't trying to build an identity/relationships that could later be exploited. I'm not saying that they were but it certainly was a possibility. I can't imagine that any parent would be comfortable with their child conversing with someone on an internet board that they felt was "creepy".

BTW, we don't know that the poster in question never contacted anyone. There alot of things that we don't know. What we do know (from things that were posted on this very forum) is that the poster in question had the ability to dramatically change their writing/conversing styles and made reference to this in another public forum that could have easily come up in a Disney related search.



I'm sorry for your loss. It is very difficult to see someone you love suffer with things that are beyond their control. It is even harder to see them deal with the treatment they receive from others. I also know this all to well

 

[poohandwendy]

To be honest, I wish he would come back and post a serious debate about animal rights (if that is his cause). I would love to discuss it as there are some things I totally agree with and some that I do not. I think it is an interesting topic.

 

[Planogirl]

Oh geesh, for all I know many of you aren't real either and several of you might have ulterior motives. I'm crazy I guess because I assume that a person is harmless unless they prove otherwise. This poster never bothered me even though I had no idea if he was for real or not. It just didn't matter to me because I think that everyone could be a threat even those who appear normal on the surface. Someone acting odd does not immediately make them dangerous.

 

[poohandwendy]

I'm sorry but when it comes to someone posting somewhat disturbing issues on a public forum, I believe there is a responsibility for others to see that the information or poster may (or may not) be legitimate if there could possibly be some other motives. How do we know that he wasn't trying to build an identity/relationships that could later be exploited.

I agree. And the thing is, all you really have to go on is how someone presents themselves. When you find out there is a polar opposite persona elsewhere, it is human nature to question their motives. Why would anyone expect anything else?

 

[LanaJayne]

While I agree with you in many ways, what bothered me most in this particular situation was the nature of this person's posts. This is a Disney related site and as we all know there are plenty of posters here that are young. While nothing that was posted publicly that was suggestive, I (along with many others) probably felt that this individual may have appealed to young people in some ways. That was troublesome at least to me. He was not the type of person that I would want children to be conversing with. I don't think that interests in Disney/characters are out of the norm (heck, we are ALL posting on a Disney related board). What is out of the norm is someone having such an obsession and boasting so much about it.

I also was disturbed that this individual may be "imitating" the behaviors of a person with a disability. As a mother of a child with a disability that affects his ability to relate and communicate with others, this absolutely infuriates me! I ignored many of his posts because I didn't want to make assumptions without any additional information. As more information came to light, true colors started to show through. I am absolutely sickened that someone would use these tactics to get across any message.

Did the actions of this person have any impact on my life - no. But in today's age of child predators and unscrupulous people trolling the internet, I think we all have the responsibility as a community to flush out those who may have less than good intentions.

Well Said!

 

[TDC Nala]

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

I so want to make a patch out of that.

 

[JerseyJanice]

HayGan, I'm sorry, but just because this guy's posts were "odd," it doesn't mean he was up to anything more than what he got busted for--that is, posting to get attention for animals.

You can take it as far as you'd like in your imagination, but the fact of the matter is that it was never demonstrated he behaved suggestively--to children or anybody else. You're going to have to trust me when I tell you that there was much discussion about this person elsewhere. I have no doubt that if he actually PMed something disgusting, it would have surfaced elsewhere to prove the point of those who keep saying "he's a pervert."

PAW, how do you know people who were posting nicely with him did it because they thought he was mentally disabled? I didn't notice a lot of people saying that here.

I think it's much more likely that most of the people who were nice to him did so just in case he had a real issue. I really don't think anyone really "bought" his posts, hook, line and sinker. And that's the reason I keep saying that I don't think anybody was duped.

I'll agree with you, though, that an intelligent discourse on animal rights would have been a far better course of action on his part.

 

[poohandwendy]

PAW, how do you know people who were posting nicely with him did it because they thought he was mentally disabled? I didn't notice a lot of people saying that here.

I think it's much more likely that most of the people who were nice to him did so just in case he had a real issue. I really don't think anyone really "bought" his posts, hook, line and sinker. And that's the reason I keep saying that I don't think anybody was duped.

Oh, I think alot of people did assume he was not well, in one way or another. They mentioned it many times on his threads (aspergers was mentioned more than once)...in gentle hints to those who were questioning his posting style (before all of this hoopla)

 

[HayGan]

HayGan, I'm sorry, but just because this guy's posts were "odd," it doesn't mean he was up to anything more than what he got busted for--that is, posting to get attention for animals.

You can take it as far as you'd like in your imagination, but the fact of the matter is that it was never demonstrated he behaved suggestively--to children or anybody else. You're going to have to trust me when I tell you that there was much discussion about this person elsewhere. I have no doubt that if he actually PMed something disgusting, it would have surfaced elsewhere to prove the point of those who keep saying "he's a pervert."

You are right (as I said) nobody knows what his true intentions were other than to get some attention for animal rights.

I'm sure that it was discussed somewhere else and just the fact that it was proves to me that I certainly wasn't the only one who had concerns about the poster.

I haven't called the poster "a pervert" and I don't recall anyone else using those terms (though it might have been said somewhere ) All I can say is that I was uncomfortable with him and certainly wouldn't have let my kids have any sort of contact with him.

 

[WonderfulDreamer2]

HayGan, I'm sorry, but just because this guy's posts were "odd," it doesn't mean he was up to anything more than what he got busted for--that is, posting to get attention for animals.

You can take it as far as you'd like in your imagination, but the fact of the matter is that it was never demonstrated he behaved suggestively--to children or anybody else. You're going to have to trust me when I tell you that there was much discussion about this person elsewhere. I have no doubt that if he actually PMed something disgusting, it would have surfaced elsewhere to prove the point of those who keep saying "he's a pervert."

PAW, how do you know people who were posting nicely with him did it because they thought he was mentally disabled? I didn't notice a lot of people saying that here.

I think it's much more likely that most of the people who were nice to him did so just in case he had a real issue. I really don't think anyone really "bought" his posts, hook, line and sinker. And that's the reason I keep saying that I don't think anybody was duped.

I'll agree with you, though, that an intelligent discourse on animal rights would have been a far better course of action on his part.

Just curious about you're so hell bent on defending him. Do you know him? Are you him? I'm just wondering because it seems you are determined to make sure that no one sees him in a bad light. Interesting.

 

[JerseyJanice]

HayGan, maybe I am the only person who used the word "pervert" but if I did, trust me that it's a kind euphemism for some things that were said elsewhere.

PAW, maybe some folks did think he had a problem. I'm still not convinced one way or other whether he did. It would be an extremely difficult thing to detect on-line IMO. And somebody did state--here or elsewhere? I don't remember--that WDW CMs are aware of him and consider him to be special.

That post should have given the building mob mentality reason for pause, but it was simply brushed aside.

In any case, IMO, ignoring him would have been the best course of action. If he were a genuine troll and was ignored, then he'd have moved on due to boredom. If he has an actual problem, well then, there's no telling how this whole thing has affected him.

 

[snowwite]

In light of a few "questionable" posts lately, do you think it is wrong to out them?
Is it wrong to google their screen name in order to out them or is that crossing the proverbial line?
Do you think exposing them does any good?

It really doesn't bother me. I would much rather have some bickering over exposing them then dealing with the choas they cause among posters.

I have seen a couple of posts like this and I dont want to sound stupid but what do you mean by "troll"?

 

[JerseyJanice]

Just curious about you're so hell bent on defending him. Do you know him? Are you him? I'm just wondering because it seems you are determined to make sure that no one sees him in a bad light. Interesting.

No, Dreamer, I am not determined to "make sure that no one sees him in a bad light." If that's what you are inferring from my posts, you need to re-read all of them.

How anybody sees him is irrelevant to this discussion. The fact that it's possible that he could have been truly harmed by this whole thing is.

And no, I don't know him, but I know of another DISer who is friendly with some WDW CMs who say he is a special person.

Read that however you like, but the bottom line is still that he didn't do anything unsavory. All he did was make silly posts. Hardly the kind of stuff that should cause an angry mob to chase him off the site IMO.

 

[Planogirl]

No, Dreamer, I am not determined to "make sure that no one sees him in a bad light." If that's what you are inferring from my posts, you need to re-read all of them.

How anybody sees him is irrelevant to this discussion. The fact that it's possible that he could have been truly harmed by this whole thing is.

And no, I don't know him, but I know of another DISer who is friendly with some WDW CMs who say he is a special person.

Read that however you like, but the bottom line is still that he didn't do anything unsavory. All he did was make silly posts. Hardly the kind of stuff that should cause an angry mob to chase him off the site IMO.

Not that angry DIS mobs would ever do such a thing.

I'm not him either and I think that running him off is silly. Truthful or not, he seems totally harmless to me.