http://www.dailykos.com/...
As one of the targets of the behavior...(11+ / 0-)
I've seen the evidence and can confirm that it was The Nephew that was responsible for this.
Enacting our agenda requires winning elections. Oh, and me on Facebook.
by Mets102 on Mon Jul 09, 2012 at 02:53:58 PM EST
True.(9+ / 0-)
Facebook
If you say "gullible" real slow, it sounds like "green beans."
by weatherdude on Mon Jul 09, 2012 at 02:59:12 PM EST
Confirmed(5+ / 0-)
He told me both on the phone and via emails that I forwarded to the mods. Matt has apologized profusely for his actions, and while I will still pursue legal action I forgive him. I give him credit for owning up to it, and I believe it was a cry for help which he is now receiving.
And let me just say for the record I am so sorry for all of this. And in light of this information I am hoping timeaus can be reinstated.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"- MLK
by SwedishJewfish on Mon Jul 09, 2012 at 03:10:48 PM EST
I have confirmed with zero room for speculation who has been sending the messages. For legal reasons, I cannot disclose who it is or how I found out at this time.
All evidence has been turned over to the Admins (Markos, Meteor Blades, et. al.,) on this site. It is their discretion what to do with it. As a trusted user of this site, it is not within my purview to share this kind of information, even in this extreme case. I trust our fearless leaders to handle this in the best way possible.
Please rest assured that it is one person, they are no longer an active member here, and I am pursuing legal action. I am no longer in fear for my safety and no one else should be either
Thanks,
-Rebecca/SJ
If you have been around during the past 24 hours or so, you probably noticed that there has been a horrendous outbreak of Meta. I'm not going to spend time hashing out the details here-but I will provide the relevent information to clear up some of the confusion.
Long story short-someone has been harassing several members of this site via email and Facebook. Several Kossacks have been targeted, but the ones who have spoken about it publicly are me, Weatherdude, Mets102, Slinkerwink, and The Nephew. We have no reason, at this point, to believe this is a member of the community-although they claim to have several accounts here.
It appears that The Nephew was the first one targeted, followed by Weatherdude. The Nephew has posted a number of diaries and comments about this, going back quite some time. Weatherdude was first targeted a couple months ago, and wrote about it here:
How to deal with "random" people harassing you online
Mets was targeted more recently, and wrote about it here:
Just because I can
And then, of course, there was the diary I wrote today.
You Win. GBCW.
You may have noticed that I edited the title to ask that people unrecommend it. If you haven't done so already, please do. The comments section has predictably turned into a train wreck, and it's something I never wanted to write in the first place. Please allow me to explain why I did.
I have been getting these bizarro communications for about 2 weeks now. These messages have been sent to my email and through my Facebook. I have blocked this person several time, only to have them create a brand spanking new account under a new name and message me again. I am NOT "friends" with any of these profiles on Facebook. They are using the message/email feature. Most of the messages were targeted on getting me to prove "The Nephew" was a fraud, but they became increasingly paranoid and threatening. They posted the street I live on, and my middle name-both of which I have never disclosed to anyone here. But after continuously blocking and ignoring them, they stopped. Or they had, until today.
Today, after the protracted and painful exit of the Kossack known as "The Nephew" after he was on the recieving end of some pretty creepy harassment that escalated to in-person contact- I recieved an email saying "YOUR TURN. GBCW AND THIS WILL ALL BE OVER". This was immediately followed by an email with the make and model of my car as the subject line, and the names of both of my parents, and my stepmother in the body text.
The intent was obviously to scare the crap out of me, and it worked. Full blown panic attack that 2 ativan wouldn't even touch. My personal information is one thing-but my family members? Horrifying. Awful. I did exactly what they asked. I don't think I've ever written a diary that quickly.
Here's the thing. After the panic wore off, I started to get really pissed off. In the tradition of looking in on your own memorial service, of course I read the comments. And it was pretty horrible. People getting scared, talking about leaving the site, pointing fingers, throwing wild conspiracy theories around, namecalling, and saying things that were completely innacurate. And of course I couldn't even try to diffuse any of that or correct the innacurate information because I GBCW'd!
There is one comment that really stood out for me, and I want to quote it here:
Just Imagine (7+ / 0-)
Recommended by:SwedishJewfish, weatherdude, mjbleo, mapamp, Gooserock, JayRaye, Free Jazz at High Noon
What it's like for local activists fighting a dam project, or a timber harvest or a new subdivision -- unambiguously and using their own names. They get threatened all the time, in their faces.
My domestic partner was fighting a dam project in Southern Oregon in the early eighties. Roseburg Timber Company used a helicopter to spray Agent Orange into her spring box. It poisoned her kids and she bled out nine pints of blood via uterine hemorrhaging. She almost died.
But she did not give up and she and her neighbors beat the dam.
The Chicago cops assassinated Fred Hampton in his bed. Various members of the anti-war movement were framed for drugs and sent to prison.
The FBI listened-in to Martin Luther King Jr. having sex.
Very sorry that people are sending fellow Kossaks harassing e-mails and putting nasty notes under their windshield wipers. That is a bad thing they are doing. They are bullies and bad people. Shame on them.
The author of this comment is kaleidescope. I am seldom, if ever, in agreement with him. In fact, he may not remember this but he actually HR'd me once! It was the first HR I ever got on Daily Kos, and I was distraught about it at the time. How silly, in retrospect. And how fitting that hsi comment put this all in perspective.
So yeah, in the spirit of those great activists who have come before me and faced down much, much worse-Fuck that. I am not leaving. I don't WANT to leave, and I refuse to be intimidated into doing so.
In one of those crazy ironies, it was exactly one year ago today that I posted my first comment.
This is my first post here... (13+ / 0-)
Recommended by:bijoudesigncom, Clues, 2laneIA, bmor, Regina in a Sears Kit House, mamamedusa, pmcmscot, Shockwave, California06, JamieG from Md, coral, mwk, Cassandra Waites
I actually signed up (after perpetual lurking) so I could respond to your diary. You perfectly sum up what so many millions of people in this country are going through right now...that quiet desperation of being poor and invisible, the unbearable frustration of being stagnated and unemployed, compounded by the guilt you feel when you are a mom on top of that and you feel like you are failing your children.
[SNIP]
That diary, by Laurinista, stands out as one of the most profound pieces of writing I have ever read. Because it spoke to something I was experiencing at the time, but couldn't quite put into words. I still get chills reading it. Giving a voice to the disempowered-THAT is what Daily Kos is all about.
In the ensuing 12 months, I have written 59 diaries, 6,224 comments, and formed lifetime friendships. I found the strength to finally admit out loud that I was sexually abused. And I found out that I wasn't alone in that either. I found a group of people who not only supported me, but knew exactly what I was going through without me needing to say it out loud. I heard other stories from survivors, many that had also been buried for years. I formed a charity to help other survivors of sexual abuse. A community quilt is being made for the children we will eventually help. Artwork is being created through gallery kos to brighten up their lives, and we have compiled a book of letters and poetry written by members of this community to give to the 8 young men who testified against Jerry Sandusky. And I was able to bear witness to that testimony, and stand in that courtroom when he was convicted on 48 counts.
I am not saying this to self-aggrandize. I am saying this because considering where I came from, this is nothing short of amazing, and I know it couldn't have happened anywhere but here. This site has literally changed my life over the past year in ways I could have never imagined. This community helped me find my voice. I'm not going to be silenced again.
And with that in mind, I have the following message for this person-who I know is reading this. Follow me below the Fleur de Kos, stalker, and please read carefully.
What you are doing is illegal. I know from our previous exchanges that you don't have a firm grasp on reality, let alone the law, so here is a brief tutorial for you.
Cyberstalking.
Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet, email or other electronic communications to stalk, and generally refers to a pattern of threatening or malicious behaviors. Cyberstalking may be considered the most dangerous of the three types of Internet harassment, based on a posing credible threat of harm. Sanctions range from misdemeanors to felonies.
Don't think what you are doing qualifies? Check out the criteria:
3. Cyberstalking
In recent years stalkers have seized on the anonymity of the Internet to commit their crimes. This has added a new dimension because many victims of cyberstalking don’t know the identity of the stalkers. That can make the fear more palpable and prosecution more unlikely.
It is difficult to define cyberstalking because it can appear in so many forms. As technology evolves, so does the practice of cyberstalking. A web-savvy stalker can wreak havoc on the online life of a victim. This can be incredibly damaging, particularly as more people use the Internet to pay bills, make friends, date, work, share ideas and find jobs.
Some examples of tactics a cyberstalker may use include:
•Sending manipulative, threatening, lewd or harassing emails from an assortment of email accounts.
CHECK.
•Hacking into a victim’s online accounts (such as banking or email) and changing the victim’s settings and passwords.
CHECK.
•Creating false online accounts on social networking and dating sites, impersonating the victim or attempting to establish contact with the victim by using a false persona.
CHECK.
•Posting messages to online bulletin boards and discussion groups with the victim’s personal information, such as home address, phone number or Social Security number. Posts may also be lewd or controversial – and result in the victim receiving numerous emails, calls or visits from people who read the post online.
•Signing up for numerous online mailing lists and services using a victim’s name and email address.
You have engaged in 3 out of the 5 behaviors that meet the criteria for cyberstalking. You have engaged in this behavior with more than one victim. The laws on this vary state by state, but California is a pretty good blueprint. Here are the potential consequences you are now facing:
California was the first state to pass an anti-stalking law in 1990 in response to the stalking and murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. Now, all states have an anti-stalking law.
In California, both criminal and civil laws address stalking. According to the criminal laws, a stalker is someone who willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follows or harasses another (victim) and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place the victim or victim's immediate family in fear for their safety. The victim does not have to prove that the stalker had the intent to carry out the threat. (California Penal Code 646.9, www.leginfo.ca.gov)
The criminal penalty for stalking is imprisonment up to a year and/or a fine of up to $1,000. There are more severe penalties when the stalker pursues the same person in violation of a court restraining order, with a sentencing range of two to four years imprisonment. Persons convicted of felony stalking also face stricter penalties if they continue to stalk their victim(s). Courts may issue restraining orders to prohibit stalking. (California Family Code 6320)
A victim, family member or witness may request that the California Department of Corrections, county sheriff or the director of the local department of corrections notify them by phone or mail 15 days before a convicted stalker is released from jail or prison. The victim, family member or witness must keep these departments notified of their most current mailing address and telephone number. The information relating to persons who receive notice must be kept confidential and not released to the convicted stalker. (California Penal Code 646.92) The court may order a person convicted of felony stalking to register with local law enforcement officials within 14 days of moving to a city and/or county. (California Penal Code 646.9)
A victim of stalking may bring a civil lawsuit against the stalker and recover money damages. (See Civil Code 1708.7 for the elements and remedies of the tort of stalking.)
Victims may also request that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suppress their automobile registration and driver's license records from being released to persons other than court and law enforcement officials, other governmental agencies or specified financial institutions, insurers and attorneys. (California Vehicle Code 1808.21, 1808.22)
Felony convictions, probation, fines, and possibly even jail time. Do you really need that in your life?
Look, you are not as smart as you think. Not by a long shot. In fact, you are downright sloppy and you have left quite a trail in your wake. Law enforcement (local, state and FBI) have been contacted, and you have someone on your tail with years of experience in cyber crime investigations. The walls are closing in on you fast.
And here is one thing you should know about me.
I am NOT afraid to go there with you. In another one of those crazy coincidences, it was exactly 10 years ago today that I was raped. I was 17, and a runaway juvenille delinquent. He was an established professional with enough money at his disposal to hire a defense team that employed every coercive tactic within the confines of the law-the kind of behavior you are familiar with. Stalking, harassment, intimidation. Hiring a private investigator to track me, parading this man in front of me during court hearings, anything they could to get me to drop the charges.
I did not back down. I kept going back to that courthouse, until he took a plea bargain. He recieved some jail time, and has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
So my message is this. If I could do that at 17, think of the living hell I could make your life now that I have 10 more years of age and experience on my side. Now that I know how to defend myself, and have a daughter to protect. And that isn't even counting the hundreds of members of this community who are mad as hell and want you stopped. You have truly fucked with the wrong people.
So this is YOUR ultimatum. Leave me alone. Leave this community alone. No more emails, no more Facebook messages, no more notes on cars. Do not contact one single person from this site ever again, and maybe I will decide to let this go. In other words, remember that thing you said to me a few hours ago?
GBCW AND THIS WILL ALL BE OVER.
I sincerely suggest you take your own advice.
UPDATE-The individual resposible for this emailed me this morning. He promised to stop harrassing members of the site, and I now know his identity. He is no longer a member of Daily Kos.
I cannot give any more details at this time because this is still being worked out. But I want everyone to know that this is being resolved.