On 02/08/07, Steve Summit scs@eskimo.com wrote: <cut>
I am no less sorry than anyone else to say this, but: the trolls are out there. They are not going to go away. Most importantly, they are *not our fault*. To imagine that they somehow are "our fault", to pretend that we can do anything to make them go away, is a futile, perhaps even delusional folly.
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Stalking to the point of revealing someone's personal information to the world, making them vulnerable to further stalking goes beyond mere trolling. But that's semantics.
In any case, you are right - it is not your fault. The wrongs stalkers do are on their heads.
No, you can't stop every stalker / abuser / harasser in the world. Nonetheless, some environments are more friendly to stalkers than others. There are things that can be done to influence the statistics. Can you be blamed for not helping when you don't know how to help? No. But that doesn't mean there aren't things you can do to help... e.g. supporting people who have been hurt and helping to create an environment that is not friendly to stalkers/abusers/harassers.
Armed Blowfish