Today’s blog is tomorrow’s gossip

January 26, 2007 at 4:30 pm (Bullying, Stalking)

Things were looking good, sun was shining (not so unusual in a tropical country I suppose) and it was coming up to my blogs first birthday.

Then disaster struck.

I had just written the post below and I was pondering some of the questions I had raised about blogging and exposure and how much of a secret diary an open access weblog is and how I exposed I would feel if my nearest and dearest could see my most intimate thoughts.

From what I understand, a friend on a forum I used to frequent, had upset someone. I sadly wasn’t there at the time and in fact haven’t been there in months but I heard there was a little hair pulling, possibly some pinching. I had even heard that one of the parties (for ease here, I’ll call him a name plucked out of the air completely, ooh, how about Ian?) had picked up his jumper from where it was representing a goal post and had stormed off. 

Temporarily.

Ian decided that this spat was symbolic of all that was wrong with today’s society and he plotted revenge, in a true *That’ll learn them* fashion.  He started a blog, in the name of his nemesis and monitored his movements and that of his friends, he hunted down and raided their flickr accounts  posted their photographs on his tribute blog, he posted family photographs, he posted details about his targets place of work, his friends and his friends workplaces.

All in all he spent a whole lot of time on this. Around two years in fact and counting.

Finally he discovered my blog and linked it in. He chose to share my life with people, who I may not have wanted to. I am not sure why my blog was hit. I suspect it was collateral damage seeing as I wasn’t there at the time of the original spat. As far as I am aware I have never interacted with Ian at all. I don’t think we were even posting at the same time and the forum in question is one I haven’t visited since around May last year. I suspect it has more to do with Ian’s state of mind. I’m not sure he’s well.

A two year vendetta against someone you have never met in real life and in which you aim to not only take down them but their friends and family too, seems excessive. Even to me and I can be really OCD when I put my mind to it. I hope Ian recognises the problems he’s facing and seeks help soon.

I don’t mind too much. In a way, it’s given me a chance to make a fresh start. I can use this as my trial for things I would be happy to pod cast. It’s my acid test. If I am coy at the though of Ian sharing it with people I know, then it’s too private to be blogged.