The Utter Twits.
Dear God,
This has gone too far. Please send a thunderbolt. Urgently.
A teenager, excited about the Olympics, as ordered by our glorious leader, has just been arrested.
For tweeting to Tom Daley as follows:
@Rileyy_69 which said: “You let your dad down i hope you know that.”
This is considered offensive, and thus an offence under the Malicious Communications Act.
Yes, he apologised. Yes, he didn’t mean it to be as offensive as it was taken (Tom’s father passed away some time ago)
None of that has stopped him being arrested this morning. He will have a criminal record now.
Please could you direct the thunderbolt in the direction of the Home Office.
I understand they are responsible for so malignly misusing our police force.
They will probably want me arrested now, too.
Love Anna
August 3, 2012 at 13:01
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Funny how The Police race to the defence of Celebrities but don’t give a
damn about ordinary people who are abused and threatened daily, on The
Internet in General and Twitter in particular.
I slept for a year with a
machete beside my bed, just in case. So, it was hardly likely to happen, but I
couldn’t be sure of that. I don’t know how mad these people are.
-
August 3, 2012 at 14:54
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Words are easy to fire off, but actions much harder, most of the trolls
who threaten violence would have no intention of ever doing anything, none
the less a nasty exeprience as you felt that intimidated.
Your right as
well if you went to the police and complained about Twitter all you would
get is a blank looking copper mumbling away.
But if you were a celebrity
and sufferred the insidious crime of your phone being hacked ( usually cause
you couldnt be bothered to set a PIN),
KER CHING ! the lawyers and the
police would be queuing up to help
- August 3, 2012 at 15:52
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Thank you for that. I did feel intimidated. It didn’t stop me, but not
every old woman who lives alone is as tough and determined as I am. My
first ever Post on The Internet, which was not in the least contentious,
was greeted with a barrage of abuse, and I nearly gave up in horror, until
decided that I wasn’t having it.
But what goes on now isn’t Free
Speech, and you don’t need a Degree in Humanities to know that. Even the
language is unacceptable, although some might not think so. Okay, bully
for them if they want to cope with spitting obscenities. I would rather
not. But my only alternative is to deprive myself of Free Speech. And that
is what it will come to if nothing is done for ordinary people.
-
August 1, 2012 at 19:42
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WE need free speech with all its warts and problems. If that causes
problems with the odd nutter, so be it. If the language used is a viable
threat then the police can act— otherwise no
We could have all sorts of
special interest groups, left , right and so on hi jacking the law to fight
their corner
- August 2, 2012 at 08:43
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But what you’re suggesting (“free speech with all its warts and
problems”) is not really free speech, is it? It’s free speech for the
violent and abusive, whilst the meek end up cowed into silence. Your
response might be that those softies should “Toughen up!” because they
should only be afraid of “viable threats”, but that just encourages more
people to be violent and abusive if they want their voice to be heard above
the din. Then you scratch your head and wonder why society has broken down,
without ever putting the two together.
The Public Order Act 1986 (which, btw, sets a maximum sentence of 6
months and / or a maximum fine of £5000, and in most cases like the one
being discussed would probably result in a reprimand, a light suspended
sentence, community service, or a fine of a few hundred pounds) exists to
set some basic ground rules of respect and civil behaviour for the public
space, because that public space is for EVERYBODY to use. What you don’t
seem to get is that freedom of speech is under threat from all directions,
not just from the state. When people no longer feel free to speak their mind
without suffering abuse, then you have lost freedom of speech in your
society, no matter the source of abuse. A tyranny of the trolls can kill
freedom of speech as well.
-
August 2, 2012 at 10:27
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Free speech must always include the right to offend, but has I said
earlier not threaten , with a viable threat of violence– that should be
the line. And free speech should include the right to be Abusive. The
trouble is that society is full of people of varying abilities. Now a well
educated person may be able to get thier point across easily, but somebody
with lesser skills may not— does this mean their opinions and what they
have to say should not count.
The police spend enough time dicking around looking for easy targets to
nick without getting involved in the hustle and bustle of social
networking sites and trumping up charges on even easier targets.
At the
end of the day if you dont like whats being said on your social networking
site— change to another, and yes trolls are a pain , but the cure could be
a lot worse, with people with an agenda, money and priveledge using the
police and legal system to shut people up , whose views they dont
like.
Never forget society is not perfect, does have a nasty underbelly
and never will be the perfect BBC approved left wing socially engineered
society.
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a great book to read
- August 3, 2012 at 11:51
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We pretty much agree with one another. Perhaps where we disagree,
though, is that I consider this
to be crossing the line.
Clearly a joke: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed.
You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m
blowing the airport sky high!!”
Clearly intimidation: “I will hurt you, I will
fucking find you, and I will fucking break your neck…. You dare fucking
chat shit at me again, bro’, you dare fucking tweet me, anything mate, I
will hurt you. I am not joking man.”
- August 3, 2012 at 14:44
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I think we probably agree. I would describe your example of ”
Clearly intimidation” as a viable threat of violence whereas ” Abuse”
might be ” Your an asshole and ugly to boot. If my dog was as ugly as
you I would shave its arse and teach it to walk backwards”
-
August 1, 2012 at 08:01
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This is indeed a sorry tale; a parable of our time.That this little oik
deserves a good sound kicking is unarguable, but I’m not certain that the
Dorset ploddery are qualified to do it, and I’m even less certain that they
should play any role in this at all.That they even think that they should is
sinister enough, never mind the implications elsewhere. Here, for example.
If this little toe-rag had made those remarks in the pub, he would, no
doubt, have been removed quietly and barred. But, face to face, he probably
wouldn’t have dared. What I find odd is the strange compliance of Twitter in
allowing this potty-mouthed little moron to strut his stuff. But they were
quick enough to grass him up, rather as Google kow-towed to the government in
Beijing.
But that is the questionable charm of ‘social media’. First, you design and
build the land-mine. Then you stand on it. It will explode only when you step
off it. So, Twitter, Fuckface (or whatever it’s called), etc., have a simple
task. Rather like PR operators, they cobble stilts for midgets, while
exhibiting all the bravery of rabbits when a Ferret is lurking.
I have little regard for the plods and have always maintained that they are
largely drawn from the criminal element in society (set a thief, etc.) and,
critically, have no natural officer class to lead them. So, in this case, they
cannot win. Nor, indeed, should they try. As for the CPS, don’t get me
started.
Give an idiot enough rope, and he will hang himself. Plod should spend more
time chasing burglars, muggers and rapists, in order to improve the detection
statistics of serious crime, currently languishing somewhere in the lower
quartile. Burkina Faso does it better.
- August 1,
2012 at 05:54
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“We can’t control the Internet”, the police complain.
The unspoken subtext being “…but give us enough resources and we’ll have a
damned good try!!
- August 1, 2012 at 12:10
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Daley did not make a formal complaint about the series of tweets.
Reece Messer was arrested after a complaint from a member of the
public.
I attempted to call the police in relation to systematic vandalism of
several properties nearby. I don’t own them but I knew it would take a while
for the owners to be contacted, so I wished to take the precaution of
letting the police know the crimes had happened and it wasn’t just a case of
one odd window. The police were adamant. They would not accept a record from
someone who wasn’t the owner or the caretaker of the buildings. It would
make the stats worse, and we can’t have that.
Inconsistent then, that they will take complaints from people who are not
the target of disputed statements. I’m still cross over Andrew Sachs being
insulted by Jonathan Woss. Would they care to go round to the BBC and arrest
someone? I hope they would tell me no, unless I had a serious crime to
report e.g. somebody being killed in hospital by being refused water. Oh,
wait, they did respond to that one but failed to take it seriously when the
nurse said it’s alright, they usually starve them to death but were trying
something quicker. Now, if Kane Gorney had the presence of mind to threaten
to rape the nurse’s dead granny (regardless of his actual ability to do so)
perhaps the police would have arrested him, which in this case would have
increased his chances of survival, since in this instance a police cell
might have been the safer place.
Why don’t the police go and investigate the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
in Welwyn Garden City to see how many people they have killed without
threats but by simply starving them of food and water for seven days? It’s
rather more important, in my view, that what dickheads have said on
twatter.
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August 1, 2012 at 18:38
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- August 2, 2012 at 05:52
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Are you allowed to post official police training videos, Cascadian..?
- August 2, 2012 at 07:30
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Brilliant!
- July 31, 2012 at 19:27
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Has anyone managed to get a quote from Sharmi Chakrabarti on this subject
yet?
Have they managed to pry her hands off the Olympic Flag which she
shamefully endorsed at the weekend?
- July 31, 2012 at 21:03
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I quite like her.
- July 31, 2012 at 22:51
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I don’t particularly, but there we go. However I accept she held a flag
nicely, so there is that.
- July 31,
2012 at 18:08
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Freedom of speech should be balanced by the freedom to knock the speaker’s
block off if unreasonable offence is caused. Would this chap dare say such
things to any of the regulars in Gildas’s pub without the false courage of
distance and anonymity?
- July 31, 2012 at 19:20
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Purely for the sake of argument and illustration, would you care to give
examples of reasonable offence compared to unreasonable offence?
- July 31,
2012 at 23:03
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Purely for the sake of peacemaking, because I don’t like arguments:
Reasonable offence = casting aspersions on me, for example. I would
either ignore the twerp or suggest he shoves off and bores someone else. I
might use Adlai Stevenson’s brilliant putdown: “If you stop telling lies
about me, I’ll stop telling the truth about you.”
Unreasonable offence = insulting Mine Hostess, Mrs Raccoon or any other
lady present in the Raccoon Arms.
- August 1,
2012 at 05:50
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Would this chap be ABLE to say anything to the regulars in Gilda’s pub if
the mere click of a button rendered him invisible?
- August
1, 2012 at 13:15
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Gilda’s pub? Beer and Rita Hayworth behind the bar? Heavenly!
- August 1, 2012 at 11:42
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What the police call ‘hundred yard heroes’ I believe
- July 31,
2012 at 18:02
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So much for the much vaunted ‘common sense’ they said they were going to
apply…
- July 31, 2012 at 17:01
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The politically correct doctrine of nonjudgementalism has led us to a place
where the practice of politeness is unknown to vast swathes of the populace (
it’s my right,innit) and commonsense has evaporated from the regulatory army
(to give offence is illegal) with no space between for airing differences.
-
July 31, 2012 at 16:38
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Having not read any of the press stories, only the developing posts
fleshing out the scenario, my only comment is, God, how depressing, where did
it all go so wrong ?
- July 31, 2012 at 14:03
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Interesting video.
Let’s guess how this story will pan out.His mum will
be about 17 years older than him,she will be fat,tattood and unemployed.She
will have a Croydon face-lift.No father in the house obviously,but possibly a
step-father or “uncle”.He will have been in trouble with the police before but
it wont be his fault as he “got in with the wrong crowd”.(These people are
never the wrong crowd are they”).He will have been expelled from school.
He
will apologise initially and get a caution.Once out of police custody he will
stupidly post on facebook or twitter that he got away with it and he will
continue to be a horrible little scrote.
- July
31, 2012 at 19:28
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The boy was arrested in a ‘guest house’, which, given his age, implies an
even less regular home life than you describe.
- July 31, 2012 at 20:14
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He will have excellent “street cred” and start using a stupid name, he
will take to rap music and model himself on LA gangstas, eventually he will
be invited to sing at the Olympics in the hope that the rioter demographic
will be appeased. Socialists will fawn over his “contribution” to
multiculturalism. Camoron will invite him to a hoody summit at No. 10 to
disccuss how yoof can be engaged in the new economy………………..every year Monkey
Dust gets closer to reality.
- July 31, 2012 at 21:08
- July 31, 2012 at 13:11
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Anna,
It doesn’t look like @Rileyy_69 was arrested for tweeting: “You let your
dad down i hope you know that.”
It’s probably more likely to be because he has a history of posting this
sort of thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3vCzIteu0c
Some highlights from the video rant:
“You dare fucking chat shit at me again, bro’, you dare
fucking tweet me, anything mate, I will hurt you. I am not joking
man.”
“I know where your location was last night, you little cunt,
and I will fucking hurt you mate.”
“You fucking dickhead paki cunt who’s tweeting, yeah, you
better fuck off as well or I’ll fucking blow you up, you fucking
knob.”
“I will hurt you, I will fucking find you, and I will fucking
break your neck.”
On the one hand, it looks like he’s a teenager with some anger management
issues. On the other hand, he makes it pretty clear he’s not joking (unlike
the “Twitter joke” trial).
I’m not sure Stephen Fry is about to ride to his defence, tbh.
-
July 31, 2012 at 13:27
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So now we are getting closer to what it is really all about. Did he mean
it? I don’t know. Does anyone? Do we really want to find out?
But anyone
who thinks that this is Free Speech wants their head seeing to. It isn’t
Free Speech, and you can have it as far as I am concerned because I don’t
want it.
- July
31, 2012 at 17:36
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Since there’s almost no chance of him finding the object of this ire
and carrying out his threat, then I’m quite happy to have it.
- August 1, 2012 at 06:11
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The (more or less stated) purpose of this video rant was to terrify
his critics into silence. You might guffaw into your muesli at his
antics, safe in the knowledge that, surely, he can’t REALLY be telling
the truth when he says that he knows where “your location was.”
Unfortunately, not everybody can be blessed with such steely nerves as
you, and most normal people would be genuinely scared if this sort of
behaviour were directed at them.
Free speech ends when death threats begin, whether or not those death
threats are serious or are just intended to have a chilling effect on
the free speech of others. Of course, attempting to shut down debate
with death threats (as seems to be the case with this boy) is less
serious than genuinely intending to murder somebody. If he gets five
years in the slammer, then clearly the response from the authorities is
disproportionate. However, free speech is a qualified right and it ends
when you explicitly try to curtail the free speech of others through the
threat of violence.
-
August 1, 2012 at 11:51
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what Joe said….
- August 1, 2012 at 14:32
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I don’t think much of a death threat that I actively have to seek
out, click on and select ‘play’ in order to see.
Not steely nerves. Just plain ol’ common sense.
Get back to me when he makes a credible one via post or
brick-through- the-window…
-
July 31, 2012 at 12:12
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And I just add that Tom Daley’s father only passed away last year, from a
brain tumour as I understand it
-
July 31, 2012 at 12:07
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Sounds to me that the troll sent nastier tweets than the one reported –
from what I heard yesterday there was something quite disgusting, and I
suspect the one being reported is the sanitised version. If they are as nasty
as some have indiacted above, then I do think it is worth a visit from plod. I
think they cross the line, and are far from a joke.
Just my view
-
July 31, 2012 at 12:59
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I think that some of you don’t realise just how bad are certain sections
of Twitter. And at the moment only Twitter can deal with this, which they
don’t appear to want to do. What is happening isn’t Free Speech, and anyone
who wants to allow this sort of carry on needs their own issues looking at.
And believe me, they are getting worse.
- August 1, 2012 at 18:38
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“I think that some of you don’t realise just how bad are certain
sections of Twitter…anyone who wants to allow this sort of carry on needs
their own issues looking at.”
I think you are Mary Whitehouse dug up and I claim my £5…
- August 1, 2012 at 18:56
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Nah, she’s been dead for years, while I am still very much alive. But
don’t let me bother you. This will reap it’s own Harvest, and no odds to
me because I live in France where parents are still held accountable.
And the local Marie always knows who they are, and why.
Mary
Whitehouse might have been a joke in her day, but she wasn’t far
wrong.
- July 31, 2012 at 16:14
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??? GtM you are wiser than this.
Using the police to control the use of words? It will backfire badly. Say
something that a politician doesn’t like ?
And exactly what is offensive? I could troll all day long using science
& facts alone, without the need of rude words & death threats. The
recipient would see me as a troll/bully. Where does the line get drawn?
The Internet exists because it is libertarian in nature. Trying to force
authoritarianism on the internet will result in sites like this being closed
down. There is more than one council that considers this site to be a
“troll” for daring to shine light on the truth.
- July 31, 2012 at 11:18
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Death threats should not be ignored. The 17 year old continued to threaten
to drown Tom Daley, ram a knife down the throat of another tweeter supporting
Daley and dig up the corpse of another tweeters mother, rape it and cut the
carcass open on the bed. These are just a few of his disgusting threats that
posters on this site see as just “sticks and stones” and something your
grannys, grandfathers, fathers, etc, said to us when we failed an exam.
- July 31,
2012 at 11:32
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And all of those should have brought out the use of the block button, not
picking up the phone & dialling 999…
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July 31, 2012 at 11:55
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Do you think clicking on an electronic “block button” stops someone
physically stalking and attacking you? Remember what happened to Jill
Dando? How does a person know whether those sick threats are serious or
not? I’ve never actually heard of anyone being told by their grannies,
grandfathers, mothers, etc, that they would drown them if they failed
their exam; as a previous poster claimed.
- July 31, 2012 at 12:32
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I don’t think that anyone here is saying other than this bloke is a
dick of mammoth proportions, but that is not the same as him being
worthy of serious consideration as a stalker.
As regards Jill, what
DID come of that after plod were embarrassed and Barry George was
released from prison; went rather quiet.
- July
31, 2012 at 13:13
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Yes, I remember what happened to Jill Dando. An innocent man went to
prison.
Something to think about, maybe, unless you are too busy getting your
knickers in a twist over mean people on Twitter?
- July 31, 2012 at 14:27
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And they set up the Jill Dando Institute for Crime at UCL seemingly
oblivious to the fact that it was to honour a famous miscarriage of
justice.
- July 31, 2012 at 14:53
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Does “freedom of speech” extend to death threats?
-
August 1, 2012 at 13:25
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I recently watched a recording of “Thelma’s Gypsy Girls”.
In
this episode one girl made repeated threats to “kill” one of the other
girls. Her body language and “in your face attitude” suggested that
she was serious and at least wanted to physically hurt. She very
obviously scared the other girl.
This episode was aired on national
tv at prime time.
Anybody knocked on her door yet?…..or was it just
a cultural thing?
- July 31, 2012 at 11:00
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I’m not so sure, Anna. I can’t help wondering whether the failure to tackle
anti-social behaviour by the Police and others has to some extent led us into
this situation – and this sort of Tweet is anti-social behaviour. There was a
time, not that long ago, when a visit from the local Constable, a gruff
talking to, and a (metaphorical) clip round the ear would have been enough to
lay the matter to rest. Now it is either totally ignored (a signal to the
perpetrator that their actions are either condoned or have no adverse
consequences, in which case the problem can escalate out of control), or
subject to the full force of the Justice system (probably a gross
over-reaction, and an immense public cost). The problem is in who decides, of
course – the politically correct ‘victims’ get all the help, the pensioner
victimised by teenage hooligans gets nothing.
The better method would be in this, and the Robin Hood airport case, a
visit from the aforementioned Constable with a friendly warning to think
before pressing ‘send’ in future, and that should be that. The full force of
the law should be reserved for the repeat offenders and the obsessed
stalkers.
- July 31, 2012 at 19:26
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Or they could send Harriet Harman around to explain how “hurtful” the
comment was.
That would cure him for life. Almost as bad as capital punishment.
- August 1, 2012 at 14:55
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Right with you engineer, the voice of common sense, but that would be
what I think they refer to as `thinking outside the box`and completely
unacceptable in this insane society.
- July 31, 2012 at 10:58
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Here’s the fuller picture with most of the apparently arrest-worthy tweets:
http://thedigitalreport.net/2012/07/uk-diver-tom-daley-subjected-to-abuse-by-twitter-user-rileyy_69/
Dorset Constabulary have got a week to get their shit together and release
him, or I’m blowing Weymouth sky high.
- July 31,
2012 at 11:31
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- August 2, 2012 at 05:45
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Blow up Weymouth? There’s enough inflatable airbeds and helium locally.
By jingo it might work!
-
July 31, 2012 at 10:48
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XX “You let your dad down i hope you know that.” Xx
Who amongst us has never heard similar from Grannys, Garndfathers, Fathers,
Mothers, sisters brothers, etc, etc, when we “failed” an exam at school? Or
got nicked D+D, at the age of 13, on the last day at school before the
holidays?
What is disturbing is, that common sayings are now considered “offensive”.
Now come in for your tea, stop playing in the mud, and have a wash before
you come to table, you filthy arab.”
- July 31, 2012 at 10:46
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I take your point on almost everything. But my greatest worry about all
this fury, is that the freedom of speech of which we were once so proud, is
being slowly, but surely eroded before our very eyes. No, none of us should
say unpleasant things which might offend or hurt another. But sticks and
stones??? Please, are we not increasingly in danger of over-reaction to
certain circumstances which would ordinarily be ignored otherwise. We so need
to put this in perspective, don’t we? And to have him arrested??? God help us
if this is the route down which we are going … regards
- July 31, 2012 at 10:44
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It seems some Brits are suffering from incipient chronic road
rage.
Which comes from the inability to defer consumption?
Instant
gratification.
Toys and cots.
Both the arrested and the arresters.
I sometimes wish the British would learn to celebrate other people’s joys
and happinesses rather than their defeats and humiliations.
- July 31, 2012 at 14:38
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How do we do incipient and chronic simultaneously?
- July 31, 2012 at 15:09
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Split personalities : )
- July 31, 2012 at 15:26
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That too
Living on the cusp of an endemic personality disorder?
But it’s
only endemmed fairly recently.
Since 1997?
- July 31, 2012 at 15:57
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Ah, if it only endemned fairly recently, then of course anything is
possible!
- July 31, 2012 at 10:28
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There is an aspect to this which almost doesn’t bear thinking about, and
that’s the way we (in the broadest sense of everyone) are using social
connections to express what might once have been since as mild displeasure the
way things are working out.
Consider the kid arrested for his ‘offensive tweets.’ I have no doubt he is
not as mature as he might be, and I have no doubt that if he met Tom Daley he
would in one sense run a mile. But he can now insult him at a distance, and
even more relevantly, he can do it repeatedly as a form of spamming.
But the troubling thing here is how this kid is overwhelmed by some sense
of disappointment. Perhaps Daley and co were ‘expected’ to win some honour or
prize in a highly competitive sport, but the way that expectation has so
affected a relatively disinterested observer is troubling. perhaps the upset
person rushed to tweet his frustration because he was denied a place in the
Olympic diving team, or perhaps he knows how easy it is to win against people
who are good. Maybe too he had a bet on the outcome and sees his hard-earned
cash disappearing. Possibly he just thought the diver was brilliant because he
saw all the Olympic hype and feels a crushing rejection of his adopted
feelings.
Whatever. The truth is probably the tweeter was a disinterested party; a
mere observer who normally should have expressed a certain amount of surprise
at the result and followed it by a shrug. But we don’t get that now so much
these days. Social networking has the power to elevate the trivial chaff of
life and the inconsequential grind of the everyday (though I do accept the
Olympics are hardly everyday) to epic proportions.
But the kid arrested has been given the power to be frustrated and express
it directly, and often. No one it seems had ever said to him the key phrase:
“Does it really matter. Will it matter a 100 years from now?” No-one could say
to him to let it go. The phrase, “So it goes” is unheard in his life, and for
that matter is not a factor in the lives of so many other young twitterers and
facebookers.
True, there are issues over whether the police are increasingly guardians
of social media terms and conditions, or whether the idea of being offended
trumps all other crimes. That needs to be explored at a higher level. But
however this social media experience works out, we can be assured that the
immature and hasty among us have a quick, on-the-move and a very personal
route to express unpleasantness swiftly.
- July 31,
2012 at 11:28
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“But he can now insult him at a distance, and even more relevantly, he
can do it repeatedly as a form of spamming.”
Unless Daley uses the ‘block’ button…
- July 31, 2012 at 11:40
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Twitter is getting seriously out of hand, and Twitter doesn’t care.
That’s the real problem. Time to give up User Names and prove who you are.
It won’t stop people posting, but it will make them a bit more careful.
And it will be infinitely preferable to Government Intervention.
- July 31, 2012 at
12:36
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Er… or, in the alternative, fuck that.
Those of us who used the internet in the olden days.. before Myspace,
Facebook etc.. became fairly adept at dealing with shits like this. We
had a catchy motto… ‘don’t feed the troll’. That’s been updated a bit
for Twitter… to ‘block and ignore’. That will deal with the vast
majority of people like whossisname69 who are just indulging in casual
cuntery and will get bored and move on if nobody is paying
attention.
I don’t see why the vast majority of people, who prefer to keep their
anonymity for perfectly sound reasons, should lose that just because a
few people are cunts, and a a few more don’t know how such cunts should
be dealt with.
Block and ignore.
Block and ignore.
It’s like ‘Duck and cover’, except it works.
- July 31, 2012 at 17:32
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What The Thought Gang said…
- July 31, 2012 at 12:46
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I don’t get how Twatter traced the lad down so quickly and informed
Plod of his whereabouts. Bit unsettling.
- July 31, 2012 at 13:07
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IP and IPS. Everyone is traceable. And all Servers can be forced to
part with this information. Most of them do it voluntarily because
they know that there is no ultimate right of refusal.
- August 1, 2012 at 19:11
-
Yes big brother is watching, and nobody seems to care!! When they
tried to introduce ID cards everyone was up in arms but we are all
quite happy to carry GPS enabled smart phones broadcasting our
location 24/7 and tagging the photos we publish to social media sites
with them.
When posting anything mildly contentious: post via a chain of
public proxy servers (about 10 to 15 works for me, preferably in non
EU counties) from a phone you bought with cash under the name M.Mouse
– trace that and stay fashionable!
I’m sorry, I demand my privacy (or am I just a little
paranoid:)
- July 31, 2012 at 15:18
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The great power of the internet is that you don’t have to use real
names. What if you wanted to post on a health issue? Or even just talk
politics? Or…. The anonymity of the internet has brought about about a
new evolution in human creativity and intellectual discussion; and yes
there are downsides as with every aspect of life. But overall the
upsides outweigh the downsides.
We are at the cusp of a major revolution in healthcare, in part due
to the power of internet anonymity. Thousands of internet users have
been sharing intimate details about their health, which would not have
happened if a real name internet policy existed..Over 10 years ago
medical researchers started to notice people curing, what were
traditionally considered, incurable diseases. Scientific researchers
have been busy working out why…. 80% of all auto-immune diseases (from
MS to arthritis) put in complete remission. Type 2 diabetes cured….
This is just one small example of the incredible good being
facilitated by an anonymous internet.
-
July 31, 2012 at 10:05
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Hope he takes it to court and demands a jury trial. Make the buggers look
silly in public, it’s the only solution.
-
July 31, 2012 at 10:02
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Much as I might sympathise with Tom Daley, there is far, far worse than
that on Twitter that needs seeing too. And several people who need to be
arrested under The Grossly Obscene and The Malicious Communications Acts. And
some of them churn out this vile stuff several times a day. But no one seems
interested, least of all The Police, or The Home Office, or Twitter for that
matter. Arresting this kid is insane by comparison.
- July 31, 2012 at 09:48
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That was the headline tweet. There were many others in which he offered
Daley out in a fight, and said he’d drown him. Doesn’t change your point
though – someone’s been arrested for using a computer keyboard in a tit-like
manner without putting a smiley face on the end of a tweet.
- July 31, 2012 at 09:51
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Let’s see me get arrested then for inciting God to send a
thunderbolt…..
- July 31, 2012 at 09:53
- July 31,
2012 at 09:53
-
Those are about as much of a ‘threat’ as a certain ‘threat’ to bomb Robin
Hood Airport.
Still, I suppose Dorset Police have nothing better to do. Place must be a
real crime- free paradise.
- July 31, 2012 at 09:55
- July 31, 2012 at 13:51
-
On the plus side, it obviously won’t matter if they cut the Dorset
police by 10%, which we are going to have to do after the ruinous cost of
the Olympics.
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