18 November 2006

Beware who you cross online

A man has been jailed for Britain's first web rage attack according to today’s Guardian Paul Gibbons, 47, was yesterday imprisoned for two and a half years for the unlawful wounding of a fellow internet user after an online quarrel.

Gibbons, unemployed and from Southwark in south London, first encountered John Jones, 43, while in a Yahoo chatroom discussing the religion. The pair locked horns after Mr Jones was accused of spreading rumours that his opponent was "interfering with children". After a further volley of verbal sparring, Gibbons was challenged to an encounter and became so enraged he drove more than 70 miles to Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, where he attacked Mr Jones with a pickaxe handle. Joined by an accomplice wielding a machete, Gibbons continued the assault until he was disturbed by Mr Jones's partner.

Mr Jones, who had armed himself with a knife, was left with head, throat and hand wounds. Gibbons then boasted to other chatroom users that the attack "went perfectly to plan". Gibbons pleaded guilty last month after the prosecution dropped a charge of attempted murder. Judge Richard Hawkins told the Old Bailey it had been a "most peculiar case". He told Gibbons: "It is accepted that Mr Jones taunted you and dared you to go to his house, where you would be greeted with weapons."

Police called the incident the first bona fide case of web rage, and warned internet users to protect their identities. Mr Jones's address was uncovered when he put details about where he lived online. "Mr Jones had posted pictures of his family on the web and had chatted to Gibbons on an audio link," said Detective Sergeant Jean-Marc Bazzoni of Essex police. "It demonstrates how easily other users can put two and two together, and also shows how children could also find themselves in danger."

On a much smaller scale I am painfully aware that crossing a lunatic online can cause problems. I used to be a regular in a political chat room. Although there were some great people there (I am still in regular contact with several), it had plenty of lunatics and it was rife with anti semites. I must have crossed someone, I have no real idea who, but my chat id was cloned containing personal information gleaned from non political groups. The piece of shit then used it to open sex chat rooms.

A far worse event occurred in the room, another chatter was personally threatened offline by a particularly psychotic chatter. He (the psychotic) is still around and seems to regularly comments on blogs owned by former chat room members and those associated with follow on forum.

14 comments:

billie said...

good lord. i guess it is one more reason not to post too much personal info- although computer savvy folks can find it out easily enough.

Anonymous said...

There have been a few aggressive comments on my blog, which I've done my best to ignore.

The downside to the internet is that it provides a platform for all kinds of nutters.

jams o donnell said...

Good move Betmo. I made the mistake of putting some innocuous personal information on a local history group, The nutter found that and used the stuff in my clone. I am far more circumspect these days

Quite right Roger. I suppose the best thing is to try and ignore such fuckwits. They usually get their kicks by eliciting a response.

Frank Partisan said...

I find so many naive people online, who use their real name in their email etc.

jams o donnell said...

I learned the hard way Ren, even the most innocuous of information can be used against you.

Agnes said...

There was a similar incident in Hungary, an IRC-chatter was beaten up a bit. (as a result of a little online namecalling)

Anyway some will never stop until oput in a straitjacket.

And Ren, that is a problem you see: it is rather sad that one has to hide. On the other hand I know many who use their real names on fora, blogs, etc. and nothing ever happened to them.

jams o donnell said...

Having been once bitten, Red (albeit not badly of course) I now play twice shy..

Better that than give some lunatic free information

jams o donnell said...

Hmm food terrorism... and from which cell in Guantanamo do you blog? I have know doubt governments have a look what is said in teh blogosphere. I ahve noted a couple of Department of Homeland Security ips and some UK government ones too. I doubt they are interested in what ew have to say though. Perhaps they were looking at my cat pics!

With that Marie post you will have the wrath of many fellow mormons raining down on your head.. Attack Marie.. that is UNTHINKABLE!

Seriously they were both a pair of arseholes but what on earth warranted a beating? Sadly we will see more and more of it was people spend more time interacting online.

Anonymous said...

Identity theft is nothing new. Long before the Internet took off, a bloke impersonated my father.

He attended a reception using my father's name - and made a bit of a pig of himself in the process.

[I hasten to add that my father is not a celebrity!]

jams o donnell said...

Did they ever catch this guy Roger? I would love to know how it all panned out!

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Threats seem kind of funny when posted by someone with a smiley faced avatar.

jams o donnell said...

LOL ewbl.. On the other hand distance and inertia will damplen a fair few threats mercifully.. A bottom wiping frog is far harder as if to say I am wiping my butt in public and what are you going to do about it!

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Sadly, my butt wiping frog is a subtle symbol for the French. As such, my frog only knows how to raise his butt wiping hands in the air, and wave the wipe around like a white flag of surrender.

jams o donnell said...

Hmm it ould be a serious matter if he was inciting people to go to the HA and set light to the manager.. If he was being robust in his criticism, then the HA should take its lumps and provide a better service.

Oh come on ewbl you forget France's great naval victory over Greenpeace 20 or so years ago!