September 25, 2002
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REPEAT OFFENDERS
When I shut down an abusive account, that user will often create another account and go on abusing other members.
A few weeks ago, I decided enough was enough. Rather than shut down accounts right away, I started leaving them open for a while so that the users would log on and reveal their IP address. Even better, I could get the IP address of their real Xanga account – and shut that down as well.
Well, I’ve found out who a lot of the repeat offenders are… and I must say, I am shocked. I was expecting kids – but instead, I found adults. Without exception, there were users that I had heard of – some of them I even counted as friends.
I’ve contacted all of these users, and their reactions have varied. Some have vociferously denied their involvement, despite overwhelming proof. Others have defended their actions, telling me that what they did was justified.
I have little patience for denials and defenses. In the absence of an apology and a promise to play well with others, I am shutting these sites down. I’m also recommending that they be grounded and sent to their rooms.
When I helped start Xanga, I figured I’d learn a lot about computer programming and business entrepreneurship. Sometimes though, I feel like I spend all of my time honing my parenting skills. Except, do your kids threaten to kill each other?
Actually, this might be better preparation than I thought…
Comments (95)
You’ve got a tough job. Good for you XangaCop! Someone has to keep this neighborhood decent!
Where do people get all this time and energy to develope multiple online personalities for the purpose of harrassing others?
I feel that way at work sometimes. Or even dealing with some of my friends. Its just insane like that, when people get so worked up over nothing. I wish people could just see how undramatic life could be, and how wonderfull the lack of all of these antics could make everyones life easier. Good luck to you man. Youre dealing with it in the best way possible.
Good deal.
-Laura
yah, my boys threaten to kill each other all the time…..
That sort of surprises me, too, that it is adults who are responsible for a lot of the abuse. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me, though. I have known for a long time that Robert Louis Stevenson was right when he said, “There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it behooves all of us not to talk about the rest of us.”
Keep on keepin’em honest, John… and thanks.
Thank you. Once again I was wondering if Xanga was worth the hassle. Then I remember it could be worse– I could have your job!
Maybe it would help to hire an interpersonal relationship psychiologist to be a part of the Xanga Team….Or someone who’s retires from a negotiation position on the police or SWAT force…
Unfortunately, when you deal with a site such as this, that deals with the innermost thoughts journals offer, you’re going to deal ith alot of people you would have never suspected…
I’m sorry to see that some of the things that have happened here have happed. I have seen alot of people get hurt here on Xanga…I guess even though the sod starts out green, it’s hard to keep it that way…
Keep up the good work. Every step you have taken to assure a bit of safety, I know, has been greatly appreciated by those who deperately need it…
thank you, john. that’s very disappointing that there are people who think that stalking is justified. that harassing others is justified… thank goodness not ALL of xanga is bad. there will always be my blog
This should be interesting!
Shame shame…..
Good detective work, John. TCP/IP to the rescue!
I’m surprised that you’re surprised. To the best of my knowledge, it’s adults that create wars and most of the violence in the world. The internet has never been immune, unfortunately.
The SADDEST thing about this is that instead of shutting things down before it GETS to this point, even when many people BEG for help, for MONTHS, it is allowed to go on so far that ANYONE feels this type of action is warranted. And as has been stated above, most violence is created by adults…it’s those who assume otherwise that should look at things again. This will be MY last remarks on any of this to you, for I know exactly how much it will solve, but as you did blog and allow comments, I do have an opinion, and feel like it is a valid one…from extremely personal experience.
Truth be told, there are plenty of non-adults (age-wise) creating plenty of violence. As someone who worked on the streets with gangmembers for nearly seven years and has seen violence and death on a VERY close basis, please understand….the youth of this world are violent and capable of the same kind of idiotic nonsense that adults are.
Having said that, ACT like adults people. Don’t let John and the other Xanga Team members have to deal with your problems for you. If someone is harassing you….deal with it. You can leave (let’s face it, Xanga is fun, but it’s not a necessity). You can involved local and/or foreign authorities. You can “try” to talk with the person that you perceive to be doing you harm. Or you can ignore them and wait for their site to be shut down (John and the guys are doing ALL the know how to do currently).
I realize that things can get completely out of hand in a heartbeat, but you’ve got common sense….try using a little.
Sorry for being so brash (anyone that knows me, knows this isn’t like me), but when people act stupid, I get upset. And believe me…that’s what all this boils down to….people acting stupid.
Keep up the good work detective! Heh, and your getting wonderful parenting skills here on xanga with all the babysitting and refereeing you have to do around here!
You know I think William is onto something. These people may be adults in chronological terms, but what mature person refuses to accept responsibility for his/her behavior? I don’t envy you yoru job John, but I’m very glad that you do it and that you do it so well. Thanks.
It’s a sad state of affairs when people can’t learn to respect boundaries and get over their differences with a shrug.
But, sadly, art imitates life in that regard.
Good to know that you are diligent yet fair in the way you mete out your admonishments.
Blessings,
Paul
Part of me wants to know who these people are… is that wrong?
I’m with Jeanie. Can we have a “Xanga’s Most Wanted” list?
Actually, I totally agree with William.
I have been the victim of a stalker, multiple blogs about me, and this person threatening to come to Seattle and “kick my ass”. But ya know, I dealt with it on my own. I didn’t call on the Xanga gods. Or threaten to call the “authorities”. I even left my site for several months and then created a new one when things had died down a bit.
The whole time, I pretty much IGNORED the person except for one very short post I made, in which I defended myself after months of harrassment. It was justified, and it finally did the trick. She no longer harrasses me.
Really. It’s all in how you handle it. There are bullies EVERYWHERE, both online and off. If you ignore them, and don’t add fuel to the fire, eventually, they WILL get bored and go away.
~Sigh~..The whole “thing” is very sad…ugly stuff
Can’t you just transfer their accounts over to DeadJournal and let them languish?
Aw, maaaan…. I feel so left out! No one ever threatens to kill me!
Homer! I’m gonna come over there….and I’m gonna….. No wait, I’ll get me a ….. and then….
Ah hell….I got nothing. Sorry, man.
The power of god can be like a drug. I am glad that you do your homework before you take action. I am also glad that you do take action.
Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me either
I’m with UberJeanie and FemmeDeLaCreme, too ~ I want to know who these people are!
So, is that another Xanga experience I should prepare myself for? Because it seems that I’m following in the same patterns as most of the other people who’ve been here longer. In real life, I know some adults who act out like children– so I’m not surprised there are a few adult-children here in Xanga too. This place is, after all, proving to be a microcosm of the real world.
Good on you, John, again, for doing what it takes to make everyone’s Xanga experience a great one. Perhaps they should affix “XangaDad” to your title.
Of course, if boring the harrassers was indeed a front-end cure for the problem, we could try blogging about a terminally boring subject…
…like technical writing
At least then, you could follow the trail of zzzzzzz’s.
I’m sorry you have to put up with such nonsense. You are a great guy for doing what you do. Thank you.
Wow, so you do nothing for 6 months, and then pop up, still do very little, and make yourself look so great. You make it appear that you have really achieved something. Look at all those positive comments, John.
I’ve written my peace under this addy, since you closed every other one down. I am somehow hoping, although not quite expecting - that you will leave it up – out of fairness’ sake. After all, what is a public dialogue if you shut me down? It’d be a monologue, right?
I wish you all the best, hope you are happy to have shut me down. A real achievement, John. I’m proud of you. Just keep those other abusers on Xanga, and pat yourself on the shoulder now and again. Let them continue to write their deaththreats and let them terrorise others through their blogs. And beware if anyone dares to speak up against you, you just go right ahead and shut them down. Fair is fair, you know.
… and justice for all. Hope you’re happy…
Andy
Someone
P.S.: I wish you, that you will never have to go through the things that you’re putting Moniet through.
andy, if you have any specific URLs of a xanga user threatening or harrassing another user… please send it to me and i will immediately shut the site down.
somehow we seem to have trouble communicating. it’s not very helpful to me long emails filled with text-based allegations that are impossible to verify. if you send me a link with a specific threat or harrassment, i will shut it down right away.
that’s all it takes man. you don’t have to threaten to kill anyone, or tell me i’m a moron… that generally tends to dampen the warm fuzzies.
andy, i don’t have a personal vendetta against you. i am puzzled by your tendencies towards vigilante justice… and confused that when i started looking, i found that you had created over 30 sites – almost all of them with different names and personalities.
but that doesn’t really bother me. my only request is that you don’t threaten to kill my other users. it’d be nice if you didn’t harrass them either. then i’d be happy to host your blog til the end of time.
That sounds sort of fair. I think some progress has been made. I know a lot of harm was done for many months and still is being done. It’s easy to say walk away from things that are in your face. It’s not that easy to do, knowing someone is being hurt and threatened whether they look or not. We all have that nasty adrenelin running through our veins and the flight or fight mode has to kick in when it’s been pumped to the max. The fact is that the most evil of people will always roam xanga and they are clever enough to disguise or delete. blah
Now please don’t tell me andy was TNT… I almost had sex with her. lol She was wasn’t she?
Sorry. This crap is too serious for me not make fun of some of it.
I say give Andy his site back and try to track down the true villains.
Hey…And what’s wrong with having 30 sites with different peronalities? I must have at least that many.
I forgot. I was gonna try to stay out of here.
Take care
Great… now can you do something about livingwater?
Ever
Setanta
By the time you’re ready for kids, you will have the parenting thing down pat.
Come on all you grown-ups! If you don’t like what someone says.. delete/ignore them.. or report them. Cheers to William and Femme for stating it so clearly. This is digital.. no reason to start childish arguments. Encouraging bad behavior never really helps anyone.
Keep up the good work John. Maybe someone will remember you on Father’s Day. ;o) Hmmm.. you really need a Xanga Tie!
I read recently about a guy (in NY, I think) who set up a company which specialises in kidnapping people who want to be kidnapped…
The point being that unless both parties are into the idea, violence, whether actual or blogged, is a whole load of unpleasantness.
Still, while all these shenanigans are going on around xanga, at least (shameless plug coming..) there are panties aplenty on my site….
John, you asked me to send you specific URLs and specific blogs, and I did, and you did nothing about it. I explained to you why those blogs where offensive, and you shrugged it off, telling me to ignore them. (Read what Mitch said a little further up) Now you say: Send me the links and you’ll do something about it? What have I done over the last 7 months? Do you read your emails?
I didn’t chose to become a vigilante, I was pushed into it by your inaction. Don’t you go around laying blame on me for your inaction. And yes, I do regret some of the things I have said, but sometimes things have to be saidin order to get a response.
And yes, I had 30 sites or thereabouts, maybe even more than that. And yes, they portrayed a few different personalities, and in some cases were even co-written with other people. But how many of them where abusive? 2? 3? So you shut 30 sites down because you disagreed with 2 or 3? And those 2 or 3 were created as a direct result of your inaction in this matter. An you closed all of my sites down?
Am I the only one that can’t see the logic in that?
John, since this is your blog and you opened this conversation, let me ask you this question in public:
WHY DID YOU FAIL TO TAKE ANY ACTION FOR OVER 6 MONTHS?
Isn’t it true that you only took action, when I wrote my first abusive blog? Isn’t it true that we (and you know who I mean with “we”) have send you dozens of emails pointing you to this problem, and even now, you still claim you have seen no evidence?
You can blame me all you like John, it’s not going to change the truth of the matter. We can’t change the past John, but if this is what you want the future to be like, I am very sorry. I don’t tolerate harassment and abuse, but you obviously do. I don’t understand why; obviously those that have read me over the last 526 days can’t understand it either, judging by the comments I got, and the emails I’ve received over the last 12 hours or so.
I’m sorry John, in this case, you did wrong by procrastinating. Shutting me down, because you failed to take action in time, is not going to make it right, either.
You know, I think that you are the big kid that can’t take criticism. You are the one, that is afraid to admit that you’ve made a mistake.
I have done wrong, and I am not afraid to admit it. I have said this all along in my blog.
Andy
Someone
P.S.: By the way, if the word “moron” coming from an Australian offends you, then I humbly apologise.
andy, i have read every single email you have ever sent me. there’s a difference between the sort of abuse complaints you send me, and the sort of complaints i get about you.
the complaints you send me read like this: “new user AAA just posted fact BBB about user CCC. that’s a fact that only user DDD knows, as user EEE or FFF can easily tell you. i’ve established with my own research that DDD is a known criminal, so you have to shut down AAA’s site”
this may seem like ironclad proof to you, but it takes me an hour just to follow all the facts and users involved. and most important, there’s no easy way for me to verify your email. in fact, there’s not even really a hard way: i’d have to hold a trial and get depositions from everyone involved, and then make a ruling. and even then it’d be a he-said, she-said situation, as long as there’s no physical proof of actual threats or harrassment.
i also get emails from you like this: “user XXXX posted that she’s visited location YYYY. that’s where user ZZZZ lives, therefore XXXX must be stalking ZZZZ”.
andy, this may present a clear and present danger to you. as i’ve told you in the past, i am not going to shut down a site just because a user posts that they are visiting a specific town. to me, that is a freedom of speech issue, and it’s very important to me that xangans be free to express themselves.
HOWEVER… the second that a user makes an explicit threat – or even just implies that their visit is to harrass or stalk another user, then their freedom of speech issues need to balanced with public safety concerns. the reason i have not taken action yet re: your complaints is that i have yet to see a threat made.
i don’t mean to suggest in any way that there isn’t a threat being made – with so many users, i just can’t keep track. this is why we ask our users to send us a url of any threats or harrassment. despite our copious correspondence, you have never sent me a link to a threatening post or comment. that’s all i require, and i will shut any site down immediately.
as an example of that, some of the emails and posts that you have written are pretty good examples of the sort of explicit threats that i will not tolerate.
for example, when you tell me an email that another user makes you “feel like waiting at the airport to break her neck” – well, that to me is a death threat. when you post on another user’s site that if they visit your country, you will track them down to hurt them… that’s another explicit threat.
in all honesty, sometimes i feel you think i’m taking sides here. i don’t play favorites: i shut down any sites that makes death threats or harrasses other users. just send me a link and i’ll take care of it.
I am really trying to understand something.. and remain positive and constructive. Without offending anyone.
Am I understanding correctly, that Someone had numerous accts.. which is fine and cool btw.. wish I was able to be that creative… and he used 2 or 3 of those accts to retaliate with harassment to another user who was harassing him and or his friend? AND if this is the case.. then Someone now.. LastWord is trying to argue that only the accts he used for the aforementioned harassment should be closed?
It seems to me that if you are harassing a person… regardless of what acct you are using, you ultimately would have to hold the ultimate responsibility. It is not the alter-ego that is doing the harassing.. it is the person who is typing the words of harassment. So all of his accts would be closed… as sad as that may be.
For example.. would that be like saying… if I changed my name to Baggsly Bigglesworth, and committed several crimes.. a murder or 2, sent out some nice warm hate mail.. then changed my name to Anias Nind.. I don’t think my saying.. “well.. ya know.. that was Baggsly.. not the REAL me.. I haven’t so much as littered since I have been Anias… so you can’t in good faith punish me…” would be a valid reason. Not saying Someone sent hate mail.. just throwing out some crime/no-no type examples here.
Maybe it’s cause I need sleep.. and I am just missing a major part of the puzzle.
It really shows.. retaliation just doesn’t end well for any of the parties involved. Harassment in ANY form is bad. It’s sad that Someone’s site was closed. I had visited it a few times and REALLY enjoyed what he had to say. I really hate to see things escalate to this level.
Again, I’m not trying to offend anyone, just really trying to understand where you all are coming from. Happy Monday.
)
tabatha, what you say is totally true… if you’re missing something, then i’m missing it too.
in defense of andy, it’s pretty clear that he sees his various personalities as separate from his true identify. if he saw things the way that you did, then the nice andy that we know from his site could never have written the hateful things that his other sites contained.
Gee, what a lively discussion! some of these multi-personality’d people seem to be using specious logic in defending themselves…
And I didn’t know one can actually operate 30 sites at a time. (learning all the time) I can barely keep up with what I already have.
Makes me wonder who’s really who out there…
Oh, BTW, I figured out what one of the problems were for the disappearing props… you’re a case in point. I propped ya before, but when I came back to comment– doing so wiped out the first set– so I’m propping you again!
You’ll see my name’s moved to the bottom of the list of people who propped now. No prob– I just adjust.
I didn’t even know those types of things were going on. Thanks for shutting them down. It was the right thing to do. Your work here is no different than any other management position; you spend a lot of time managing people problems and less time running the business.
I guess my Xanga neighborhood where I normally hang out is on the safe side. I had no idea something like this was going on. Though “Someone” did comment on my blog a few times… I guess you learn something new every day.
Interesting and confusing. I never knew there was such drama going on at Xanga. What I guess I don’t understand is why if these people felt they were so wronged, did they stay around in the first place?
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you
John,
You make it sound so easy. So, for you, you still cannot see a threat? After all the hours I spend writing to you about this person, after sending you link after link, you still can’t see a threat?
I have to say, I am amazed, that you can’t see it. You are trying to make me look like someone with a conspiracy theory. John, these threats that Moniet received are real. And the only threat I made against you and that I will make here in public again, are that I will hold you legally accountable if anything happens to us or Moniet or any other person here on Xanga that is threatened by this person.
The matter with this person is in the hands of the authorities, I have even send you the names of the police officers that are involved, and you still say you can’t see a threat? Let me guess, you haven’t followed it up?
No, John, I don’t think you are taking sides. I think you are closing your eyes, because it is convenient.
John, if you’ve ever read my emails, why did it take you 6 months to answer? Do you really think I believe you?
Look, I am not going to go over this again. You know where I stand, I know where you stand. I have given everything I had to the police and they are investigating against her.
But I resent that you say I have never sent you a link to an actual threat after all this time. Yes, you make my emails look as if I am really stupid. Fine. It’s your site, you can do whatever you want.
You lost a friend. Obviously one, you can do without. Hope you never get into the position Moniet and I are in, now.
*Curiosity is mounting* wonder who????
I can’t resist saying this; “Thanks, Dad!”
Hmm…. Thought I commented here yesterday. Where did it go?
Anyway, my main question then, was… Don’t IP addresses change for dial-up users? If so, how can you know you are shutting down the right sites? I may just be showing my ignorance here….
On to the other issue… you know which one. The one running through the comments section here? Someone/Last Word, if you are convinced that you are right about this person threatening Moniet, why don’t you just put all of your proof on your site and have the court of public opinion weigh in? I know you and Moniet are involved in the matter, but don’t know the alledged perpetrator and have yet to run across any proof of what you are discussing.
I don’t think you are persuading anyone on here by always venting at John. Let us see and judge for ourselves, eh?
todd, ip addresses do change for dial-up users… but not if they sign onto two accounts in the same session.
also, i can track people’s browsers and operating systems… stuff like that is consistent even on a dial-up.
well, they could change browsers… and they could have a dual-boot system.
Thanks for clearing that mystery up for me, though. Much appreciated.
Namaste… do you really think, John would let me publish this info in my blog? Why do you think, he’s closed me down?
“Round in circles, round in circles”
Keep up the good work.
It seems to me that if you closed down Andy then you also in all fairness need to shut down the other person’s site as well. Shutting down Andy does not in any way change the fact that moniet was harrassed and that the one who harrassed her is STILL on xanga unfettered and free to harass again. Do some investigating on THAT person like you did on Andy. Just a suggestion.
Wow what a mess!
*~*Hey John, just sent you an email… Seems though target A has left a post on here, asking you to do something about his harasser.
Hope you can do so…
I agree with namaste, get LastWord to blog all this info out. Seems to me there is a miscommunication issue and it needs to be sorted out. By blogging it in public domain, the evidence shall be clear.
And if you’re having trouble following the links (after all, you are rather busy and we ALL appreciate your time) then i’m sure there will be a multitude of Xangans who want to put there 2c in and help out…
Just my 2.2c (inc. 10% GST)
Xxx ~mystiksoul~ xxX
thank you
wow…i’ve been around 647 days according to the xanga reminder/premium nag counter on my website, and i’ve never ever ever experienced any of this stuff…makes me wonder how people get into situations where this kind of activity occurs? i’m glad you are doing something about it though, but i truly hope these people find other things to do with their time and realize that life isn’t a computer…life is outside your window. even i can forget sometimes. wish i knew who these people were and what the story is, same as jeanie and femme!
you are a fucking wanker, ey? how about some justice? all you do is shut the good guys down, ey? fuck you.
~ sighs ~ Well, looks like *I* am visiting you as well, now? Like hell, John, what do you have against me?
Heh.. of course, running fucking scared John? I’m online. Come and get me you fuckhead.
still nothing… come on, John… I’m still here….
Well, I guess you are too fucking scared to talk to me? Well, I’ll be going soon. But I’ll be back. You’re not getting away with this.
Oh John…MY sitemeter says that at the time youseless4 left ME a comment, which they have been blocked for, that the person on my site at the only LOGICAL time for that remark to have been left, lives in Germany. Trace it yourself, from THESE comments.
I saved all the info, but as you seem to never get mails I send, I left this here…if you WANT my info, let me know, I can easily paste it in a blog.
moniet, i didn’t get an email from you last night. where did you send it?
You apparently have not gotten MOST of them John, they all come back to me! I have stopped mailing, it does no good to send it and have it returned unread. And I sent ALL of them either direct retuns ON the answered ones I got from YOU, or at your sites mail link here. They have been returned BOTH ways.
But YOUR ability to trace who youseless REALLY might be is as good, if not FAR better than MINE. Trace it! And trace the lastword while you are at it, and see that it is NOT the same PERSON.
cheryl, sorry that my email bounced. you sent it to john@xanga.net? that’s my personal email address… it’s where my mom emails me, so i don’t think there are problems there? sometimes i’ve heard of problems “replying” to my emails though… not sure what’s up with that.
youseless and youseless2 were traced to the same computer as “someone”, aka andy. i asked andy about these accounts, and he admitted that he had created both of them to stalk another user.
as for youseless3, i traced the account last night. it was created by a user in australia while they were signed on as “lastword”, at 10:07:03 EST on 9/28.
i asked andy about this, and he swears it is not him. so i checked the browser and the operating system of “youseless3″, and it turns out it is the same as “someone” (MSIE+6.0;+Windows+NT +5.1).
I remember when tracing was something I did through onion skin paper.
Check your other mail if you have time.
Well I do not know anything about those other youseless accounts, as THEY did not leave me a comment. BUT, this other one did…and I have the trace of it. I am just fed up with this all, much more than you know, because it is happening TO me, you simply are seeing the TIP of the iceberg I have lived around for 9+ MONTHS.
And yes, that is the mail addy I use, and the past 4 or 5 mails have never gotten to you. It takes them about 3 days to get back to me, meanwhile I sit, hoping that they are being seen, and not knowing what if anything is going to be done about whatever I sent.
moniet, i’m not sure why our emails aren’t going through?
it could be that some ISP’s have blocked our xanga emails, since we send out so many feedback logs and subscription digests.
i have a pretty good sense of who youseless4 is. i don’t want to say until i’m sure, but i’m pretty sure it’s not a user stalking you. i’ll have more information in the next day or so.
Hey, but of course you know. It’s Someone here, who else would use an IP in Australia. No, hang on, I am LonelyDolphin… since I am in Australia now. Come on, John, you know me. You know everything. You are the Guru of Xanga.
You are a joke. You are so easy to fool, it’s not funny. Shame, that Moniet and Mitch can see it, but you can’t.
wow. i feel like i’ve walked into the realm of the demented. i had a person fake their death online so he could stalk me. he wasn’t too pleased when i posted confirmation from his local cops that he wasn’t dead. freaks abound. i feel bad for those who are harassed but some people go too far in retaliation.
you’re doing a great job john.
Looks like a war zone in here. Can you ever have a peaceful day?
Ok, John, you didn’t ask me if I was youseless 3, you TOLD me, that I was. You never even answered one of my questions, instead you keep hiding behind your excuses. I have sent you half a dozen emails over the past week, not one has been really answered. I am not Youseless3 nor 4, and I have no idea who the hell is behind those accounts. You say you have proof that I am Youseless3? is that the same proof that lead you to the conclusion that TBH and LD are different people? John, there are 18 million Australians, and I am sure, that somehow I am not the only Australian that uses IE6 and XP? In fact I can name three Xangans right now that have the same configuration. Please John, answer my emails and stop this bullshit. You know why I did what I did with Youseless1&2. YOU have never done much to stop this harassment here on Xanga. Yes, I have gone too far, I acknowledge that, but at least I didn’t pull my tail in and run like a wimp.
For all you others here, I know you are getting sick of this discussion. Foir your own sakes I hope that none of you will get stalked on Xanga. Look what happens. They shut YOU down. They make YOU look like an idiot. They make YOU look like YOU are at fault.
Read Moniet‘s blog for some more info on this, if you need to, or drop me a line.
John’s obvioulsy not interested in resolving this conflict. All he gives me is excuses or silence. Never any real answers.
Okay, this is getting really weird… weirder than it was in the first place… and I thought I knew what was going on; silly me.
*shakes head* jesus christ.
where have i been
???
*looks around again*
This is truly bizarre.
Message from yahoo.com.
Unable to deliver message to the following address(es).
:
Connected to ******but connection died. Possible duplicate!
(#4.4.2)
I’m not going to try again; this message has been in the queue too
long.
Well, that was supposed to say john@xanga.net but it did not show up.
weird cheryl, i have no idea why your emails never get through to me or to xanga.
i’ve heard people say that hitting reply to a message causes problems. but i’ve never had someone not be able to email me at all!
Here’s the next one…same thing, different letter…
Message from yahoo.com.
Unable to deliver message to the following address(es).
:
Connected to Blah blah but connection died. Possible duplicate!
(#4.4.2)
I’m not going to try again; this message has been in the queue too
long.
— Original message follows.
All from yesterday…See, I don’t understand it either, but I have always been able to send ANYTHING to others through the Xanga mail link…and have not ever (to my knowledge) NOT gotten mails sent to ME that way. Could it be the skin?
All arguments about someone/lastword aside, your method doesn’t seem that Ironclad John. I happen to utilize the computers of a few friends of mine to access xanga. They themselves also have xanga accounts. If I were to post an offensive message using one of my blogs, you’d shut theirs down automatically right?
OMG this sounds so fucking familiar.
Andy, I’m rooting for you.
Okay, John… I’ve told you several times that I can’t send you emails either. We’ve conversed about it HERE ON YOUR BLOG. Whether hitting “reply” or creating a brand new crisply fresh message from scratch, I have the SAME things happen to me that happen to Moniet… I have some of HER files on MY computer, where the proof comes out of instant messengers and emails. SHE has them. The fact that the stalker used instant messengers and emails for the majority of her communications in the beginning has little to do with the fact that she is still here on xanga, somehow getting people’s IPs and hacking into their computers. She’s been in mine. She in fact, re-routed herself through the people from Virginia that at one time also had a defunct, invalid problem with Moniet, assuming she could “join the fun” and still look innocent all along.
John, what I don’t understand is that there are at least 4 or 5 people that I know of who all have witnessed messages or emails or posts that go up and come back down… Andy’s wife, and Cheryl as well have received phone calls from her… I got an email supposedly from Mitch’s address, which he never sent. It was full of questions and suggestions about things that had nothing to do with my life, as if the person thought they were going to convince me they were him by prying into my personal life.
I’m heartbroken here… one of my dearest friends has lost a lot here, more than just an account on a website. She’s destraught, frightened, paranoid, and sick with grief. And there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s tried, I’ve tried, I’ve even gone so far as to speak with invesigators from the law enforcement agency I WORK FOR… She’s called her local police, the FBI and Interpol… at this point, even leaving xanga wouldn’t stop the harrassment and threats SHE is receiving. The saddest part is that it all started HERE, and it’s being allowed to continue. I KNOW there’s got to be a way that the stalker is gathering IP addresses so she can re-route herself, and find people to hack into… she plays stupid, but is unfortunately not.
*sigh* I’d love to be conversing with you via emails John… alas it’s not working, and as you REMEMBER, only ONE of my emails got through to you, but nothing else. I sent probably near 100 between your address (which always come back to me undeliverable, save the one mentioned above) and the abuse@xanga.com address. I have had no inkling that there was going to be any steps taken to help my friend… and it breaks my heart.
I’m sorry to be a part of this saga… But it’s a sorrowful sorry… because nothing I can do can help my friend, despite the proof that WE have.
That’s pretty fugged up ladydelaluna. It’s pretty easy to know when I have mailed anyone. I’m the dude not trying to get personal. You never told me about that. Forward the whole thing to me.
Miss M Get back here and drop some props. That’s just rude.
John,
Have you read the comments above? How can you still believe that Andy is at fault here? Bring Someone back. We want him back on Xanga. At least he has DONE something about the stalker. That’s more than YOU can say for yourself. And as for emails, I have sent you 5 emails and never got a response.
BRING ANDY BACK.
I have just sent you an email through Xanga. Am I ever going to be graced with an answer? I’m a premium account holder, don’t I deserve at least a little bit of attention here?
Still no answer, John. See, that’s what is so frustrating to us. Now, Andy waited 6 months for an answer. Do you blame him for becoming a vigilante. Maybe, I have to go around harassing and threatening people as well, before you take the time to answer me? John, ignoring me is not going to stop me. I will continue. I will send you comments and emails en masse. I will bombard Xanga with Spam until we get an answer from you. You know my blog, you know my email. Xanga really wants to know why you shut Andy down, and more importantly, why the Stalker is still allowed to blog here.
WE WANT SOMEONE BACK.
Jon,
Not for a MILLION DOLLARS would this Xangan EVER trade places with you!
There are loads of people all over Xanga that appreciate the job you do and value your judgement.
I hope you have a really great day!
God bless you,
Tina Cantrell
I agree with Tina. We totally appreciate all you do here. I for one know that you have answered each and everyone of my emails and in record time. I truly appreciated that. I only had a problem the one time I hit abuse and it came back. Other than that, I have had absolutely no problems with yours and my contact. So, I like Tina thank you. You are a good father to all your xangans here, despite what a few have said. THANK YOU! ! ! ! !
I have learned just one thing in life . . . that there are no absolutes.
But I suppose that one can not excuse one person and not another . . . especially when it comes to political corectness.
I am glad it wasn’t me . .. I would listen to the reasons and make decisions based on circomstances . . . because there ARE circomstances that could warrant such conduct.
I have recently went through a bad experience of stalking, and my Father threatened to beat and/or kill the man if he terrorised me again, and I nor my daddy regrets him treatening this man.
If someone did that here on Xanga . .. not only would my Father do that but so would several of my Xanga Friends.
They are all very protective of me.
So should they be shut down for this?
I personally feel they shouldn’t!
But then . . .that is because I have felt the terror and the disgust at myself and the helplessness despite the mase and knife in the pocket of my car.
So despite what you may say . . . there are reasons that warent some treats.
Maybe it isn’t correct or proper . . . but none the less it is justified in my openion.
Of course denial shows cowardice . . . though I must say that denial is more of imperfect human nature than admitting to it. And so most will deny it at first even if their reasons are nobal and just.
But like I said I am glad that I do not have to make that kind of decission to shut persons down . .. I definately do not have the fortitude to stick by my decission the way you have despite the e-mails and everything else.
So . .. more power to you my friend . . . more power to you.
laters
~ torri
John,
I feel so bad that this is what your day consists of. I have been fortunate, to never have had problems like this with my fellow xangans. I love this community.
Good luck and I am sure you will do whatever you feel is right. This is your community and maybe you should just change it to only members. If that would solve it. Then people wouldn’t make so many accounts. And if they do, they are at least paying you.
Sorry for all the hassle you see. It will get better!
I could answer pink_moon’s question. Oftentimes what happens is that a person who had no interest in blogging, indeed, has never kept a journal in their life decides to create one or two or three xanga accounts for the express purpose of invading the privacy of a person who they knew in real life who had a blog, but who did not share the url with them. Then, after they either slander and defame the person and/or leave nasty comments (or both) they then decide that they are going to either delete them before the xanga gods can read them and give consequences, OR they enjoy the attention so much that they create a fake persona and continue blogging for the attention OR in order to leave little “messages” for the person they came to xanga to annoy in the first place. (or BOTH)…..and THEN, some of these folks, well….hmmm…..ONE of them anyway, might harass their prey on one site while playing “po’ me” religious fellow on another… One problem though, when the person who they are trying to harass decides to post the text of their harassment on their own blog, while revealing the identity of who they really are on their “nice guy” blog, the fun really begins. These “nice guys” are easy to pick out…they are usually the ones who use the free xanga services while complaining about features/lack thereof, complaining about the banners and the little reminders to join premium, who make inane comments in their blogs about how you guys just must be “getting rich” from Xanda (like, yeah right) while never having any intention of buying premium AND without even dropping by to leave a note of appreciation for ya. (Do you know any bloggers like that? Hmmmmm?) And THEN, when the shit hits the fan and anyone challenges them for their behaviour/comments/lies, whatever, they go crying to you guys to remove the “offending” blogger who finally lost their temper and stooped to their level while revealing some of their true colors. Not that I, personally, know anyone who would do anything like that, right?
This is long but I may as well see it through. Personally, I have only ever received offensive comments or had someone blog nasty things to/about me in a year on xanga. Both were disgruntled ex-boyfriends who fit into the aforementioned category and didn’t even know this place existed until they invaded my privacy in real life and found the url to my blog. Why would they? They never journalled in any way, shape or form until they wanted to annoy ME. Two others created free accounts to follow me here, but have never posted an entry, still two more people joined xanga through my encouragement, although those two actually post and one has premium. I know you guys go out of your way alot and do the best you can, but I sure hope you use more than one person’s IP address to make a determination. Cheers