Week of July 14, 2003

The Cyber Community -- the people whose faces I never see and who, like myself,  sit and read the words posted to our screens, I see us as pioneers.

Yes, like in the old western towns -- WE are cyber frontier pioneers.

I have participated in chatrooms over the years and over time I have observed how each room develops it's protocol and how the individuals who participate consistently over time, establish what is referred to as 'regs' status while the community grows and evolves.

And, like all communities, new people visit -- some stay and some move on, but all people have the opportunity to contribute to the dynamic in a positive or negative manner.

WE have the choice what WE accept as appropriate behavior in OUR unique forum of human interaction.

Whether the interaction takes place in the dynamic of the chat room, the posts on a message board, a blog site and/or emails.

WE have the choice what behaviors WE will tolerate in OUR cyber community -- our towns -- our chat rooms.

This forum of communication is no different than any other group dynamic where WE establish the protocol.

Stationary message board sites will remove offensive posts, chat rooms have features to ignore/report offenders, and society at large has its laws.

However, my experience has been that bullies cannot be ignored. They must be confronted as the cowards they are.

Using our democratic process -- the plaintiff has accused the defendant of harassing and stalking.

The plaintiff publicly accused defendant offering an opportunity to refute the allegations.

The plaintiff introduced evidence to establish probable cause.

Ample time and opportunity has been provided for the defendant to come forward and refute the charges.

No data has been presented to dispute the plaintiff's accusations.

The defendant has not come forward and no one has come forward on behalf of the defendant.

The court is now weighing the evidence and voting.

The evidence under consideration:

-Plaintiff statement of probable cause and a synopsis of events, accompanied by evidence identified as Exhibits A-H.

July 17, 2003

The votes are in:

On the issue of whether the plaintiff has established probable cause:

There were 33 voters

AGREE= 27/30

DISAGREE= 03/30

AGREED Guilty of all charges = 02/30

AGREED Guilty of being clones = 03/30

Undecided= 01/33

Did not vote= 01/33

Has not opened email= 01/33

The plaintiff has sent the information to the ISP administration.

Regardless, of the outcome, the plaintiff has set a precedent by deciding to not be a victim, but rather to take action -- to take a stand!

The ISP community is a vast and awesome Netosphere. There is room for ALL, even for those who prefer to live in 'Bully Town.'

The plaintiff is now free to continue with her work in trying to make a difference -- to share -- to learn -- to grow.

Thank you for your kind and gracious attention.

I am done!

"All that is required for the triumph of evil is that good people remain silent and do nothing ." Sir Edmund Burke