O/T Online cowards.

[ramAnag]

As if the recent social media abuse of Man.Utd’s black players along with Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger wasn’t bad enough, we now have a referee having to step down from next weekend’s top flight matches for much the same reason.

Referee Mike Dean has asked not to be considered for any of next weekend’s fixtures on the basis of abusive messages and death threats he and his family have received in the wake of some of his recent decisions.

Not sure what can be done to prevent these social media morons from peddling their hate, but something has to happen. We can’t continue like this and maybe the ‘rights’ of this loathsome minority will have to be sacrificed in order to protect the standards of decency and tolerance most of us manage to by.

[MadAmster]

Totally agree. They hide behind what they believe to be the anonymity of being online. Police are able to trace people via their online monickers. That was how quite a few of the Dutch rioters were caught. A few folk will be sufficiently computer savvy to avoid detection. The majority, however, can quite easily be traced and dealt with accordingly..... but they're not.

We know that the police don't have the resources to but the huge IT companies whose systems are being used ought to have considering the billions they make each year from their services. Problem is that they don't go any further than removing the odd post and very, very occasionally, deleting an account. FB give a few days ban quite a lot but only for minor infringements. They don't invest a few % of their profits on policing what happens on their platforms as that would only result in posters moving to other platforms, some of which are only available on the dark web and that would hit their profit margins so Law keeping isn't in their best interests.

We all use nommes de plume on here but I'm pretty certain that I'm not the only one on here with sufficient IT knowledge to be able to find out enough info to be able to find and publish exactly who TTR is. I choose not to do it. Having worked in IT for 30 years and taught Computer Science for a dozen or so years, it's not rocket science. My fellow posters don't need to worry as I don't intend to out anybody.

[Trickytreesreds]

Totally agree. They hide behind what they believe to be the anonymity of being online. Police are able to trace people via their online monickers. That was how quite a few of the Dutch rioters were caught. A few folk will be sufficiently computer savvy to avoid detection. The majority, however, can quite easily be traced and dealt with accordingly..... but they're not.

We know that the police don't have the resources to but the huge IT companies whose systems are being used ought to have considering the billions they make each year from their services. Problem is that they don't go any further than removing the odd post and very, very occasionally, deleting an account. FB give a few days ban quite a lot but only for minor infringements. They don't invest a few % of their profits on policing what happens on their platforms as that would only result in posters moving to other platforms, some of which are only available on the dark web and that would hit their profit margins so Law keeping isn't in their best interests.

We all use nommes de plume on here but I'm pretty certain that I'm not the only one on here with sufficient IT knowledge to be able to find out enough info to be able to find and publish exactly who TTR is. I choose not to do it. Having worked in IT for 30 years and taught Computer Science for a dozen or so years, it's not rocket science. My fellow posters don't need to worry as I don't intend to out anybody.

You're assuming I use a traceable IP address. I may use a proxy server or a VPN for all you know.

[ramAnag]

Falling into the category of knowing how to use things...cars, cameras, computers, Smart TV’s etc...but having next to no idea of how they actually work, both MA’s and even Tricky’s comments above leave me feeling very naive.

I had no idea it was so relatively straightforward to trace people and am thankful that I stick to my own rule of never posting anything that I wouldn’t be prepared to say to someone’s face.

If, as MA suggests, it is so relatively easy to track down those that post such offensive and threatening nonsense then surely the time is long overdue for these ‘huge IT companies’ to put public decency before profit. Once football officials and individual players start being got at in the way of Mike Dean, Rudiger and Rashford (amongst others) then the whole integrity of the game is being brought into question.

I completely agree with MA that it would be wrong for those with the capability to ‘out’ anyone from our forum and that such ‘refereeing’ should be left to Andy...but these ‘scum’ do need to be both ‘outed’ and, imo, heavily penalised. If they were writing/saying such stuff in any other more conventional form of media then surely the newspaper/radio station etc would, quite rightly, be held to account. Not sure why these IT companies aren’t treated the same way...the internet is a fine thing, but it has a lot to answer for too, and we are in the midst of dangerous times in many ways.

[Andy_Faber]

Falling into the category of knowing how to use things...cars, cameras, computers, Smart TV’s etc...but having next to no idea of how they actually work, both MA’s and even Tricky’s comments above leave me feeling very naive.

I had no idea it was so relatively straightforward to trace people and am thankful that I stick to my own rule of never posting anything that I wouldn’t be prepared to say to someone’s face.

If, as MA suggests, it is so relatively easy to track down those that post such offensive and threatening nonsense then surely the time is long overdue for these ‘huge IT companies’ to put public decency before profit. Once football officials and individual players start being got at in the way of Mike Dean, Rudiger and Rashford (amongst others) then the whole integrity of the game is being brought into question.

I completely agree with MA that it would be wrong for those with the capability to ‘out’ anyone from our forum and that such ‘refereeing’ should be left to Andy...but these ‘scum’ do need to be both ‘outed’ and, imo, heavily penalised. If they were writing/saying such stuff in any other more conventional form of media then surely the newspaper/radio station etc would, quite rightly, be held to account. Not sure why these IT companies aren’t treated the same way...the internet is a fine thing, but it has a lot to answer for too, and we are in the midst of dangerous times in many ways.

It’s relatively straightforward to trace those who choose or aren’t aware of how to hide themselves.

As a mere mod I can see y’all’s IP address which is used by me to filter out potential spammers and on two occasions to confirm to the forum that new members WERENT spammers (I believe MA was the first and no MA I didnt reveal any private info it was more of a ‘believe me chaps’ thing) but as Tricky says a VPN is one easy way of overcoming that (I’ve recently relinquished one) as is using pay as you go mobile sims, which by contrast aren’t available in Spain

I have mentioned before that I was a mod on a ‘feisty’ music forum and myself and other mods through the timeline of that have been approached by the poooliss on a number of matters including domestic violence and *****philia, but whilst we were all 100% compliant/helpful IMO things have taken a backward step in the past decade because the social media giants have become so big they can set their own rules

[MadAmster]

You're assuming I use a traceable IP address. I may use a proxy server or a VPN for all you know.

..... and you would still be traceable. Don't worry though, I won't out ya.

[MadAmster]

As a mere mod I can see y’all’s IP address which is used by me to filter out potential spammers and on two occasions to confirm to the forum that new members WERENT spammers (I believe MA was the first and no MA I didnt reveal any private info it was more of a ‘believe me chaps’ thing) but as Tricky says a VPN is one easy way of overcoming that (I’ve recently relinquished one) as is using pay as you go mobile sims, which by contrast aren’t available in Spain.

Never thought for a second you would Andy.

A VPN isn't a 100% bypass of being found. It will deter many but if someone with the right skills wants to find you......... they will.

[ramAnag]

It’s relatively straightforward to trace those who choose or aren’t aware of how to hide themselves.

As a mere mod I can see y’all’s IP address which is used by me to filter out potential spammers and on two occasions to confirm to the forum that new members WERENT spammers (I believe MA was the first and no MA I didnt reveal any private info it was more of a ‘believe me chaps’ thing) but as Tricky says a VPN is one easy way of overcoming that (I’ve recently relinquished one) as is using pay as you go mobile sims, which by contrast aren’t available in Spain

I have mentioned before that I was a mod on a ‘feisty’ music forum and myself and other mods through the timeline of that have been approached by the poooliss on a number of matters including domestic violence and *****philia, but whilst we were all 100% compliant/helpful IMO things have taken a backward step in the past decade because the social media giants have become so big they can set their own rules

I’m lost...and why would you think MA was a ‘spammer’?

[Andy_Faber]

I’m lost...and why would you think MA was a ‘spammer’?

MA joined at the time one of our historical spammers was pestering us (sorry I don’t recall which one), and a couple of posters pointed the finger at MA as an alias of said spammer because they mistook what we now know to be MA insight to be someone making **** up. I did what checks I could, identified that MA could not be the spammer unless he was being a lot cleverer than I could be, and I reported back along the lines of ‘MA is genuine’.

[ramAnag]

MA joined at the time one of our historical spammers was pestering us (sorry I don’t recall which one), and a couple of posters pointed the finger at MA as an alias of said spammer because they mistook what we now know to be MA insight to be someone making **** up. I did what checks I could, identified that MA could not be the spammer unless he was being a lot cleverer than I could be, and I reported back along the lines of ‘MA is genuine’.

Wow...it’s another world. If nothing else this thread has served to make me feel increasingly naive.

So, back on topic...as someone apparently much more ‘itk’...what can be done to stop those who use the online cloak of (apparently questionable) anonymity to abuse and threaten others?