You are inviting a slippery slope here. Look, if we wish to protect children from cyber bullying, then enact sensible, tailored laws to address this. To try to address this on some other unrelated grounds like misrepresentation or violation of the TOS is to dangerously mix apples and oranges. The bullying was the central issue and problem, not the fact that it was done anonymously. People are bulled and teased mercilessly (kids in particular) by those who are not anonymous and this can and does lead to serious repercussions; just ask the Colombine shooters.
Where would you draw the line? Suppose someone wanted to sue civilly for misrepresentation on a blind date arranged via the internet? Do you want adults who have sexually suggestive chats with underage teenagers to be traced and arrested, even if (or prior to) engaging in any actual behavior or involvement with the alleged teenager (probably as likely to be an undercover middle age cop)? The answer isn't to try to take "misrepresentation" and try to stretch it like a big blanket to cover a situation - however reprehensible - which is really at heart a different matter. If people violate TOS agreements they ordinary repercussion should be suspension or removal from a site. If it goes beyond this, to some criminal behavior, this should be handled differently, on its own merits. Otherwise, we could have legal precedents that I suspect few of us would really want to operate under. Randall On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 1:52 PM, db <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Yes, but isn't the point that the crime is misrepresenting yourself for the > purpose of committing a crime ... not just misrepresenting yourself? > > Kind of like the RICO act thingee.. > > They aren't going to prosecute me ... "db" dbota ... unless its my > representation of myself as db is the thing that enable me to commit a crime > / deprive someone else of an essential and critically important or more > fundamental right. > > If that woman had used her own identity, the girl would have commented to > her mother and the mother would have been able to protect her daughter ... > done something to prevent the other mother's harassment. > > It was the woman's use of a fraudulent identity with the purpose to > defraud/ make it impossible for the girl to protect herself from the attack > that was the crime. > Another element is the degree of affect involved: It is very probable > that disguise helped drive the girl to her death. > If the affect of the woman's disguise was negligible... there wouldn't have > been a prosecution. > > I think common sense was a factor in this prosecution. > We should use it too as a factor in this discussion and not compare apples > to oranges. > > db > > > Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote: > >> For a sentence that short in many localities they would be housed locally >> and you would be surprised at what all those folks are in for. >> >> Stewart >> >> At 08:57 AM 12/4/2008, you wrote: >> >>> Some of us are not as tough as you and would find a year in jail to be an >>> unpleasant experience. Imagine how the other inmates would react to your >>> answer to "What you in for?" >>> >> >> Rev. Stewart A. Marshall >> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org >> Ozark, AL SL 82 >> >> >> ************************************************************************* >> ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** >> ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** >> ************************************************************************* >> >> > > ************************************************************************* > ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** > ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** > ************************************************************************* > ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
